Former All Blacks Ron Cribb, Pita Alatini and Charles Riechelmann have joined the all-star roster for Three's Match Fit series, beginning in late October.
Coaches Wayne 'Buck' Shelford and Sir Graham Henry have added the trio to their recruits for a show that brings a squad of long-retired international players together for one last game, confronting the health issues that have affected them since their glory days.
Last week, the legendary All Blacks skipper and World Cup-winning coach named Troy Flavell, Frank Bunce, Piri Weepu and Craig Dowd as their first intake of talent.
Cribb, 44, made 15 appearances for the national side at No.8, while representing the Crusaders and Blues in Super Rugby. He eventually saw out his career in Japan, retiring in 2009.
Second-five Alatini, 44, played 17 times for the All Blacks and once for Tonga, before he also wound up his career in Japan in 2013.
Riechelmann, 48, was part of two Super Rugby champion teams with the Blues and chalked up five All Blacks caps as a flanker, retiring in 1999.
Shelford and Henry will name one more player intake, before the series begins on October 20.
Many will face a battle to lose the kilograms they've packed on since hanging up their boots.
"It's one of those things you don't realise until it creeps up and bites you in the backside," says Shelford, who ballooned out to 150kg and was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma in 2007.
"A lot of them, their health may be alright, but if you don't go to the doctor, you'd never know.
"Most doctors would ask 'what was your playing weight?', they'd get on the scales and they're 15-20kg overweight," says the legendary All Blacks captain.
"They're so used to being active and burning what they eat, but once they retire from rugby, they need to cut back what they eat, because you don't need the same amount of calories."
