Powerful Brumbies winger Lausii Taliauli has revealed he is in career-best shape after ditching fried chicken from his diet.
The former rugby league player is hoping for a kind run with injury as he looks to consolidate his spot in the Super Rugby team.
The 25-year-old believes he’s given himself the best chance to succeed at the Brumbies after dropping about 10kg.
“Just cutting the junk food out. Us Islanders love KFC so it was definitely cutting the KFC chicken out, especially for dinner,” Taliauli told reporters.
“I feel like I’ve been at my fittest this year ever since I’ve been at the Brumbies.
“I’ve struggled with injuries and weight issues so I’ve definitely stripped a lot of weight and I’m raring to go.”
Taliauli impressed against NSW Waratahs last week, his first game of the season after a concerning knee injury during a February trial.
Being carried from the field in pre-season gave Taliauli a huge scare, considering he lost an entire year to injury in 2017.
“I was definitely quite nervous because I knew there was something wrong with my knee,” Taliauli said.
“It clicked a little bit and I was lucky it wasn’t anything serious.”
Taliauli is hoping to retain his starting spot for the Brumbies’ clash with the Queensland Reds on Sunday.
The ACT franchise are spoilt for choice on the wings, with Henry Speight, Andy Muirhead and Toni Pulu all earning starting berths this season.
Ryan
Roar Rookie
The chicken makes sense, but he surely couldn't resist the chips?! (with extra chicken salt YUM).
John R
Roar Guru
Wayyy not worth it!
The Slow Eater
Roar Rookie
Agree. He’s a professional sportsman and as such an effective diet should be pretty high on the list.
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
Geez he's looking good, but at the expense of fried chicken? You really have to ask yourself, is it worth it?
Ken Catchpole's Other Leg
Roar Guru
That is one positive way to look at it Bobby. But really, a cultural disposition towards slabs of fried trans fat is a flaky excuse for a professional athlete. There are other ways to ingest chicken protein. And certainly a pro rugby player would be trained to eat well. As an aside, the Irish team have always looked to me to be a tad undernourished- until the last few years. Now they display real meat on thick bones. And look now at their world ranking. Coincidence? Of course we cannot big brother players in their own time but friggin KFC!?! They’re not playing in a sandpit.
Bobby
Roar Rookie
Great story , a stiey if discipline and goal setting. The only one who would be disappointed would be " the Colonel " RIP