"I named my young fulla after Lats, that's the sort of respect for him I have," says Messam, father of 3-year-old Jai Tanerau.
Messam says not much has changed about Latimer since they first met as teens in the Bay of Plenty secondary schools team. "He had the same size chest, the same size calves as he does now - he hasn't really grown any since then."
Other than his big, athletic build, Messam's first impressions of the youngster was of his work ethic. Even at 16, Latimer was what Messam terms a "real hard grafter". He never cut corners on the training pitch and took that same disciplined approach to the openside flanker role.
"He was a real fit young fulla, he was always winning all the fitness tests and showing us all up," says Messam with a laugh.
Since then they have forged a close bond. The pair spend a lot of time together away from rugby and go on regular hunting and fishing trips.
"He's a real close mate; we've been playing together since we were 16 back in the day and I feel really honoured that I've been able to play most of my rugby with him."
The careers of the two loose forwards have intersected at every level. They were selected in the All Blacks within 12 months of each other - Messam first in 2008, making his debut against Scotland on the end of year tour, before Latimer was called up for national honours the following year, earning his first cap against France in Dunedin. But while Messam has been a regularly irregular selection in the All Blacks, establishing a tenuous hold on the No6 jersey, Latimer has not been seen again in the black jersey since the 2009 season.
Messam would love to see his mate playing alongside him again in the All Blacks, but accepts selection matters are not something he can control. He believes Latimer is probably a casualty of New Zealand's depth in the openside position.
While 21-year-old rookie Sam Cane headed him off for an All Black spot earlier in the year, Latimer is considered the first-choice No7 in the Chiefs side, despite carrying a few injuries. He has taken a limited part in training over the past few weeks as he nurses various niggles, including heavy bruising to his calf, which was expected to restrict his time on the field in last weekend's semifinal against the Crusaders. But he battled through to the final whistle, producing a courageous defensive performance in the Chiefs' one-point win. Messam says that performance is typical of his mate's dedication. "At the end of the day it's just about doing whatever it takes for your mate next to you. Hopefully that's what we've created here at the Chiefs with the culture," says Messam.
"He's just a grinder, a real workhorse. He really just does his business, does what's needed for the team, whatever is best for the team and leads by example.
"He just needs to do it one more time for 80 minutes and then we can finish the season happy."
Latimer on Messam
A year younger than Messam, Latimer has followed in his footsteps his entire career and says he couldn't have asked for a better leader.
"He's kind of shown me the way to go about things and that's not through talking, that's through actions," Latimer says.
"I feel pretty privileged to have played alongside me old mate for so long."
But privilege wasn't the overwhelming feeling when at 17 he was first selected alongside Messam in the New Zealand Sevens team in 2004.
"I was quite jealous, actually. It was my first time in the Sevens and me old mate was a year older than me and he got a free car," he says with a laugh.
Since the green-eyed monster has abated, Latimer has nothing but admiration for the way Messam approaches the game. He says Messam's tough, uncompromising style and ability to tackle all day make him highly respected in any team environment.
"He's willing to get in there and mix it up with whoever he comes up against and as a team that's what we admire him for and we try to follow his lead.
"The thing as a leader is you can talk the talk, but you've also got to be able to walk the walk and that's what he does."
Latimer says given the pair's close bond, there is a real sense of laying it all on the line for one another on the field - as demonstrated in the nerve-shredding one-point win over the Crusaders. He believes that contest has hardened the team ahead of what is expected to be a tough battle against the Brumbies.
"It's done us wonders mentally. To be honest, we haven't played like that since before the June break and we knew we had it in us, but we just didn't show it and we saw it on Saturday night. You can win championships through your defence and we proved that last year. I think our defence was a big part of our win on Saturday, so we'll be looking to replicate that tomorrow," he says.
When the Chiefs won the Super 15 title in 2012, the first person Latimer embraced was Messam, and he would dearly love to win another championship alongside his longtime friend again tomorrow.
Either way, the pair will probably mark the end of the season with a fishing trip - although Messam is still a bit miffed he was left behind on the last outing.
"The boys actually went out last week and left me behind. They did a big trip to the Ranfurly Banks [off the East Cape] and caught a few Hapuka, which I wasn't too happy about," says Messam.
Latimer claims he was just looking out for his mate, as he does in every instance. "He couldn't come because he was too scared of the weather. The last time we went out to that place [he] got a bit sick so I didn't think he'd want a repeat of it.
"The truth is it was dead calm and we got some good fish so it was kind of his loss. Our physio subbed in for him and had a hell of a day."
