Former Highlanders player and national sevens rep Buxton Popoali'i says his quads are wrecked but he "got it done" after completing an hour-long prone hold for charity today.
Popoali'i embarked on the challenge to raise funds for Dunedin’s Supper Club fundraiser for Ronald McDonald House.
Popoali'i had to give the game of rugby away aged 23 in 2014, after suffering with rheumatic fever and undergoing several heart surgeries, and he's now a personal trainer in Dunedin.
There were hugs from family and cheers from a big group of supporters when Popoali'i finished his hour-long feat at a gym.
Popoali'i says he just needed to "walk the talk" on his fundraising challenge for Ronald McDonald House.
But he had to push through pain to get there.
"My quads are wrecked. And yeah, I got it done," he told 1 NEWS.
"I just needed to walk the talk. And to be honest I did four one-hours at home, but it's different on the day. It depends on the day, and my quads gave out today. The last 20 minutes they were gone."
Current and former players, along with members of the public, joined in to support him in the prone hold. All Blacks Ben Smith and Aaron Smith joined in, but only lasted two minutes.
Asked what kept him going, Popoali'i said, "I repeated the 'why'. I kept repeating that in my head and just thought about my families and thought about the kids that are unwell and the families out there that are struggling, and the charity Ronald McDonald House.
And the fundraising site shows his effort has raised just over $10,000.
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