Tanerau Latimer knows the little things can make a big difference.
The Bay of Plenty captain and Chiefs Super 14 loose forward went within a sniff of making last year's Northern Hemisphere tour with the All Blacks.
Stopping the 22-year-old making the grade were some inconsistent performances during the last two rounds of the Air New Zealand championship as Taranaki's Scott Waldrom surpassed him.
The All Blacks selectors also identified some shortcomings in his game and the message to the New Zealand Maori representative was to work on his technical game during the off season.
Having got that close to his dream of being an All Black, Latimer threw himself into work with the Chiefs during the off-season.
"The big thing for me (is) over the ball, it's something the AB selectors identified as well - I've been working hard on it," Latimer said after an inter-squad hitout at Waikato Stadium yesterday.
"I'm working on getting more aggressive and timing, timing in entry into the ruck.
"They were things they identified during the last few games of last year which slipped and cost me that tour," he said.
Now in his third season with the Hamilton-based franchise, Latimer is in a senior role within the squad of 28 and looking for a big contribution this season.
"I want to see all that [little] stuff come out in my game - I've taken a lot more responsibility within the team, I want a crack at it, I've done it for the Bay and it's really time to step up."
Although yesterday's game was an internal scenario, Latimer looked sharp. He snaffled a few turnovers and generally looked in good shape, as did the majority of the squad which included the Bay's Mike Delany, Colin Bourke, James McGougan, Joe Savage and wider training group members Luke Braid and Culum Retallick.
Returning from injury was former All Black lock Kevin O'Neill, while first-choice halfback Brendon Leonard and former Tasman prop Ben May could be in action next week. Leonard, who missed eight months after he had knee cartilage removed, is desperate to return.
He hopes, with up to 30 minutes on the field when the Chiefs have their final hit-out against the Hurricanes, that he will show enough form to get the nod to face the Crusaders in Christchurch in the season opener on February 14.
"The knee is good and the head is good now that I am back training," he said.
"Things are looking up. I am pretty confident [the knee] should hold up now.
"There are a lot of guys playing without any cartilage. "
Leonard returns to a rugby landscape that has changed dramatically. His last match in the black jersey was the All Blacks' disastrous World Cup quarter-final loss in Cardiff.
Meanwhile, Latimer hopes Kevin Schuler will be retained by Bay of Plenty as the head coach of the Steamers for this season.
"We took a big step last year and it's something [Schuler] had been building on or this year. Hopefully he can stay around for another one." Latimer said he would call the coach on behalf of some of the Chiefs' Bay players to see if he could convince him to stay, as opposed to heading to Japan to coach Yamaha.