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Tonight's six nations clash between England and Italy will be a long way from a schoolboy pitch in New Zealand when England wing Lesley Vainikolo and his opposite number Kaine Robertson were last on opposing teams.
Robertson was at Auckland Grammar, lining up alongside New Zealand's record try-scorer Doug Howlett, with Vainikolo in the centre for De La Salle College that day.
Robertson said: "I played him in my school days. He was in the centres and already a superstar. He was massive then and has got even bigger since."
From those humble days of school rugby, the pair took different paths. Vainikolo chose rugby league with the Canberra Raiders before coming to England where he made his name with the Bradford Bulls.
Robertson, meanwhile, left New Zealand at 18 to try his luck with Viadana in Italy and enjoyed it so much that he became a citizen and is now a permanent fixture for the Azzurri.
However, the two are at the opposite ends of the wing-size scale. Vainikolo is 188cm and 110kg, while Robertson stands 177cm and weighs 76kg.
Vainikolo helped create a try for Toby Flood against the Welsh but became an increasingly peripheral figure in the second-half, where Wales overturned a 13-point deficit to win 26-19 and so triumph at Twickenham for the first time in 20 years.
"I definitely want to get my hands on the ball more this time," said Vainikolo, who qualified for England on residency grounds after several seasons of try-scoring exploits with Super League side Bradford. "In league you expect to touch the ball 20-25 times a game. In union it could be a maximum of around 10."
England centre Mike Tindall is out following a bruised liver against Wales which ruled him out of the remainder of the Six Nations. Also out this weekend are forwards Lewis Moody and Andrew Sheridan (Achilles injuries) while back-row Tom Rees sustained tournament-ending knee ligament damage against Wales. Just when England thought their injury problems couldn't get any worse, captain Phil Vickery became a doubt for the Italy game after the tighthead prop limped out of training with a calf problem.
But Vainikolo, starting instead of injured winger David Strettle, will be there and Robertson has been looking at tapes of the last time a marauding wing with New Zealand and Tongan roots was brought down by a smaller player.
"He's the new superstar of rugby, so I suppose it will be a bit of a challenge," said Robertson. "I've been thinking of James Small against Jonah Lomu (when Small stopped Lomu scoring in the 1995 World Cup Final) from a few years ago, which shows that a little 'un can come out on top now and again."
One thing to Robertson's advantage is that he has a couple of spies in the Gloucester camp, injured second row Marco Bortolami and prop Carlos Nieto, who know all about Vainikolo from lining up alongside him in the Guinness Premiership.
England: Iain Balshaw, Paul Sackey, Jamie Noon, Toby Flood, Lesley Vainikolo, Jonny Wilkinson, Andy Gomarsall, Nick Easter, Michael Lipman, James Haskell, Steve Borthwick, Simon Shaw, Phil Vickery (captain), Mark Regan, Tim Payne. Reserves: Lee Mears, Matt Stevens, Ben Kay, Luke Narraway, Richard Wigglesworth, Danny Cipriani, Mathew Tait.
Italy: David Bortolussi, Kaine Robertson, Gonzalo Canale, Mirco Bergamasco, Ezio Galon, Andrea Masi, Pietro Travagli, Sergio Parisse (captain), Mauro Bergamasco, Josh Sole, Carlo Antonio Del Fava, Santiago Dellape, Martin Castrogiovanni, Leonardo Ghiraldini, Andrea Lo Cicero. Reserves: Carlo Festuccia, Salvatore Perugini, Carlos Nieto, Alessandro Zanni, Simon Picone, Andrea Marcato, Alberto Sgarbi
