How Benji stunned an All Black
Benji Marshall’s brief flirtation with rugby didn’t go to plan, but the rugby league great did enough to leave a serious impression on one All Black.
Marshall recently announced his retirement from rugby league, bringing the curtain down on one of the truly great careers by a Kiwi in the NRL and the international game.
That he was able to return to the fierce Australian competition with such force on the back of his one season of Super Rugby in New Zealand with the Blues, spoke plenty about the skills, fitness and passion of the now 36-year-old.
Blues stalwart and former All Blacks hooker James Parsons was blown away by Marshall’s dedication to fitness. Parsons still remembers a session at the Ludus Magnus gym in Auckland which he described as ‘‘a bodyweight circuit gym, ruthless sort of crawling, and all sorts of gutbusters’’ where Marshall excelled.
‘‘I remember Benji finished about 15 or 20 minutes before anyone else,’’ Parsons told the Aotearoa Rugby Pod as they discussed Marshall’s time in the 15-man game.
‘‘His up-off-the-ground fitness, you know in the NRL they’ve always got to backtrack 10 metres, he was just incredible.
‘‘All the bodyweight stuff and crawling, he just absolutely demo’d it. I said to him afterwards, ‘how’d you get so fit at that?’ and he’s like, ‘mate, that’s all we do in the NRL’. They do that wrestle, they are always going back the 10, so they are so used to that physical, up off the ground, burpee-style fitness. Which surprised me.’’
Marshall played only six matches for the Blues but showed his potential on their tour of South Africa, according to Parson.
‘‘Although he left early, if you look at some of his highlights for the Blues, he was pretty exceptional,’’ Parsons said.
‘‘Especially on that South African tour, he set up some beautiful tries, scored one himself against the Lions.
‘‘He had his moments even when he came off the bench against the Highlanders.
‘‘He certainly had a skill set – I guess it just wasn’t the right fit for him.
‘‘He had an opportunity to go back to the NRL, and he played a grand final this year, so it shows he still had plenty to offer.’’