Robbie Abel has never been known for his speed, so the stocky 108-kilogram hooker knew something was wrong when he beat Christian Lealiifano in a fitness drill last year.
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"Then the next day we got the message that he had leukaemia. I went to see him in hospital, and we had a laugh that it was the only possible way I could beat him in fitness," Abel grinned.
"It was pretty crazy. But the way he handled it, you can't help but have this senseThe of enjoyment for everything. That's what I took out of it."
Abel was smiling for a different reason last week as he gasped for air and watched Lealiifano streak ahead of him in the same drill almost 12 months to the day after their first race.
It was a reminder of how much had changed for the ACT Brumbies teammates after Lealiifano's diagnosis rocked the rugby world in August last year.
Abel, who signed a the longest contract of his career on Tuesday, still remembers the moment things didn't seem right when Lealiifano left a fitness session before it ended.
The Brumbies skipper had been feeling ill, and being unable to keep up with Abel was the trigger for him to visit the club's doctor to get blood tests.
No one expected what came next. Lealiifano was diagnosed with leukaemia and went straight to hospital. He had chemotherapy and a bone-marrow transplant before going into remission and making his Super Rugby comeback last month.
"I'd never beaten him at anything to do with fitness ... He was struggling. I was struggling, too, but I was beating him," Abel said.
"That was weird and he just went straight to the doctor. That's when he found out [he had leukaemia].
"So when we ran again last week, I thought I'd be able to keep up. I reckon I held up pretty well and gave him a good run, but it's pretty crazy to think that was a year ago."
Lealiifano's journey is one of Abel's major inspirations as he prepares to chase more game time in Canberra after signing a two-year contract extension.
But the inspiration isn't just from Lealiifano's comeback story. Abel says he was touched by the way Lealiifano reached out to he and his family when his nephew died less than two years ago.
"He would visit and bring things to my family," Abel said.
"Everyone talks about the culture at the Brumbies and wanting to stay at the club. To be honest, I think Christian is the driver of that.
"It's a special thing, you don't get it anywhere else. Christian would always message me in that period and be there if I needed. He creates that culture through who he is naturally, and that's what people gravitate to."
Abel's life has transformed dramatically in the past two years, going from fringe hooker to a key cog in the Brumbies' rotation.
The 28-year-old put his rugby ambitions on hold in 2011 to complete a two-year Mormon mission before launching his rugby career.
He found has home at the Brumbies, playing 14 of 16 games this year as well as juggling daddy duties after his wife gave birth earlier this year to their first child.
The Brumbies have invested him as a back-up to Josh Mann-Rea and Abel agreed to the first multi-year deal of his Super Rugby career.
"I've probably done a lot of things differently this year and had some different motivations," Abel said.
"A lot has changed. One of those was my nephew passing away, I realised how short life was. It made me realise you've got to chase your dreams.
"Then there was [Lealiifano] and his inspirational journey, getting married and becoming a dad, it's made me want to take everything to another level. Rugby has been a result of that."
The Brumbies are still finalising their roster for the 2018 season, with new coach Dan McKellar searching for two more players to add to the squad.
