ONE NEWS CAPTIONS BY FAITH HAMBLYN AND LAUREN STRAIN. CAPTIONS WERE MADE POSSIBLE WITH FUNDING FROM NZ ON AIR. COPYRIGHT TVNZ ACCESS SERVICES 2013 DUE TO THE LIVE NATURE OF SEVEN SHARP, WE APOLOGISE FOR THE LACK OF CAPTIONS FOR SOME ITEMS. GIDDAY AND WELCOME TONIGHT. THEY'VE OFFENDED MEXICANS, GERMANS AND ANYONE WITH A BEARD. YES, AND NOW THEY'VE BEEN WINDING UP LOCAL NORTHLAND IWI. WE'RE HOT ON THE TRAIL OF THE 'TOP GEAR' TEAM AT NINTEY MILE BEACH. BUT NOT ALL IS AS IT SEEMS. NINEY MILE BEACH, FOR A START, ISN'T 90 MILES LONG. THEIR SUPERSONIC CAR WILL APPARENTLY DO JUST OVER THE OPEN ROAD SPEED LIMIT AND NOT MUCH MORE. AND JUDGING BY THE BEACH, EVEN 100 K MAY BE DREAMING. YOU COULD COME AND PUSH WITH US. (LAUGHS) ALSO TONIGHT ` DO YOU HATE BANK FEES? JOIN THE CLUB. NO, REALLY, YOU NOW CAN JOIN THE CLUB. A CLASS ACTION THAT'S FIGHTING FOR THE BILLION DOLLARS THE BIG BANKS MAY HAVE PINGED CUSTOMERS IN THE PAST SIX YEARS. HEY, BUT DON'T SPEND YOUR SHARE OF THE WINNINGS JUST YET. WE HAVE A FEW HINTS AT HOW YOU CAN GET AMONGST THE ACTION. WOULD YOU FEEL SAFE HAVING YOUR COUNTRY DEFENDED BY THIS MAN? OUR REPORTER TRIES OUT THE ARMY'S NEW URBAN WARFARE GEAR. SEMI-AUTOMATIC. THE NIGHT VISION. LATCHING SYSTEM. THIS IS A BELT-FED MACHINE GUN. A HOOLIGAN BAR. AND OUR CRASH AXE. AND HIS SISTER STANDS ATOP THE SHOT PUTTING WORLD LIKE A STRONG-ARMED, SOFTLY SPOKEN CHAMPION. BUT NOW THE NOT-SO-LITTLE BROTHER OF VAL ADAMS IS ABOUT TO MAKE HIS OWN MARK. AS MY SISTER, YOU KNOW HOW SHE'S THE MAN AT SHOT PUT, I'M TRYING TO BE THE MAN AT BASKETBALL. IT'S MONDAY NIGHT. WELCOME TO SEVEN SHARP. IT'S THE MOST WATCHED TV SHOW IN THE WORLD, AND WHILE IT'S ABOUT CARS, THE REAL STARS ARE THE MEN WHO RANT, RAIL AND OCCASIONALLY GET BEHIND THE WHEEL WHILE PRESENTING 'TOP GEAR'. NOW THEY'RE HERE TO USE ONE OF OUR MOST FAMOUS BEACHES TO GO VERY FAST AND NO DOUBT MAKE SOME SHEEP JOKES WHILE MISPRONOUNCING SOME MAORI PLACE NAMES. SO HOW'S IT GOING DOWN WITH THE LOCALS? MICHAEL HOLLAND TRAVELLED TO THE FAR NORTH'S WAIPAPAKAURI LANDING, NEAR KAITAIA. FORGET ABOUT 'TOP GEAR'. IN THESE PARTS, IN THESE SANDS, JEREMY AND CO, IT'S ALL ABOUT LOW GEAR. COULDN'T GET IT OUT, EH? AND IF THE LOCALS ARE STRUGGLING, WHAT CHANCE, FOREIGN ROOKIES? YOU CAN'T JUST COME AND DRIVE ON THE BEACH UNLESS YOU KNOW THE NUANCES, I SUPPOSE, IS A FLASH WORD FOR IT. PETE AND EDDY SHOULD KNOW. THEY'VE DRIVEN THE MIGHTY NINETY ALL THEIR ADULT LIVES, SEEN MANY COME UNSTUCK, SEEN LIVES LOST. YOU GOTTA GET A FEEL FOR IT. DRIVE UP IN THE SOFT HERE AND FOLLOW A TRACK. MAKES IT EASIER, COS IT'S ALREADY COMPACTED. BUT IN RECENT DAYS, THE TALK HASN'T BEEN ABOUT THE DRIVING. IT'S BEEN ABOUT THE APPROPRIATENESS OF THE BBC'S TOP-RATING 'TOP GEAR' PROGRAMME PUTTING THE FOOT DOWN ALONG THIS SACRED STRETCH OF SAND, ALBEIT A GAZETTED HIGHWAY. I THINK IT'S HAD A PRETTY ROUGH START. VERY POORLY EXPLAINED, AND SO THAT REALLY GOT EVERYONE'S BACKS UP. VERY POORLY EXPLAINED, AND SO THAT REALLY GOT EVERYONE'S BACKS UP. A PUBLIC NOTICE CITING REPEATED BEACH CLOSURES FOR HIGH SPEED FILMING READING MORE LIKE A ROYAL DECREE. THE BRITISH BROADCASTING CORPORATION HAVE REQUESTED NINETY MILE BEACH BE CLOSED TO ALL VEHICULAR TRAFFIC, RESIDENTS AND VISITORS FOR THE PERIOD INDICATED HERE UNDER. LOCALS, AND IWI IN PARTICULAR, ARE UPSET AT WHAT THEY REGARDED AS A LACK OF CONSULTATION BY THE FAR NORTH DISTRICT COUNCIL. COULD IT BE THAT THE COUNCIL HAD STARS IN ITS EYES? UNFORTUNATELY THEY HADN'T THOUGHT THROUGH SOME OF THE IMPLICATIONS OF IWI OWNERSHIP, MANAGEMENT AND PARTICIPATION, AND 47% OF THE POPULATION IN THIS AREA. IT'S HARD TO SWALLOW BEING IGNORED. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THEM COMING? RUBBISH. ABSOLUTE RUBBISH. SHOULDN'T BE DOING IT? DEFINITELY NOT. SHOULDN'T BE CLOSING DOWN THE BEACH. NOW, WE DON'T EVEN KNOW WHICH OF THE THREE 'TOP GEAR' REV-HEADS WILL ACTUALLY BE TEARING UP THIS GLORIOUS STRETCH OF SAND, BUT IF IT'S CLARKSON, THE GOBBY LOUDMOUTH ONE, YOU CAN HEAR HIM ALREADY. BUT HERE'S THE EXTRAORDINARY THING, OK. FULL NOISE. ENGINE REVS THEN THERE'S HAMMOND ` DIMINUTIVE, BUT EQUALLY ENTHUSIAST. GOD. AND FINALLY, THERE'S THE MORE REFINED OBSERVATIONS OF JAMES MAY, SURELY THE GENTLEMAN OF THE THREE. JUST SO... NICE. IT'S NICE. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THAT MOTORMOUTH JEREMY CLARKSON? OH, I DON'T THINK HE'S A MOTORMOUTH. MAYBE HE COULD HAVE A RIDE IN THIS BEAUTY. WHAT IS IT? BOTH LAUGH THIS IS THE MERCEDES OF NINETY MILE BEACH. (LAUGHS) HE COULD HOP IN THE BACK WITH THE DOG. (LAUGHS) NOT THAT CLARKSON AND HIS LADS ARE STILL IN THE DOG BOX. IWI AND RESIDENTS PULLED A SWIFT U-TURN AFTER RECEIVING ASSURANCES FROM BBC PRODUCERS THAT THEY NOW APPRECIATE THE CUSTOMARY AND SPIRITUAL ROLE OF THE BEACH. THE BBC NOW UNDERSTANDS THE CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS BEACH? THEY CERTAINLY DO. IT'S WONDERFUL FOR A BUNCH OF POMS TO COME AND UNDERSTAND THE AWA WAIRUA, OR THE SPIRIT PATH OF THE MAORI, PROBABLY MORE THAN MOST NZERS. AND THEY WILL TREAT THE BEACH WITH RESPECT? THEY WILL TREAT IT WITH RESPECT. WE'RE NOT HERE TO KNOCK PEOPLE AWAY OR PUSHING THEM AWAY, WE'RE NOT HERE TO KNOCK PEOPLE AWAY OR PUSHING THEM AWAY, BUT WE WANT THEM TO LEARN ABOUT WHAT IT IS AND THE VALUE THAT WE PLACE ON THIS TAONGA. A VERY IMPORTANT QUESTION WAS ASKED, AND THAT WAS ` WHO GOT PAID OUT OF THIS? AND THE ANSWER WAS EVEN MORE IMPORTANT, BECAUSE THE ANSWER WAS NOBODY. I CAN'T SEE ANY HARM IN IT. AND YOU WILL GIVE THEM A TOW OUT IF THEY GET STUCK? OF COURSE I WOULD. HONOURABLE GENTLEMAN? YEP, AND I WOULDN'T CHARGE THEM EITHER. ALTHOUGH, REDDIES WOULD NEED TO BE EXCHANGED IF MR CLARKSON WISHED TO ACQUIRE A CERTAIN PIECE OF FAR NORTH MOTORING HERITAGE. IT WAS A MITSUBISHI, BUT NOW IT'S A 'BITS OF MUSHY. HOW MANY TIMES ROUND THE CLOCK? > 306,000. TOP GEAR HOST JEREMY CLARKSON UPSET AUSTRALIANS BY REFERRING TO THEM AS 'CONVICTS' THE OTHER NIGHT, BUT SO FAR HE'S BEEN MUCH NICER ABOUT US. THIS ARVO HE TWEETED THIS: "NZ IS LOOKING VERY PRETTY TODAY." WE'RE NOT GOING TO FALL FOR YOUR FLATTERY, CLARKSON. OH ALL RIGHT, ALMOST 200 RETWEETS. YEAH, WE LOVE IT. FUNNY, ISN'T IT, THAT YESTERDAY WE WERE ALL UPSET WITH TOP GEAR AND NOW WE'RE PURRING LIKE A MASERATI UNDER THE PRAISE. MAYBE IT'S COS WE HAVE ANOTHER TARGET IN OUR SIGHTS TODAY ` THE BANKS. YEP, WE ALL USE THEM, AND WHILE THEY NEED OUR BUSINESS, IF WE'RE LATE PAYING A BANK FEE, THEY STING US LIKE A SWARM OF SHORT CHANGED WASPS. TODAY A GROUP OF LAWYERS HAS ANNOUNCED IT'S GOING TO SUE BANKS FOR WHAT IT CALLS EXCESSIVE PENALTY FEES. ANDREW HOOKER'S THE LAWYER HEADING THE CLASS ACTION UP IS HERE. They are a business. They deserve to be paid. Absolutely. No one is trying to take that away from them. Our campaign is about fair fees. The charges should reflect the actual costs to the bank. This has a lot of history. How do you work out its billion dollars? Our friends in this trail you have given us a lot of information. We have extrapolated that over to the NZ market. But not everyone has these problems. That must be people who are struggling as far as money goes. These fees hit the people that can least afford it. How does that work? I say that I think I've been hit unfairly. How do I do it? It is being run by an Australian company called Litigation Funding. This will not come cheap. No. But kiwis can come on the boat, sign up with no charge. If you win there will be a quarter of $1 billion. We are hoping there will be a large amount of people sign up. It may be that much. People get a reward at the end. Otherwise it's not worth their while. How hopeful are you given what's happened in Australia? The NZ law is almost identical, so we're hopeful. We will hopefully have a run-up in a couple of years. IF YOU WANT TO MAKE A COMMENT OR ASK A QUESTION ABOUT ANY OF OUR STORIES, GO TO SEVENSHARP.CO.NZ AND HAVE YOUR SAY. AFTER MENTIONING BANK PENALTIES ON FACEBOOK TODAY WE HEARD ABOUT A LOT OF OTHER UNFAIR PENALTIES PEOPLE WOULD LIKE TO DO AWAY WITH. I WAS THINKING ABOUT ATMS TODAY. IF YOU GET $10 OUT, YOU STILL GET CHARGED THAT IS TO MAIL YOU OUT A LETTER. AND $39 ANNUAL FEE TO BE PART OF IT AND YOU CAN PUT IT ON HOLD AT ANY TIME AFTER THE BREAK, WE'RE IN THE THICK OF IT IN WAIOURU AS WE EMBED OURSELVES WITH THE ARMY DURING URBAN WARFARE TRAINING. ALSO ` HE'S NOT A SHORTY, BUT LIKE HIS SIS HE'S VERY SPORTY. WE MEET ANOTHER MEMBER OF THE ADAMS FAMILY. To indicate your interest, pre-register now. Pre-registering does not commit you to buy. So visit mightyrivershares.govt.nz or call 0800 90 30 90 and get ready to share in it. INQUISITIVE MUSIC INQUISITIVE MUSIC CONTINUES 1 INQUISITIVE MUSIC QUICKENS WOMAN: On the same stretch of road, on the same day, at the same time, we share our drive with the same people. UPLIFTING MUSIC People we know and people we don't. If we stopped thinking cars and started thinking people, would it change the way we drive? UPLIFTING MUSIC STOPS INQUISITIVE MUSIC OUR SOLDIERS GO THROUGH URBAN WARFARE TRAINING BEFORE THEY HEAD OVERSEAS. THEY'RE THROWN INTO REALISTIC SCENARIOS IN WHICH THEY BATTLE HEAT, FATIGUE, AND UNSPECIFIED ENEMIES. JEHAN CASINADER PUT HIS HAND UP TO PLAY THE ENEMY IN WAIOURU. AND THE SOLDIERS? WELL, THEY SHOWED NO MERCY. DRAMATIC MUSIC THEY STRUGGLE MENTALLY AND PHYSICALLY. YOU'RE SUBJECTED TO WIND, RAIN, SUN BEATING DOWN. YOU'RE HAVING TO RUN FROM ONE THING TO ANOTHER. IF THEY'RE REALLY TIRED, THEY GET INTO SURVIVAL MODE. THEY'RE NOT ABLE TO TAKE ON THE INSTRUCTIONS. IT'S NOT THE MIDDLE EAST; IT'S THE MIDDLE OF THE NORTH ISLAND, WHERE OUR TOP SOLDIERS PREPARE FOR COMBAT. AND TODAY THEY HAVE AN EXTRA SOLDIER. THAT'S ME. DRAMATIC MUSIC BUILDS WAIOURU IS THE TRAINING TERRAIN FOR NEW RECRUITS. HERE, THEY LEARN HOW TO HANDLE WEAPONS, USING A VERY REALISTIC SIMULATOR. THEY SPEND ABOUT FOUR DAYS DOWN HERE BEFORE THEY START LIVE FIRING. AND BY THE TIME THEY GET DOWN TO THE RANGE, WE NOTICE THAT THEIR SHOOTING IS REMARKABLY IMPROVED. THE TRAINING COMES WITH SOME IMPRESSIVE KIT... IT REALLY IS LIKE A SCENE OUT OF 'WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE'. ...TO TEACH THE RECRUITS WHAT IT'S LIKE IN THE FIELD. SOME OF THEM WE HAVE TO PUT A LOT OF TIME INTO. AND THEN YOU ALSO GET YOUR FREAKS ` YOUR PEOPLE WHO'VE NEVER TOUCHED A WEAPON BEFORE ` AND THEY GO OUT THERE AND ABSOLUTELY AMAZE THE INSTRUCTORS. NO SURPRISES THAT I DON'T FIT INTO THAT CATEGORY. HERE'S MY REPORT CARD. SHOCKING. IT WAS SHOCKING. WE CAN SEE YOUR BARREL, AND IT WAS DOING THIS. OF COURSE, THE REAL RECRUITS HAVE MUCH LONGER TO PREPARE. THEY TRAIN FOR 16 WEEKS. WHAT DO YOU THINK PEOPLE THINK LIFE IN THE ARMY IS REALLY LIKE? BECAUSE THERE IS QUITE A HOLLYWOOD ASPECT TO IT, ISN'T THERE? THERE IS, YEAH. AND TO BE FAIR, FOR A LOT OF THEM, THEIR PERSPECTIVE OF LIFE IN THE ARMY IS GAINED FROM HOLLYWOOD. THE REALITY IS MONTHS OF THEORY, PRACTICE AND PREPARATION. IT'S NO SUBSTITUTE FOR DOING THE REAL THING OUT ON THE PADDOCK. THE REAL THING INVOLVES REAL WEAPONS. JUST LISTEN TO WHAT'S ON OFFER TODAY. JAUNTY MUSIC MIGHT AS WELL KICK OFF WITH THE SHOTGUN. THIS IS A 5+1. THIS IS THE EJECTION PORT. LITTLE COCKING HANDLE. THE SAFETY CATCH. SEMI-AUTOMATIC. THE NIGHT VISION. LATCHING SYSTEM. THIS IS A BELT-FED MACHINE GUN. A HOOLIGAN BAR. AND OUR CRASH AXE. THIS CAN BE ATTACKED TO A BACKPACK. THE BIG THUMPER HERE IS TO BE USED WHEN CRASHING THROUGH DOORS. I'M NOT QUALIFIED TO USE ANY OF THESE WEAPONS. JAUNTY MUSIC CONTINUES BUT I AM TAKING PART IN A MOCK OPERATION. WE TRY AND MAKE OUR TRAINING AS REALISTIC AS POSSIBLE, AND WE ATTEMPT TO TRAIN AT THE HIGHER LEVEL SO THAT WE AREN'T CAUGHT UNAWARES IF WE DO GET SENT INTO A COMBAT SITUATION. AND FROM THERE YOU'RE GONNA GET A GROIN PROTECTOR. > A GROIN PROTECTOR? YEAH, SO YOU WILL BE ABLE TO HAVE CHILDREN AFTERWARDS. > GOOD. IT'S NOT SIMPLY TURN UP AND CRACK ON. IT'S TURN UP, SAFETY BRIEF, TRAINING, REHEARSALS, PRACTICE, AND THEN FINALLY YOU GET INTO THE TRAINING ITSELF. THIS IS A REAL GUN. IT'S SEMI-AUTOMATIC, SO PULL THE TRIGGER AS MANY TIMES AS YOU WANT. BUT IT'S BEEN MODIFIED TO FIRE SOME PRETTY POWERFUL PAINT PELLETS. I CANNOT SEE. HONESTLY, I CANNOT SEE THROUGH THESE. WE'RE NOT ALLOWED TO TAKE THESE GLASSES OFF. I'M WEARING DEFENCE FORCE GEAR, BUT IN THIS SCENARIO I'M GOING TO PLAY THE ENEMY. TENSE MUSIC I'M WATCHING TV, SEVEN SHARP. PRETTY SIMILAR TO THE WORKING CONDITIONS AT TVNZ. GUNSHOTS FIRE TENSE MUSIC CONTINUES RAPID EXPLOSIONS SO I SURVIVED, KIND OF. YOU ACTUALLY TOOK TWO TO THE GROIN AS WELL. (LAUGHS) THERE'S TWO HITS AS WELL. SO I'VE DIED FOUR TIMES? FIVE, YES. OH, WAIT, SIX. SIX TIMES. BUT WHILE TODAY'S OPERATION IS JUST PRETEND, FACING THE SAME THREATS IN A COMBAT ZONE IS A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH. YOU'VE BEEN IN THE ARMY FOR MORE THAN 30 YEARS? I HAVE. HAVE YOU BEEN DEPLOYED? YES, I HAVE. WHAT'S IT LIKE WHEN YOU PULL THE TRIGGER FOR THE FIRST TIME? (SIGHS) IT'S YOUR JOB. WITH JEHAN ON FRONT LINES NZ JUST WENT ON TO THE US' MOST INVADABLE LIST NOW YOU CAN SEE US STREAMED LIVE WHILE THE AD BREAKS ARE ON STAY WITH US ` WE'RE HEADING TO THE STATES WITH THE KIWI GIANT WHO'S MISSING SOME HOME TREATS. PIES AND SAUSAGE ROLLS AND STUFF ` MAN, THEY DON'T HAVE NONE OF THAT AROUND HERE. BASKETBALL'S FUTURE SUPERSTAR STEVEN ADAMS COMING UP AFTER THE BREAK. It'll be your chance to personally own a part of one of NZ's largest electricity companies. To indicate your interest, pre-register now and you'll receive your share offer document when it's available. NZers who pre-register may be allocated up to 25% more shares than those who don't. Pre-registering does not commit you to buy. So visit mightyrivershares.govt.nz or call 0800 90 30 90 and get ready to share in it. WELCOME BACK. ADAMS IS ONE OF OUR MOST FAMOUS SPORTING NAMES, BUT IT TURNS OUT THE ADAMS FAMILY HAS MORE TO GIVE SPORT THAN JUST OUR SHOT PUT GOLDEN GIRL VALERIE. VAL'S KID BROTHER STEVEN IS IN THE STATES, MAKING HIS WAY TO THE BIGTIME, WITH THE NBA IN HIS SIGHTS. US CORRESPONDENT JACK TAME CAUGHT UP WITH HIM IN PITTSBURGH. IT WAS A SUNDAY MORNING IN PITTSBURGH, AND THE STUDENTS QUEUED IN THE SNOW. ALL: STEVE! THIS IS THE PETERSEN EVENTS CENTRE,... STEVEN ADAMS. NUMBER ONE, BABY. LET'S GO, PITT! ...HOME TURF FOR THE UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH PANTHERS,... SO WHO HAVE YOU GOT HERE? THIS IS STEVEN ADAMS. STEVEN ADAMS? IT'S ABOUT A LIFE-SIZE REPLICA BY THE LOOK OF IT. YEAH, JUST ABOUT. ...AND A NEW HOME, COMPLETE WITH A SOLD-OUT CROWD OF ALMOST 13,000 FANS TO AN UNPRETENTIOUS KIWI TEENAGER. RIDICULOUS, EH? LIKE, FIRST TIME I PLAYED IN FRONT OF THEM, BRO, IT WAS... SHIT THE BED. MEET STEVE ADAMS. AGE 19, SIZE 19 HANDS, EASILY LARGE ENOUGH TO PALM A REGULATION BASKETBALL. STANDING AT A MERE 2.13 METRES, OR 7FT FLAT. WHICH, FOR SCALE, IS PRETTY TALL. AND THOUGH STILL A TEENAGER, IN JUST A SEASON OF TOP AMERICAN COLLEGE BASKETBALL THE ROTORUA KID HAS FAST BECOME PITTSBURGH, AND NZ'S, TOP NBA PROSPECT. I'M TRYING TO BECOME, LIKE... AS MY SISTER, YOU KNOW SHE'S, LIKE, THE MAN AT SHOT PUT ` I'M TRYING TO BE, LIKE, THE MAN AT BASKETBALL. THAT SISTER, ONE OF STEVE ADAMS' 18 SIBLINGS, JUST HAPPENS TO BE TWO-TIME OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALLIST VALERIE ADAMS. WHAT DO YOU LEARN FROM VALERIE? JUST HOW TO LIKE, SHOW YOURSELF TO PEOPLE. SHE JUST DOESN'T DO ANYTHING WRONG, AND SHE'S, LIKE, RESPECTABLE, AND SHE'S LIKE, IN THE MEDIA'S EYES SHE'S LIKE, REAL GOOD ` AND NOT IN THE MEDIA'S EYES AS WELL! SHE'S JUST AN AWESOME GIRL, EH. SHE'S LIKE, REAL COOL. SIX HOURS FROM THE SEA, PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA HAS BEEN STEVE ADAMS' CITY FOR A YEAR NOW. IT'S DIFFERENT. MY FAVOURITE FOOD IS PIES, BRO. PIES AND SAUSAGE ROLLS AND STUFF. NAH. THEY DON'T HAVE NONE OF THAT AROUND HERE. WHERE ARE WE? THIS IS FORBES AVE. AFTER HIGH SCHOOL IN NZ, HE LEFT HIS PALS AND HIS PASTRIES FOR A LIFE OF BURRITOS AND BASKETBALL. IT'S, LIKE, REALLY GOOD. IT'S AMAZING. WE GET SPOILT LIKE CRAZY. WELL, YOU DO AT LEAST WHEN YOU'RE THE STAR PLAYER OF A STAR TEAM. WHY HAVE YOU GOT THAT? FOR STEVE. IN PITTSBURGH, BASKETBALL IS MUCH MORE THAN A MINORITY SPORT. THE COACH OF THE UNIVERSITY TEAM EARNS ALMOST $2M A SEASON. EVERY SINGLE GAME IS SOLD OUT. THE ATMOSPHERE HERE IS JUST UNLIKE ANY SUPER RUGBY GAME, UNLIKE ANY SPORTS GAME IN NZ. IT'S AS THOUGH THE CROWD'S IN A STATE OF NEAR-PERMANENT DELIRIUM. IN THE '90S, PITTSBURGH COACH JAMIE DIXON PLAYED IN NZ ALONGSIDE STEVE ADAMS' BROTHERS. FOUR YEARS AGO HE HEARD ABOUT STEVE AND RECRUITED HIM. I THINK HE'S A BREATH OF FRESH AIR. HE'S THE KIND OF GUY THAT ` YOU KNOW, HE DIDN'T GROW UP IN THE AMERICAN BASKETBALL SYSTEM, SO HE DOESN'T HAVE ALL THAT HYPE AND STUFF GO TO HIS HEAD. OH, BUT HOW EASILY IT COULD HAVE. THAT'S A WEIGHT ROOM. WEIGHT ROOM, THAT'S A TREATMENT ROOM AND STUFF LIKE THAT. THERE'S A SPA IN BACK. PRETTY MEAN. THIS IS LIKE THE WORLD'S BEST HOTEL. IT'S MEAN, EH? STEVE ADAMS CAN'T TAKE MONEY YET, BUT ON TOP OF A SCHOLARSHIP WORTH TENS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS A YEAR THERE ARE OTHER PERKS. THIS MUST HAVE BEEN A SHOCK, WHEN YOU CAME IN HERE FOR THE FIRST TIME AND SAW... ALL THIS? YEAH. YEAH, BRO. I THOUGHT IT WAS, LIKE, CRAZY, EH. THE TRAINING FACILITIES AT PITTSBURGH RIVAL ANY PROFESSIONAL SPORTS TEAM. TELL ME ABOUT THE CORPORATE JET. THERE'S THIS BIG AEROPLANE WITH, LIKE, TABLES, LA-Z-BOY CHAIRS... IT'S LIKE A PRIVATE JET? YES. BIG PRIVATE JET. AND THEY GIVE YOU, LIKE, BURGERS AND STUFF ON THE PLANE. THEY GOT ALL THESE ` YOU KNOW WHERE YOU PUT YOUR LUGGAGE AND STUFF? IT'S JUST FULL OF, LIKE, M&MS AND CHIPS AND STUFF. IT'S RIDICULOUS, BRO. DID THEY HAVE THAT WHEN YOU WERE PLAYING BALL IN ROTORUA? (LAUGHS) NAH, BRO. BUT THROUGH IT ALL IS THE UNDERLYING, UNAVOIDABLE ALLURE OF THE NBA. STEVEN ADAMS HAS ALREADY BEEN LABELLED A TOP PROSPECT FOR THE WORLD'S TOP PROFESSIONAL LEAGUE. PLAYERS MAKE MILLIONS. WHEN YOU START BEING SELFISH AND STUFF LIKE THAT, YOU KNOW, IF YOU START ASPIRING TO MONEY, THEN, I DUNNO... IT JUST WON'T HAPPEN. AT 19, HE NOW HAS TO DECIDE WHEN TO TIME HIS RUN; WHEN TO TURN PROFESSIONAL. YOU GOTTA PICK THE RIGHT PATH, NO MATTER WHAT TALENT YOU HAVE, AND THERE'S BEEN GUYS WITH HIS TALENT THAT HAVEN'T PLAYED IN THE NBA. I'VE JUST READ SO MANY ARTICLES ABOUT CERTAIN PLAYERS IN THE NBA, PROFESSIONALS THAT ` NOT EVEN IN BASKETBALL, RUGBY PLAYERS AND STUFF THAT JUST DO IT FOR THE MONEY, AND THEN IT JUST... ALL BREAKS DOWN, AND JUST ` YOU KNOW, IT'S SHIT. IT'S A QUIRK OF COLLEGE BASKETBALL, AN ARENA OF GIANTS ` SOMETIMES SUCCESS COMES DOWN TO KEEPING ONE'S FEET ON THE GROUND. He's gonna do things right he will do one more year at college until pro CAPTIONS BY DESNEY SHAW AND SAM BRADFORD. CAPTIONS WERE MADE POSSIBLE WITH FUNDING FROM NZ ON AIR.