Robbie Fruean is making a comeback next year. Photo / Getty Images
Robbie Fruean is making a comeback next year. Photo / Getty Images
Cut by the Chiefs after just one season, Robbie Fruean's improved fitness will see him make a dramatic return to the Crusaders next year.
Centre Fruean will next week be announced as a full squad member of the Crusaders after his impressive showing with Hawkes Bay, who will contest theITM Cup championship final against Manawatu tonight.
Fruean, 26, has played 11 matches for the Magpies this season, at an average of 79 minutes each - a far cry from the four matches he played for the Chiefs this year following more difficulties with his heart.
The powerful runner had to undergo his second heart operation last year to replace a faulty valve, and moved to the Chiefs after the Crusaders were prepared to offer him only a wider training group place.
He started well for the Chiefs, scoring against his former team in Christchurch in the first match, but later suffered from an accelerated heartbeat which restricted his appearances. Fruean's signing at the Chiefs was made with much fanfare but Sonny Bill Williams' return has helped to squeeze him out and the Crusaders, impressed with the improvements Fruean has made, have swooped once again after first signing him from the Hurricanes for the 2010 season.
Fruean is said to have run 10km during the Magpies' 26-21 semifinal victory over Northland at McLean Park last weekend, a testament to his improved fitness and workrate.
Fruean, who has offloaded 19 times in this season's ITM Cup - the fourth best in the competition - will be a powerful addition to the Crusaders' midfield. New Zealand's Super Rugby squads will be announced next Wednesday.
