Peeling carrots and cooking chicken hardly sounds like a recipe for Super Rugby title success.
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But the ACT Brumbies hope teaching their young players how to cook and having them send photos of their meals to a nutritionist are the ingredients for something special.
Brumbies players have been spending time with AIS dietician Rebekah Alcock when they're not at pre-season training to help them adjust to a professional environment.
The Canberra Raiders did something similar two years ago to rejuvenate their NRL side and make off-field preparation as important as on-field execution.
The Brumbies hope the results will deliver the fittest, strongest and best prepared side in Super Rugby as they attempt to end a 14-year championship drought.
Hooker Folau Faingaa moved away from his family in Sydney to chase his rugby dreams at the Brumbies, quitting his job as a concreter to launch his career.
"It was just about cooking for the week, meal preparation and how we could make cooking fun," said Faingaa said.
"Robbie [Valenti] was pretty bad though. It just reinforces that you've got to have everything right off the field and that balance in your life as well.
"I've never really had this much time after training so it's a big change for me. I was a bit homesick the first couple of weeks and kept going back. But I feel like I've settled in now."
Australian rugby had a disastrous season on and off the field this season. Fitness was a hot topic at an ARU coaches' meeting as Australian sides struggled to match their New Zealand rivals.
The Brumbies have been regarded as the fittest and best-drilled side in recent years, and they are keen to rise to a new level under the guidance of head coach Dan McKellar and athletic performance director Ben Serpell.
Players have their sleeping patterns monitored as well as working with dieticians to ensure they have enough fuel in their bodies to cope with an intense training load.
The Brumbies have recruited 11 new faces to bolster their squad for the 2018 Super Rugby season.
"It's not just about the rugby component, it's about their physical and mental health as well," said Brumbies' defence coach Peter Ryan.
"For players coming to the Brumbies, they realise they're in a professional environment. Players are sending their meals to [Alcock] and that can only work for everyone.
"The players will come in and they'll be in perfect shape. We know where they are and this is the professional side of the business ... doing everything possible to make sure we win games."
Former Australian under-20s rake Faingaa has already impressed in the capital and is set to put pressure on Josh Mann-Rea and Robbie Abel for game time.
Wallabies coach Michael Cheika called Faingaa into Wallabies camp in October despite being yet to make his Super Rugby debut.
A taste of the Wallabies environment has given Faingaa extra motivation to force his way into the Brumbies rotation when the season begins in February.
"Everything is starting fall into place. I got a lot of learning out of Wallabies camp under [Stephen Moore] and a [Tatafu Polota-Nau], I took in as much as I could," Faingaa said.
"It made me think about how everything is just around the corner. It pushes me every day to be the best, I want to be ready if that opportunity if ever came around for [Wallabies] and Brumbies as well.
"[McKellar] has challenged us that all spots are up for grabs and that everyone is up for selection. There's no room for comfort zones."
