Rugby Super15: Full-time rugby job for Carl Axtens

Carl Axtens is making every post a winner at the Chiefs. Photo/File

Carl Axtens is loving every minute of being a full-time professional rugby player with Super Rugby champions the Chiefs.

The 22-year-old Noth8 cannot wait for a chance to get some game time in the upcoming pre-season games and he is making the most of every moment at training to impress head coach Dave Rennie.

Axtens has been regarded as a promising player ever since he played for NZ Schools but he is starting to get recognition among the high rankers that he can step up to the top level.

He was one of the standout performers for Bay of Plenty in last year's ITM Cup and continues to develop physically on a daily basis with the Chiefs.

"I did the yo-yo test on Monday and did a personal best of 19 so I was pretty happy with that," Axtens said.

"My strength is getting up there and we are working pretty hard on my power and my speed at the moment. It is a bit of a focus for me and my skin folds are pretty low as well."

Axtens and the other wider training group players, including Steamers teammate Nathan Harris, are fully involved with the full squad every day.

"It is not like a group that just comes in a couple of days a week. We train with the whole team, starting at about 7.15 having breakfast together and then 8 o'clock we are into coaching with the forwards and the backs are in the gym.

"Then we swap over and at 11 o'clock we are into quite an intense team training, which is our biggest training of the day. We have lunch together here at Ruakura and then in the afternoon we go into doing a bit more of a low key learning session that could be in the classroom or on the field. Finally we have recovery and stretching after that."

Axtens says there is a big step up from training with Bay of Plenty to the professionalism of the Chiefs.

"They focus on the small things a lot, all the small, finer details. When we train in the gym it is always intense and all the boys work really hard. It is a big part of their success I guess."

Chiefs pre-season fixtures:

v Reds, February 8, 9pm (NZT), Toowoomba, Queensland.

v Blues, February 14, 6pm, Rotorua International Stadium.