It’s the game that former All Black legends have been working up to for eight weeks - The Grand Final match against The Barbarians at Eden Park.
The former All Blacks, who have featured on Three's Match Fit, will be up against it as this is a team who will set a tough challenge.
The New Zealand Barbarians, nicknamed the "Baa-Baas", are an invitational rugby union team, part of New Zealand rugby since the team was founded in 1937 by former ex-All Blacks, Ronald Bush and Hubert McLean. The club is based at Eden Park.
The average age for this Barbarians team is just over 40, a younger and fitter bunch so the benchmark will be set high.
“These guys are really good,” says Match Fit coach Buck Shelford.
The Barbarian players include rugby legends like Tony Marsh, Filipo Levi and Lesley Vainikolo.
Marsh is a New Zealand-born former rugby union player who has represented France playing at centre.
Levi is the former International Rugby Captain for Manu Samoa and has captained teams on a local and international stage since 2000 until 2013.
Vainikolo is a former professional rugby league and rugby union footballer. A dual code international, he has played for the New Zealand Kiwis in rugby league and England in rugby union.
And while playing rugby against a side like the Barbarians is a tough ask, the Match Fit crew, including Piri Weepu, Frank Bunce, Eric Rush and Pita Alatini are up for the challenge, after weeks of training and bonding over life’s challenges.
Shelford told the AM Show it’s been brilliant to see the boys come together for the Match Fit. “They’re all from a different era and they’ve all been All Blacks and the banter is great.
“With these guys we knew they had the skills to play the game”. But there were other lifestyle factors that needed a lot of work for the Match Fit squad to get back in shape. This included diet, exercise and one of the most important factors was sleep.
Shelford admits sleep is a big part of their training and contributes to their overall wellbeing.
“When I was a professional sportsperson I needed a lot of sleep,” he says. “I’ve always been a good sleeper and can sleep for around eight hours. But when you’re playing rugby you need a decent sleep before kick-off.”
‘If you sleep for a block of hours it encourages your body to rest and relax.”
“But I’m a big boy so I need a big bed,” Shelford jokes.
This article was created for BedsRus, proud partner of Match Fit.
To catch up on episodes of the highly acclaimed Kiwi show Match Fit go to ThreeNow.
