A couple of years ago, the friends were playing for King’s College first XV.
It is an elite rugby school and it usually puts players on a fast track to a professional career.
There was a glamour to it which you cannot get playing rugby league in Dunedin.
There are no TV cameras. The sidelines are not as packed. The pedestal is missing most of its steps.
But there is a lot to be said for playing with your friends and just having a good laugh.
And both young men are certainly doing that. They arrived for the interview laughing and left laughing.
A broad Otunuku smile is a wonderful sight.
The 19-year-old played for King’s College first XV for three years and captained the side in his last year at school.
The tighthead prop had a pretty clear path ahead.
But most journeys include a detour. His came last year. He got off the rugby conveyor belt to take a breather.
"I went through some stuff last year. My mind wasn’t in the right place," he said.
"I would say I wasn’t mentally prepared for what was after high school. I kind of just went down the wrong path.
"I gained a bit of weight and just decided to take a year off. It was the best thing for me to do.
"Then I came down here, lost all that weight and I’m back playing footy and enjoying myself."
Otunuku is studying for a bachelor of science, majoring in sports and exercise. He also "mucked around" playing for the University premier colts and also played for the Highlanders under-20 side.
He was at a loose end following the rugby season, but Ualesi talked him into joining him at the South Pacific Raiders.
They won the club rugby league title and then both made the Otago Whalers.
Ualesi has been named in the Whalers starting line-up for the game against the Southland Rams at the North Ground this afternoon.
It is a top of the table South Island Championship match. Otunuku would have been in the side, but he has a shoulder niggle and is being rested for the final the following week.
The Whalers and the Rams have already qualified for the final, which makes today’s game a dead rubber.
That fact probably won’t stop the players running into each other as hard as they can.
Ualesi (19) will be giving it plenty. The second-rower is very much a leaguie.
He grew up playing the 13-man code until Otunuku helped convince him to give union a go in his final year at school.
"I gave rugby a good go and I liked it, but I found league is like my natural sport, so I decided to come back to it last year," he said.
He has kept his hand in at union though. Ualesi, who moved down to Dunedin last year to study, played for Harbour in the Dunedin premier grade this season.
But he is more at home in a rugby league side, and with a few friends in the team.
"I thought I’d bring along this guy", he said, gesturing towards Otunuku.
What will they talk each other into next?
S. Island Championship
North Ground, 12.30pm
Otago Whalers: Tama Apineru, Tofatu Solia, Sione Fa’aoso, Sam Wyber, Kiardyn Hatch, Mackenzie Haugh, Jordan McEntee, Ricki Allan (captain), Jayden Hollander, Mika Mafi, Lawrence Ualesi, Champ Betham, Hagan Free, Troy Anstiss, Michael Mata’afa, Cameron Brown, Ben Fosita, Layne Opetaia, Tyron Pelasio.
