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Christchurch - The age of the power midfielder could be set to reach a new level in the All Blacks, with Robbie Fruean widely tipped to join Canterbury team-mate Sonny Bill Williams on the end-of-season tour.
According to Rugby Heaven correspondent Marc Hinton, together they weigh in at an imposing 217kg, a statistic that must have some of the lightweight combinations in the north trembling in their boots.
Fruean, 22, is an imposing 109kg, slightly heavier than Williams, whose chiselled physique has already won him more than a few admirers on the New Zealand rugby scene. Alone they're intimidating; together they're downright scary.
The pair even dwarf the first-choice All Black midfield of Ma'a Nonu and Conrad Smith, who tip the scales at a collective 197kg. The skilful Smith is the featherweight of the quartet at 95kg wringing wet. The All Blacks have long had a liking for power in their midfield, with influential figures such as Joe Stanley, Frank Bunce, Tana Umaga and now Nonu demonstrating that muscle as much as hustle can be decisive in the centre pairing.
Usually, however, tandems have included one less physical presence who has contributed more in the area of skill and kicking. But with the early success of the Williams-Fruean pairing at Canterbury, the drumbeats are growing louder for the combination to be retained as the back-up pairing in the All Blacks. Williams is a cert to tour, but Fruean has emerged as a possible back-up centre for Smith after his own outstanding ITM Cup campaign, yet another shoulder injury to Richard Kahui and the absence of Isaia Toeava, who has yet to return from a hip injury.
Plus, it makes sense to pair Williams - hardly a seasoned campaigner in rugby - with someone he knows. Then the All Blacks coaches could start the international education of two midfield powerhouses, who might just be the pairing of the future.
Fruean said the prospect of teaming up with Williams was intriguing and would take the concept of the super-sized midfield to a new level.
Fruean's own dramatic progress helps him enter that discussion. He had scored a competition-leading eight tries before last night's clash against Otago, for which he had been assigned a bench role to lighten his load. But he has also improved his distribution game, running well off the creative Williams.
''Teams obviously see him as a threat, they get drawn towards him and that gives me more opportunity to run off him and take those gaps that show up,'' Fruean said. ''He's a great guy to feed off. He's always working hard; always trying to get his work-rate up. He's a great player.''
According to Rugby Heaven correspondent Marc Hinton, together they weigh in at an imposing 217kg, a statistic that must have some of the lightweight combinations in the north trembling in their boots.
Fruean, 22, is an imposing 109kg, slightly heavier than Williams, whose chiselled physique has already won him more than a few admirers on the New Zealand rugby scene. Alone they're intimidating; together they're downright scary.
The pair even dwarf the first-choice All Black midfield of Ma'a Nonu and Conrad Smith, who tip the scales at a collective 197kg. The skilful Smith is the featherweight of the quartet at 95kg wringing wet. The All Blacks have long had a liking for power in their midfield, with influential figures such as Joe Stanley, Frank Bunce, Tana Umaga and now Nonu demonstrating that muscle as much as hustle can be decisive in the centre pairing.
Usually, however, tandems have included one less physical presence who has contributed more in the area of skill and kicking. But with the early success of the Williams-Fruean pairing at Canterbury, the drumbeats are growing louder for the combination to be retained as the back-up pairing in the All Blacks. Williams is a cert to tour, but Fruean has emerged as a possible back-up centre for Smith after his own outstanding ITM Cup campaign, yet another shoulder injury to Richard Kahui and the absence of Isaia Toeava, who has yet to return from a hip injury.
Plus, it makes sense to pair Williams - hardly a seasoned campaigner in rugby - with someone he knows. Then the All Blacks coaches could start the international education of two midfield powerhouses, who might just be the pairing of the future.
Fruean said the prospect of teaming up with Williams was intriguing and would take the concept of the super-sized midfield to a new level.
Fruean's own dramatic progress helps him enter that discussion. He had scored a competition-leading eight tries before last night's clash against Otago, for which he had been assigned a bench role to lighten his load. But he has also improved his distribution game, running well off the creative Williams.
''Teams obviously see him as a threat, they get drawn towards him and that gives me more opportunity to run off him and take those gaps that show up,'' Fruean said. ''He's a great guy to feed off. He's always working hard; always trying to get his work-rate up. He's a great player.''
