Ex All Blacks centre’s strength is surely unmatched by any current player
If All Blacks were selected based on their strength at the bench press, a call-up would surely be in line for Kobelco Kobe Steelers centre Ngani Laumape.
The former All Black, last capped in November 2020, was filmed recently benching around 160kg (depending on the weight of the black plates on the side). That is 20kg more than Sonny Bill Williams could ever do. You would be hard pushed to find any current All Black back that is benching more than Laumape. There won’t be many forwards either.
Of course, players are not picked on their benching ability, or at least not in New Zealand, they are picked on their form. Then again, though now ineligible to be selected for the All Blacks, Laumape’s form has not been too bad either in Japan before he picked up a long term knee injury.
Take a look at Laumape at the bench press:
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