Barrett breaks Blues fitness record

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Beauden Barrett set a personal best time and franchise record during a fitness drill when the Blues resumed training on Monday.

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The five New Zealand franchises started training on Monday in preparation for the new Super Rugby Aotearoa competition following the months-long break in play due to international travel restrictions enforced by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Barrett, who joined the Blues from the Hurricanes at the beginning of the year, is yet to debut for his new team but is said to have quickly caught the eye during a fitness test known as the Bronco.

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During the drill, used to measure aerobic endurance, players run shuttles of 20, 40 and 60 metres five times over as quickly as possible.

After having cleared a contactless temperature check from team doctor James McGarvey, all members of the Blues’ self-described ‘backs bubble’ embarked on the gut-busting test.

The Blues claimed that eight personal bests were set during the drill, with new recruit Barrett leading the pack with a time of four minutes and 12 seconds in what the franchise indicated was a new club record.

Barrett was closely followed by scrumhalf Jono Ruru, who completed the drill just two seconds later.

Meanwhile, report suggests New Zealand Rugby is set to abandon the All Blacks’ three-Test tour of Europe in November.

The All Blacks are scheduled to take on England at Twickenham, Wales at the Millennium Stadium and Scotland at Murrayfield between 7 and 21 November. But according to The Rugby Paper, the NZR board is set to sacrifice those three Test fixtures rather than risk jeopardising the country’s success in virtually eliminating the Covid-19 pandemic from its shores.

New Zealand are planning to launch a series of matches involving their Vodacom Super Rugby franchises followed by a four-Test series against the Wallabies, all behind closed doors.

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