By Stu Piddington

Nothing much has stopped big South Canterbury prop Billy Logavatu this season until he tackled the two-kilogram 'Gotham Burger' in Geraldine.

The 120kg Fijian policeman was however brought to his knees by the $55 monster when he tried to become the first person to eat in half an hour, which would have made it free.

The burger, dubbed New Zealand's biggest, measures 23 centimetres in diameter and contains 1kg of minced chuck steak, 350 grams bacon, 350g cheese, one onion, a lettuce, two tomatoes, 400gm of ciabatta bread and generous dollops of sauce and mayo.

South Canterbury coach Barry Matthews thought his front rower was the best man for the job.'

Logavatu however looked in disbelief when it was delivered to his table at the Central Licensed Cafe..

"It was like 10 burgers put together."

The gentle giant said he only just become accustomed to burgers since he joined the Celtic Rugby Club earlier in the year.

"My favourite meal is fish and chips, or anything mum cooks."

After 23 minutes Logavatu had to wave the white flag, with just over half it eaten, despite doing stretching exercises and sipping on water.

"Maybe my team-mate John Dyer would have done it, he loves food or a big American."

Logavatu, who played for Fiji in the under 20 Rugby World Cup, said he wasn't really a huge eater.

"My size is maybe in my genes as all my family are big."

His only disappointment at not demolishing it was his work mates at Todd Mudie Plastering would give him a hard time.

"At morning tea the boys thought I'd do it . At least I ate the veges."

Central Licensed Cafe co-owner Carl Nicolson said he came up with the idea as a marketing tool for his cafe and Geraldine as well as bit of fun.

It had taken a bit of time to come to fruition with the logistics, including coming up with a suitable ring size for the bun. 

"We are not trying to make anyone obese, it's just fun.

"I hadn't even thought of counting the calories but I have been told is around 8000."

The closest anyone had got was a customer who just had some bun left but couldn't get it down, he said.

Each entrant must sign a waiver before tucking in, taking full responsibility for their gluttony and once the timer is on they cannot leave the table.

Only one out of the 10 people who had made an attempt since last Wednesday had come close to a clean plate.

The Gotham Burger challenge is on until the end of November and could end up a permanent fixture on