Manawatu Turbos enlist the help of firefighters for pre-season training

Manawatu Turbos are preparing for this season's Mitre 10 Cup by trading rucks for underground tunnels and rugby balls for fire hoses. 

The team has enlisted the help of Palmerston North firefighters, who put the region's best players to the sword on Saturday in a range of physical exercises. 

Players worked together and competed against each other at a series of stations, where they had to operate hydraulic tools in a game of Jenga, scale a tower carrying water hoses filled with water and crawl through underground tunnels in the dark. 

It's all part of the plan to ignite the team as championship contenders when its season kicks off against Hawke's Bay at Tauranga Domain, in Palmerston North, on August 11. 

Full story via stuff.co.nz