Mike Alaalatoa, pictured in action against the Brumbies on April 24, has re-signed with the Crusaders for two more years.

Thrice-weekly invites to stand on the scales are welcomed by Mike Alaalatoa, and when the needle pokes the 130kg mark he has few regrets.

Alaalatoa, the Sydney-born-and-raised tighthead prop who has re-signed with the Crusaders for two years, is certainly a big unit. He was even bigger when he arrived at the Super Rugby club for pre-season training late last year, and when he got the message to chop back on the treats he accepted it was time to ignore the calorie-laden morsels that could compromise him for his regular weigh-ins at Rugby Park.

Maybe the Kentucky Fried Chicken and chocolates haven't been completely obliterated from his diet, but Alaalatoa said he only veers towards the good stuff on rare occasions.

"I was 135kg when I first started pre-season, but I now about 130. I have lost a few kilos to get around the park, which I probably needed to do," Alaalatoa acknowledged. "I have learned, this year, that it is more diet than anything. Not only working with the strength and conditioning coach, but working with our nutritionist as well is pretty important."

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Wiping the tasty nibbles off the menu has been a must: "You have to, you don't really have choice. If you want to be competitive at this level, which I am learning now, you have to make that sacrifice."

Getting weighed up to three times a week enables strength and conditioning coach Mark Drury to monitor the players' weight, a practice common in professional sport.

There is no doubt Alaalatoa has had to prove plenty to get his contract extension. After just one appearance in two seasons with the Waratahs, his professional rugby career was in danger of going down a dead-end lane. He had a couple of options; return to playing for the New South Wales Country Eagles in the Australian provincial competition, or take the tougher route and try his luck in New Zealand.

As it happened Manawatu's playing stocks had been eroded by injuries and Alaalatoa started in all 10 of their NPC matches. Later he was pleasantly surprised to be offered a one-year deal by the Crusaders. Coach Todd Blackadder needed back-up for Franks because Nepo Laulala had signed with the Chiefs. The Crusaders, in turn, may be just as happy to discover how diligently Alaalatoa, who has appeared as a replacement for Franks in seven of their eight matches, has gone about his work.

It would be fair to say that when the Alalaatoa clan attend a family gathering at their parents' house in Sydney that the men, at some point or another, discuss the foibles of scrummaging.

Before the Crusaders had the bye last weekend Alaalatoa was thrust into the situation of watching his younger brother Allan, a prop with the Brumbies, warm-up inside's the enemy's camp. They keep in regular contact, texting each other before games.

His father, Vili, was a tighthead prop for the Manu Samoa team that made a dramatic impact at the 1991 World Cup and he has proudly played the footage of those games to his boys. That team was captained by the late Peter Fatialofa and also included Pat Lam, Apollo Perelini, Stephen Bachop, Frank Bunce and Brian Lima.

"He (Vili) was actually very good mates with Peter Fatialofa," Mike says. "It was pretty sad that he passed away a few years ago but he came back for the funeral. When I played for Samoa under-20s, Fats was my coach so I had a bit to do with him as well. He was a good man."