Rugby: Extra work helps Fruean gear up for tough competition

Robbie Fruean says he's fitter than ever thanks to new trainer Carl Jennings. Photo / Getty Images

Crusaders centre Robbie Fruean has always been seen as a special project.

He was plucked from the Hurricanes for the 2010 season by Crusaders backs coach Daryl Gibson, who liked the look of the former world under-19 player of the year.

The fact that Fruean had played only one game for the Hurricanes and had undergone open-heart surgery didn't put him off and the now 23-year-old was outstanding at times for the Crusaders last season before his form tapered off.

Fruean has had a pig's heart valve inserted into his heart, which was damaged by a condition known as pancarditis and has had to train differently from his teammates.

The Crusaders put him on a different pre-season programme for last year, but this time Fruean said he was fitter than ever thanks to new trainer Carl Jennings, an Englishman who has come to the Crusaders from NRL club Penrith and the Bradford Bulls in England.

"There are a few little things that I have done differently but 95 per cent of the training I have done is the same as the other guys," Fruean said.

He said he had also been doing extra work outside of team training which had helped improve his endurance and cut down his weight.

The Crusaders are hoping Fruean can replicate his early-season form of last year and provide the midfield penetration they need for speedsters such as Zac Guildford, Sean Maitland and Israel Dagg to finish off.

Fruean put his form drop down to better marking. "The competition got harder. A lot more people did a lot of study on me and on the team as a whole."

His midfield partner will be Ryan Crotty, another 23-year-old with plenty of talent but who didn't have many opportunities last season thanks to Sonny Bill Williams.

Crotty will be thankful SBW has moved to the Chiefs because he had been identified by the All Black selectors as having potential for higher honours, but instead his progress stalled.

Crotty has also shown the benefits of having trainer Jennings calling the shots. He looks bigger and scored a first-half hat-trick in the Crusaders' first pre-season match against the Highlanders in Greymouth.

Fruean had been talked up as an All Black last year, but failed to make the next step, much to his disappointment. He still has All Black ambitions.

"My goals are just to play well every week for the Crusaders - I have to do everything well. I would like to also stamp my mark in terms of getting in the All Blacks, but first I have to try my best for the Crusaders."

Crusaders coach Todd Blackadder will want to see a bit more of what Fruean produced in his team's round-four match against the Brumbies in Nelson last year.

With the Crusaders holding a comfortable lead and time running out, Wallabies wing Adam Ashley-Cooper won the ball in broken play and took off for the corner, only to be chased down by the flying Fruean.

The Crusaders won the match 52-10, but that was the moment that most impressed the coach.