League: Pedal still hard to metal

Clinton Toopi.

Kiwis test time always brings old players out of the woodwork but Clinton Toopi and Quentin Pongia took that to a new level last week.

Often former greats are involved by giving a speech, offering time as a mentor or presenting jerseys to new caps but the two former Warriors rolled back the years by taking a full part in last Wednesday's training session, the most intense of the week.

No one held back. Pongia was almost knocked off his feet by a charging Jason Taumalolo - who wasn't born when Pongia made his international debut - and Toopi managed a solid hit on Kieran Foran that equalled anything seen last night.

"I got called in to do them a favour and I didn't want to let them down," Toopi said. "I wanted to support the boys as best I could. I didn't want to come here and treat it like a joke."

Said Pongia: "I was like a kid again and it's always good to help out. When Mooks (Kearney) asked me to come down, I jumped at it. I'm a pretty serious kind of guy and hope it rubs off on the players around me."

Both were impressed by the camaraderie and spirit with Toopi rating it among the best he has seen.

"The Kiwis have always had a great environment but it has been taken to another level now," says Toopi. "The signs for the future are good - the youth is there, the maturity is there, the energy is there, and they seem to have the 'one percenters' there."

Toopi didn't have the longest Kiwis career - he wasn't selected beyond the age of 27 - but made a big impact and still holds two important records, one of which may never be broken. He has scored more test tries against the Kangaroos than any other New Zealander and is the only player - on either side of the Tasman - to grab two hat-tricks in transtasman tests.

The first came at Albany in 2003 (a 30-16 win) and the second two years later during a shock 38-28 victory at Sydney Football Stadium over an Australian team containing Andrew Johns and Darren Lockyer.

"We did the one percenters well," remembers Toopi, who now works as an ambassador on the Titans for Tomorrow programme. "We pushed in for each other, chased kicks, turned Australia around, which they weren't used to. As well as changing our mindset, we changed theirs. We had a theme for that night - 'bully the bully' - because they were known to be bullies."

Pongia, who won an NRL premiership with the Raiders in 1994, was one of most punishing forwards of his era and, despite being well on the wrong side of 40, still enjoys the physical side of the sport.

"You miss that contact, hitting blokes [and] being hit," he said.

"I'm 45 but feel it's an excuse to say you are too old. Who says you are too old to do anything? As long as you are fit and stay healthy you can do anything in life."

Pongia runs a personal training company in Brisbane and is also a defensive coach for local QRL side Easts. He still plays, and has assembled a team for the upcoming Pan Pacific Masters (over 35 years) tournament on the Gold Coast.

"It's a great outlet. It's also therapeutic and calming and I will keep doing it as long as I can," said Pongia, who has roped in former Bulldog James Pickering.

"We have been training for 10 weeks so you can tell we are pretty serious."