STANDING at 200cm, Otago Highlanders lock Ben Wheeler is sure to stand out when he arrives in Wagga for the trial match against the Brumbies on Saturday.

While his height is a great asset in the Highlanders lineout, growing into his big frame caused plenty of pains.

Wheeler had a slow start to his Super Rugby career, before overcoming a serious back injury to find his feet with the Highlanders.

The 27-year-old had three injury-riddled years with the Canterbury Crusaders before moving to Dunedin.

He spent 18 months on the sidelines after undergoing back surgery on a prolapsed disc in 2012 and a lot of his problems have been put down to Wheeler slowly developing into his body.

"It was a bit scary as you're never sure how you are going to recover and comeback from something like that," Wheeler said.

"Thankfully it was successful, it took a good 18 months to get back to the norm in terms of fitness and strength but once it came it back it was all guns blazing."

It wasn't just his back that caused plenty of time of the sidelines, with a shoulder injury also preventing his career from gaining momentum.

Wheeler admitted it was a frustrating time, but thought being able to overcome the injuries has been a big life lesson.

"You don't take anything for granted in terms on what you do and I think it was a good lesson," Wheeler said.

"It's probably made me stronger as a person and as rugby player."

Playing three Super Rugby games in three seasons for the Crusaders, Wheeler had played 26 for the Highlanders, including 16 last year.

Still, he wants to continue to establish him in 2015.

"Last year was a good year for us, the team performed reasonably well making the play-offs, but unfortunately couldn't push on from that," Wheeler said.

"For me personally hopefully I can build on what we did and get some regular game time.

"We have a lot of competition for spots so it's going to be a competitive year for everyone."

The Highlanders arrive in Wagga this evening and will stay until Tuesday.

Wheeler is looking forward to the game at Equex Centre.

"It's going to be huge as the Brumbies were one of the teams setting the pace last year and it will be a really good gauge of where we are at," Wheeler said.

"We had a good start to our pre-season program last week against the Crusaders but there are still some areas of our game we need to scrub up a little bit."

The Highlanders are looking to continue to work on their set-piece before the Super Rugby season gets under way on February 13.

Wheeler said the defensive systems are another focus, and against a Wallabies-studded Brumbies outfit the Dunedin-based team will get plenty of opportunities.

The 27-year-old is also keen to get to know Wagga in his brief time in the city.

"I'm looking forward to getting out amongst the community and seeing what Wagga Wagga has to offer," Wheeler said.

"None of us boys have been there before so I'm really looking forward to it."