As Benji Marshall saunters out from the Blues' team room at their training headquarters, his easygoing disposition betrays an inner turmoil that does not take long to bubble to the surface. You might be able to take the boy out of the competition he became synonymous with but the competitor clearly still burns within.

Marshall is going through a process he has not faced in more than a decade after forging a 200-game career with the Wests Tigers. Now he has become the latest high-profile player to jump from league to union, he is learning a sport all over again. It is fair to say that is not playing out without a degree of angst.

Reputation for flamboyance: Benji Marshall takes part in fitness testing during a pre-season training session for the Blues. Credit:Getty Images

The 28-year-old former Kiwis captain has been with the Blues since late last year for pre-season conditioning. But it has only been over the past three weeks that he has had a rugby ball in his hands. What Marshall knew, he is now finding it's best to forget.

That is the reality Marshall is confronted with as the Blues seek to fast-track his rugby re-education - he last played the XV-man code as a 17-year-old on the Gold Coast. Fundamental aspects of the way he goes about his sport have had to be put on the backburner.