Beauden Barrett is still yet to make his much-anticipated debut for the Blues but that didn’t stop him from entering their history books with a record time on the Bronco Test.
Barrett blitzed the grueling aerobic fitness test in a club record time of 4.12. The impressive time was also a personal best for Barrett and was two seconds clear of halfback Jonathan Ruru.
Things looked a little different under Covid-19 Alert Level 2. Not only was there no heavy contact on day one of training, teams also had to adhere to a new set of health and safety guidelines. Temperatures were checked on arrival at each of the training venues, distance was kept between players, and training equipment and hands were sanitised at regular intervals.
Blues oustide Matt Duffie spoke enthusiastically about getting back into training and said all the players understood the need to maintain high health and hygiene standards: “We’re keeping our distance and getting excited”.
In the South Island, David Havili was a welcome face was at Crusaders training after having emergency stomach surgery in April while former Hurricanes wing Nehe Milner-Skudder stepped out for his first official duty in Highlanders colours in Dunedin.
Investec Super Rugby Aotearoa sees each of New Zealand’s five teams play each other twice over a 10-round competition. The action kicks off on June 13 when the Highlanders take on the Chiefs in Dunedin. Check out the full draw HERE.
What is the Bronco?
The Bronco is a 1200m aerobic Shuttle Test involving running to-and-from a start line to 20, 40 and 60m marks, 5 times without a break The purpose of this test is to a get an estimate of maximal aerobic running speed