Battle of the rugby greats at adventure race

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KNYSNA NEWS & VIDEO - A battle of two former international rugby greats is set to go down as of today, but the battle won’t be taking place on any normal type of rugby field.

Today, Thursday 1 March, marks the start of what is known as one of the world’s biggest expedition races, GODZone, which is held in New Zealand’s Fiordland.

By the time this article is posted the race would have already kicked off. It continues until 10 March.

South Africans and New Zealanders will be watching it for another reason though as former Springbok great Stefan Terblanche and former Kiwi legend Richie McCaw find themselves competing against each other once again.

Terblanche, racing with Team Merrell which is captained by Knysna local Graham “Tweet” Bird, is taking part in his first race. It will be Bird’s 22nd expedition.

According to Terblanche he will not be the one to call “Kan nie meer nie Korporaal!” He said he will be taking his mind and body to places way beyond where it has yet had to go, but with the experienced team rallying him on, there’s no doubt in their mind that they have the capability to finish well.

“Going straight for GODZone as your first attempt at adventure racing is like sending Tweet to tackle the All Blacks during the World Cup” he said, referring to team captain Bird.

McCaw will be racing with Kiwi team PwC.

The old rivals met up again after the extensive race briefing on Wednesday morning 28 February and behind the genuine smiles and camaraderie was evidence of the hardened game face on both of them.

The race is held over a 450km course, and is divided up into seven legs. Teams take part in mountain biking, trail running, paddling and packrafting.

According to Bird’s partner and team spokesperson Sarah Hearn, teams have had to pack very carefully, planning to be out for up to 60 hours on a brutal 150km trek, carrying and using a packraft for up to half of it until they reach a Transition zone. “In total the winners are expected to finish no earlier than five days after starting, with the back teams taking up to ten days.

Captain Bird said during an interview before the team left for New Zealand that Team Merrell was aiming at completing the race within six to seven days. The team is made up of Bird, Terblanche, Jane Swarbreck and Grant Ross – team number 39.

Follow the team and support them via live tracking of this epic non-stop race at www.godzoneadventure.com, and also view images of the athletes and incredible terrain they will pass through. You can also follow GODZone Adventure as well as the team page Merrell Adventure Addicts on Facebook for more information.

Watch a video below.