So, as he'd had three weeks off since the Chiefs were knocked out of Super Rugby, the coaching panel decided to make it four and tell Messam he wasn't in their plans for the opening Bledisloe test.
"I guess I was pretty disappointed," admits Messam. "Like everyone else you want to represent the All Blacks and be out there every week. I had to trust this plan and what they had for me. Coming into this week I felt really good.
"The last two years I really haven't had a break for the whole year so to have a decent chunk where I could get into the gym and improve my dead lift, it has been pretty good.
"With Super Rugby, as one of the co-captains, it is the mental side that really gets to you. You always put so much time and effort into a Super Rugby campaign so to be able to have that - I guess it has been a month now - to chill out and train has been really refreshing."
Messam said he was starting to achieve things in the gym that he hadn't since he was 20, and that made him realise how much his body needed time away from the constant pounding.
He also realised, watching the test at home, how much he hated being a spectator.
It's a sign of how well Messam has played in the past two years that little has been made of the loss of Jerome Kaino. Messam may not be able to make such explosive tackles or have the same power carrying the ball in tight spaces, but he will hold his own in the dark places, play that bit wider than Kaino and contribute with his smart angled running and high quality passing game.
Probably most importantly, Messam doesn't feel he has to emulate Kaino or prove he's as effective.
"Hopefully I have done that in the last couple of years," he says. "Jerome and I have different skill-sets. I don't have to prove anything to the public, I have to go out there and do my job and make sure I earn respect from the boys."
