He is the lieutenant-colonel of his battalion.
His job is to knock these boys - and in terms of experience at a Super rugby level, many of them are boys - into shape to play in one of the toughest competitions in the world.
Clarke Dermody is the Highlanders scrum coach, the man who was tasked with improving the scrum, which was the team's Achilles heel last year.
The scrum was in reverse gear at vital times last season, but the set piece is much improved this year.
Dermody said there was no simple reason for the progress made in that department.
''It has just been down to hard work. The boys are doing all they can to make our scrum work,'' he said.
''Our biggest strength is probably working together as one unit and not getting dragged into single battles. The scrum now is going a lot longer. If you get too loose and start engaging in one-on-one battles then you start losing what you are trying to do.''
The word ''unheralded'' comes to mind whenever someone starts talking about the Highlanders' scrum. The engine room is hardly packed with big names.
But Dermody, who played 44 games for the Highlanders and three tests for the All Blacks, said it came down to players making the most of an opportunity.
''You look at someone like Josh [Hohneck] and he has always had the ability. He never got the chances. He never got to show what he could do.
''Then you get someone like Brendon Edmonds and he is relatively new to this level. But the biggest thing is the guys stick to the system. That is the way it is set up. If everyone sticks to the system then we can work together well.''
Dermody said scrummaging was taxing. The most scrums the pack did in a training session was 15.
''We are probably not the biggest pack, so for us it is about getting the right technique and working together. If we come up against a big pack then we don't look to try and smash them. We will be trying to run them round a bit.
''That means fitness is important. Like any New Zealand team, in pre-season we worked them pretty hard. The game is certainly fast these days.
''We take a lot of pride in what we are trying to achieve at the set piece.''
The loose forwards also played a big part in the scrum, Dermody said.
A solid scrum led to the Highlanders scoring two tries against the Chiefs last weekend and the forwards had a real sense of satisfaction from those five-pointers, he said.
Dermody said the Waratahs had a big pack and a solid scrum and it was likely to be a tough battle in Sydney on Saturday night.
