It may be only just over four days since the 2014 All Black season finished but thoughts have now turned to next year as the Highlanders start training.
The squad will come together for its pre-Christmas training tomorrow and carry out a few administrative matters before hitting the training paddock early next week.
Coach Jamie Joseph said the job over the next few days was to get the new players to the squad familiar with the community they were playing for and understanding what playing for the Highlanders meant.
Of the 39 players in the squad, including those in the wider training squad, 24 will be fit and ready to start training.
Members of the New Zealand Maori side will have the first two weeks of training off and will join the squad in the final week before Christmas.
The side will head to central Otago for a couple of days before Christmas before breaking on December 19.
It will come together again on January 5The side's All Blacks will have a longer break and will not join the squad until the end of January.
Joseph said there were already a few players carrying injuries into the season.
Hooker Ash Dixon had broken his arm playing against Japan and would be out until after Christmas.
Lock Joe Wheeler has a sore knee, while lock Mark Reddish had ankle surgery after the ITM Cup finished.
First-choice flanker and Tasman captain Shane Christie did not make the Maori tour because of a foot injury and that was likely to have him out for any pre-Christmas training.
He has damaged his plantar fascia on the bottom of his foot and will have to rest it for the next few weeks.
Outside back Richard Buckman injured his knee in the playoff stages of the ITM Cup and is unlikely to train before Christmas.
The Highlanders achieved their best result for more than a decade last season, finishing sixth and grabbing a playoff spot.
Expectations are therefore high for next year and Joseph confirmed the side would again have co-captains, with Ben Smith and Nasi Manu sharing the role.
He was not worried about overloading Smith, who, in World Cup year, was looking at having a big year.
''Ben is a big part of our team and really kicked on with his captaincy last season. He shared the role and he learnt a lot from last year and knows how to lead the team.''
He said the playing time for key All Blacks Ben and Aaron Smith had not been finalised but there would certainly be some down time during the season.
''They need to a bit of time away from football and when they come back, they need to work through a conditioning programme to get ready for the season.''
Joseph said with the side not having many All Blacks, it had players who had played all the Super Rugby games and then played a full part in the ITM Cup.
That meant training loads would have to be measured.
Going into his fifth season, Joseph said he was excited about the coming season and getting new players into the Highlanders environment.
Joseph and assistant coach Tony Brown have just returned from Japan, where they spent a week with Japan coach Eddie Jones and a week with former Crusaders and Wallabies coach Robbie Deans.
Joseph said the trip was for personal development and was a worthwhile exercise.
''You learn a lot from these guys. Just the way they go about their work, how they organise their management teams. What they make a priority and what is not a priority.''