Robbie Fruean's slingshot tackle against North Harbour

Young Canterbury centre Robbie Fruean scored a hat trick of tries against North Harbour on the weekend as his side romped to a 44-22 win in the ITM Cup in Christchurch. Fruean not only scored some nice tries, but he made his physical presence felt.

As everyone knows by now, there is an anxious wait for the grand entrance of league convert Sonny Bill Williams. Williams had a hamstring niggle so he is yet to make his debut in the tournament.

When he comes back, in all likelihood this coming weekend, he will be either joining up with, or replacing, Fruean. It could be Stephen Brett though who may have to make way for what could be the most physically devastating centre pairing prospect the game has seen in some time.

If Fruean continues to show this form though, and lives up to his promise, he may well overshadow the the SBW show this season. Health permitting that is.

Fruean was diagnosed with rheumatic fever two years ago, and a week ago was sidelined after there were concerns that he had an irregular heart beat, or Arrhythmia. At that stage he had a new heart valve attached, enabling him to continue breathing, live a normal life, and incredibly, make a return to rugby.

Sources closer to the team will know more, but at this stage things seem to be steady and when strong, Fruean is a bright young prospect that with or without the Sonny Bill Williams factor, could well be an All Black within a few years.

This tackle was rather comical and if nothing else, showed the power of the guy. It brings back memories of the Gordon Tallis slingshot from a few years back, which you can see in the related posts along with a few others.