The game may last 80 minutes but for a professional coach it goes seven days a week.
Highlanders head coach Jamie Joseph said a lot of work went into a game and the coaching staff was constantly looking ahead.
"When we are going - we work every Sunday - we work seven days a week. Our day off is the captain's run day [day before the game] where we can sit back and say we have done all we can for this particular game,'' he said.
"However, on captain's run day we do the game plan for the next game.''
After a game on Saturday night, the coaching staff have a full day on Sunday to review the performance.
"On Sunday we meet and review the performance and we give feedback to every player. That is sitting down with them, writing emails to every single one of them - very detailed, on attack, defence, lineouts, scrums - we send them out with clips.
"On the captain run's day, all the coaches are expected to have their ideas and opinions for the following Saturday. I will send an email out on Thursday nights on the non-negotiables and talk abut the game plan and pick the team.
"Then we'll go to the game plan. Then on Monday we start again. Monday, Tuesday is training. Wednesday is the players' day off but that is where we have to work forward again, we start working on the following game. So we always work ahead, 10 days ahead.
"You just have to be prepared. If you don't, you get to Monday, Tuesday and you are under pressure.''
Joseph has been doing it that way for four years.
"In my first two years it was a big reason we did not kick on. I had coaches, management who were not from Dunedin. Simon [Culhane] and Leicester [Rutledge], they would jump in the car straight after the game to see their family and how could you say no to that.
"But all that did was put our planning under pressure.''
A day would start at 7am, deciding on training then actually doing the training, and the day would not finish until 5pm.
"I'm a guy who gets up early. I might get up at four in the morning. So I fall over early at night. I work at home and then come to work. The Friday or Thursday before the game we have completed that game, we have done the next game, the game plan. All we are waiting for is tomorrow night's game. That is part of the day where mentally you're free.
"Then the season finishes, everyone thinks we have four or five months off. The coaches have to contract the next lot of players.''