Get your photographer to bring your wide and tall angle lenses were Hawke's Bay Magpies rugby coach Craig Philpott's instructions before we turned up at last night's training session in Napier.
It was easy to see why. Among the three newcomers in Philpott's wider training group was a 2.07m South African lock Johan Schoonbee. Like former Canterbury age group representatives, No8 Kieran Coll and fullback/first-five Nick McLennan, Schoonbee, 21, is eyeing a berth in the Magpies ITM Cup squad and will play his club rugby for Taradale.
Schoonbee is a former South African under-20 representative who missed the 2010 Under-20 World Cup in Argentina through injury. A product of the Sharks Academy, Schoonbee, arrived in the Bay last week after completing a three-week course at the International Rugby Academy of New Zealand in Palmerston North.
He regards Springbok lock Victor Matfield as his hero. Schoonbee is reported to have a similar work ethic to another South African lock, Johan Snyman, who played for the Magpies in 2008, and if this is the case he will prove a valuable asset in the absence of former All Black lock Bryn Evans, who is playing in the United Kingdom, and 2011 Under-20 World Cup lock Brodie Retallick who will play for Bay of Plenty this year.
Coll, 23, and McLennan, 23, were captain and vice-captain respectively of the 2009 Canterbury Colts team which Philpott coached. In 2010 they
played together in a Pro League in Siberia.
"It was an isolated place with not too much to do so we had plenty of time to train," Coll explained.
They had no idea they would end up in Hawke's Bay together until they met up at training. Both have played alongside the likes of Magpies hooker Ash Dixon and flanker Hugh Reed, both under-20 world champions, in the past.
A product of Waitaki Boys' High School, McLennan, played for the New Zealand Universities team from 2007-09 and in 2011. He is studying business and marketing at EIT.
Coll, who can also play blindside flanker, has represented Canterbury through the age groups. He is studying sport and recreation at EIT.
Like McLennan he is impressed with the Hawke's Bay scene.
"Everyone has been very welcoming ... not just the other players in the training squad but the whole community. We couldn't have asked for more," Coll said.
Just as other Canterbury age group products have done in the past, Coll and McLennan, have impressed the Hawke's Bay coaching staff.
"If you are not prepared to put in the hard work down there you get left behind as it is cut throat. When we take that approach around the world everyone benefits," Coll added.
The trio are looking forward to the Saracens games during a five-day camp in Waiwera next month and are eagerly awaiting the start of the club season on March 31