We don’t think we’ve ever heard of a tougher rugby pre-season than this

The Crusaders have not won the Super Rugby title since 2008. For their rugby-mad fans, that is an eternity.

This season, Todd Blackadder and his coaching staff are cutting no corners. As part of their intense pre-season training regime, Blackadder set his squad a gruelling 243km Coast to Coast endurance challenge. The 2016 Crusaders were divided into teams of six and tasked with travelling that sizeable distance by rowing, cycling and running in various locations across Christchurch. All told, the challenge took over five hours to complete and pushed many of the players to the brink. Blackadder told TV3NZ, "We thought we'd give them a real tough challenge to finish with - where they've got to push themselves but they've also got to work together to get through it." Crusaders lock Jimmy Tupou, "It was bloody tough. This has given me a new-found respect for the people that do [multi-sport endurance events], not only physically but mentally as well." Crusaders kick off their Super Rugby season on February 27, 2016. They should have just about recovered by then.