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In the tough world of professional sport there is little time off for the eating, drinking and relaxing of the festive season.
The Warriors and the Auckland Blues underwent rigorous pre-Christmas fitness training and both squads are now back into fulltime pre-season training.
The Warriors' season ended on
September 16 in Townsville when they were roundly thumped in the playoffs by the Cowboys. On November 12 they were back at work, with conditioning programmes that included a gruelling Bethells Beach sandhill run, weight training and ball skills work.
After 12 days off over Christmas-New Year the players were back in for weighing, skinfold tests, beep tests and other fitness measures.
Since then they've been on specific conditioning routines to prepare them for their first outing of 2008 against the champion Storm in Melbourne on Monday March 17. A frequent guest has been former All Black great Jonah Lomu.
The Blues also endured the Bethells run and included a Mt Eden summit run and surf lifesaving training with former world champion ironman Cory Hutchings at Mairangi Bay before rounding off their pre-Christmas work on the Fire Service obstacle course.
They were off until January 7 and resumed with vigour this week as they face a start against the Chiefs at Eden Park on February 16 before a two-game trip to South Africa. Their trainers are concerned about the loss of condition during the travel time to and from the Republic.
The 2007 Blues squad has lost Ali Williams to Canterbury, and Doug Howlett, Sam Tuitupo and Luke McAllister to the Northern Hemisphere. Newcomers are backs utility Nick Evans from Otago and halfback Danny Lee and lock Bryn Evans from Hawkes Bay, plus Northland tighthead prop Bronson Murray.
Injured players, Jerome Ropati (shoulder), Hame Lauaki and Brent Tate (knees) are all in training and rehabilitation is proceeding as planned. All are considered possible to start the first match.
The Warriors have lost few players from 2007 - lock Louis Anderson, hooker George Gatis, centre Tony Martin and wing Todd Byrne to the UK. Super League import Ian Henderson who will replace Gatis in the dummy-half interchange, is described as an energetic livewire who has fitted in well. Former Storm wing/centre Ryan Shortland is quieter but also has a solid work ethic.
Kiwis players Lance Hohaia, Simon Mannering and Sam Rapira missed the pre-Christmas fitness preparation and re-joined the squad last week.