South Canterbury hope to make it 31 wins in a row in their Meads Cup Heartland Chamionship final against Whanganui on Saturday - but there's a secret to the streak that's only bettered by the great Auckland teams of the 1980s and '90s.
The beginning of any training is all about fun and games, then there's some motivational words before the work begins, because staying at the top is harder than getting there.
"We don't own that Cup no more - it's gone, so we ain't defending nothing," said South Canterbury coach Nigel Walsh. "We're going out to win it."
Captain Willie Wright said: "Every week someone wants to be that team to beat us."
Walsh echoed: "Every week, we've got a massive target on our back."
That was evident before last week's semi-final against East Coast even began, as the visitors crossed halfway to confront their pre-game haka.
"Someone said to me, 'What was your contingency?'" chuckled Walsh. "I said stay out of the road."
It turns out there's another secret to their success. You see, for the past two years, kitchen lady Sue and her team have been serving the team the same dish - curried sausages.
"It's gravy and curry," she told Newshub. "It's just got good water... Pleasant Point water."
They're too afraid to change the winning recipe.
If they do win their third consecutive Meads Cup you can guarantee the celebrations will last days.
"Oh, I'll probabaly be in trouble with the missus for a couple of days, I think," laughs prop Tokomaata Fakatava.
Rest assured, if they do win the trophy again, it's in safe hands.
