Beauden’s Bronco record put to the test
Over to you, Damian McKenzie.
All Blacks strength and conditioning coach Nic Gill shared a lot of others’ excitement at Beauden Barrett’s sizzling record time for the Bronco fitness test when Super Rugby sides returned to work on Monday.
Gill hasn’t clocked any All Blacks faster over the 1.2km shuttle run, but reckons if anyone can push Barrett close it’s McKenzie, who is scheduled to do his Bronco test with Chiefs team-mates tomorrow.
‘‘I’ve seen him [Barrett] do 4.20 before, so you’re talking seven or eight seconds [off his personal best]. It depends who he’s running with. I’ve seen him challenged pretty hard by Damian McKenzie, he normally gives Beauden a pretty good push.
‘‘I’m looking forward to seeing how Damian turns up [on Thursday]. I assume it will be talked about and he will get a bit of banter from his team-mates.’’
The Bronco is the standard fitness test for the Super Rugby sides, and involves an up-and-back of 20m, 40m and 60m, five times over.
Records from each franchise were requested, but difficult to obtain yesterday. It appears no Super Rugby player had broken 4min 20sec until Barrett scorched the Alexandra Park turf like the trotters that zip around its racetrack. Halfback Jonathan Ruru stuck with Barrett and clocked an impressive
4min 14sec as the Blues reported eight players recording personal bests.
At the Crusaders, former halfback Andy Ellis still holds their record of 4min 23sec, strength and conditioning coach Simon Thomas confirmed.
When asked on Monday, Hurricanes coach Jason Holland thought Jordie Barrett would match his brother but it seems the younger brother’s best is just over 4min
20sec.
‘‘Was it really… s..t you’d have to check those measurements,’’ Holland said with a laugh of Beauden’s time. ‘‘I don’t think I’ve ever heard of that quick.’’
Gill said Jordie Barrett, who at
196cm and 95kg is 9cm taller and
4kg heavier than his older brother, had a tough task to match his sibling.
‘‘Typically the low 4.20s is where those whippets tend to be. Jordie is a bit heavier than Beaudy, which makes a bit of a difference. Weight is a huge disadvantage in anything involving running.’’
There are no official records from overseas rugby teams, with US Sevens fliers and former sprinters Carlin Isles and Perry Baker said to have broken 4min 10sec for the Bronco which tests baseline fitness but also speed off the mark with its many quick turns.
Over the shorter distance, the standard 40m sprint, Gill said former Chiefs flier Lelia Masaga was the fastest he’d seen, with Rieko Ioane and the Gear brothers Rico and Hosea up there too.
Anything in ‘‘the high fours’’
(4sec) is a slick time for 40m, and Gill says the quickest All Blacks can reach speeds of 35-38kmh measured by GPS trackers.
‘‘There’s not a lot that separates outside backs over 40m. But as they get heavier they tend not to be as fast. Jonah Lomu was the biggest freak of nature because he was big but still ran quick. George Bridge and the likes are pretty quick, but they’re carrying a few kilos less than Rieko. Beaudy, Damian, Rieko, George, you’d probably throw a blanket over those guys.’’
Gill said Barrett’s Bronco record time showed the benefits of the top players taking extended periods off to freshen up. Barrett hasn’t played a match since the Rugby World Cup.
‘‘It’s a great example of the fact Beauden is refreshed and had a good break but he’s also been working really hard. That’s the best thing, it sounds like he’s in the shape of his life. There was a bit of anxiety in the rugby community about this Covid lockdown and players being in isolation, and what this has shown is the guys are running fit and have stayed in good condition generally. There’s a few outliers but players are hitting good numbers.’’