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If Rob Verbakel looks fresh on the rugby paddock, there is a good reason why.
He is making up for lost time.
Not just over the past couple of years, but his whole career.
Verbakel (25) did not start playing rugby properly until he left school, and only because he was following his flatmates.
Basketball was his first love when he was growing up in Oamaru and attending Waitaki Boys' High School.
"We just had a good basketball team at school. We had a really good coach and had some good players and that made it really enjoyable," he said.
"We had a good system and used to come down to Dunedin and play every weekend. I played a couple of years of rugby when I was 9, 10 but then I got into basketball and it took over."
Verbakel, who stands 1.95m and weighs 110kg, played power forward, and his height and aggression helped Waitaki make it to the national school championships in which, in his last year at school, it finished fifth.
He then moved to Christchurch to pursue an engineering degree and in his second year in the garden city felt like a change.
With his flatmates playing rugby for the University club, he went along to have a crack, and played his first season on the wing.
Coached by former Canterbury players Simon Forrest and Steve Surridge, Verbakel really enjoyed his rugby and, in his second year in the colts grade, was moved into the locking position so his height and ball skills could be put to good use.
He never looked back and was quickly making his name in the Christchurch club competition.
In 2010, he made the Canterbury squad, where he learned plenty about what to do in the second row.
He played alongside former All Black Isaac Ross and future All Black Luke Romano, while Brad Thorn and Sam Whitelock were back with the squad when they were not on All Black duty.
"It was awesome, really. I just learned so much in that year. Just what those guys know and how they prepared for the game."
But having all those players in red and black also meant it was hard to get a regular place in the provincial side.
So after finishing his civil engineering degree at the University of Canterbury and a period working, he headed south and signed with Otago last year.
After nine games for Otago last season, and with experienced locks Tom Donnelly and Daniel Ramsay overseas, Verbakel now finds himself as the main man in the second row.
He has plenty of fuel left in the tank - of his 18 first-class appearances over the past two seasons he has started in only four.
So no wonder he is eager for this season to get started.
"We have not sat down yet and set any goals as such for the team itself. But there is a lot of energy around here. Obviously, everyone wants to play as well as they can and win as many games as they can."
After playing for Otago last year, he played a season in Scotland for Glasgow Warriors in the top Celtic league.
Although he was born in New Zealand, his parents are Dutch - and still live in Oamaru - and that made it easier for him to play in the northern hemisphere.
Verbakel said the rugby in Scotland was physical, and as he had played fewer than a dozen games for his side his body was still feeling fresh for the coming season.