Critics are calling Match Fit the best reality show of the year.

The new series which follows a group of All Black legends and their quest to regain their fitness.

It spotlights Frank Bunce, Kees Meeuws, Eroni Clarke and Piri Weepu - guys who, in their prime, were among the best and most feared athletes in the country, and who, in retirement, have slowed down and packed on the kilos.

Meeuws told Heather du Plessis-Allan that the feedback has been amazing.

"I had a message from a father of five here in Dunedin who's struggling and it's inspired him to make a change in his life."

He says the big shock for him when he started the show was learning about the hidden damage that fat can cause internally.

"For me, I'm a big man. I can drop 20 kilo and still be a big man, but I want to be fitter, I want to lose that internal fat."

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