The 32-year-old left-hander helped Glamorgan win its first trophy in 17 years.
Glamorgan upset Essex in the semifinals and beat Durham in the final to win the Royal London One-Day Cup last month.
Rutherford, who is in managed isolation in Auckland, found some tremendous touch in the semifinal.
He whacked 67 from 44 balls in a 95-run opening standing with Nick Selman (59) to set up a fantastic platform.
Essex posted 289 but Glamorgan overhauled the target with two overs and five wickets to spare.
‘‘[It] was a really enjoyable few months with Glamorgan,’’ Rutherford said.
‘‘Obviously, the highlight was winning the one-day comp.
‘‘I personally haven’t lifted a lot of trophies in my career to date, so to help them in some way and be a part of their journey towards that was very special.
‘‘[The] day and days that followed are something I’ll never forget.’’
Rutherford played down his own contribution, describing his form as ‘‘good without being excellent’’.
‘‘I had opportunities in most games to really kick on but unfortunately wasn’t able to.’’
Rutherford was part of the successful Otago teams that won the New Zealand domestic twenty20 title in 2012-13 and in 2008-09, so he has tasted success at the top level before.
But he has also returned home having achieved a first. He picked up his maiden first-class wicket.
Yes, he does bowl occasionally. Left-arm tweakers, and now he has a wicket to prove it.
He bowled England international Ollie Pope. Straight through him.
The scorecard provides a little more context, though. Pope was on 274 and went for a massive heave.
Glamorgan had posted 672 for six declared in a first-class game at The Oval. Surrey replied with 722 for four declared.
Glamorgan used 11 bowlers during the innings. Rutherford was well down the order at No9 and grabbed the respectable figures of one for 26 from eight overs.
‘‘I guess it’s nice to get it,’’ Rutherford said.
‘‘It was a crazy few days at The Oval. Never have I been involved in a game where the pitch has been so flat and both teams didn’t try and win the game.
‘‘Ten wickets over four days and the wickets we took were all from non bowlers — just a weird, bizarre game. So it’s only fitting, after so many games, I’d get one.’’
Rutherford had sorted a spot in MIQ before leaving for the UK and said he ‘‘probably wouldn’t have gone without having that in place’’.
‘‘It’s obviously a big cause of stress for a lot of people that travel for work at the moment.’’
