For Jermaine Ainsley, it was a game eight years in the making.
The tighthead prop, son of former Otago All Black Joe McDonnell, had dreamed of playing for the province while growing up in Cromwell and later at Otago Boys’ High School.
Had circumstances been different, he would have slid into the team as soon as he could after leaving school in 2013.
His mother and siblings were in Perth at the time, though.
He had felt being close to them was important to keep him on track, so he moved to Australia.
That launched a career which has included three years each with the Western Force and Melbourne Rebels, as well as three tests for the Wallabies.
But home came calling.
The 26-year-old wanted to have his first child born in New Zealand, while an opportunity to play for the Highlanders was too good to turn down.
So he and his wife Emily moved back, he signed with the Highlanders and Otago, and Keanu was born eight weeks ago.
While the loss last weekend was not ideal, Ainsley was thrilled to finally make his debut in blue and gold — and to be back from his injury.
"It was pretty awesome," he said.
"If I had to draw the perfect picture, it would have been Otago straight out of school.
"I chose a different pathway to be closer to family in Perth.
"That was the decision to go there — it wasn’t even for rugby. I knew family at the time was going to be a strong pillar in my life, to not fall into the traps of drinking and all that.
"It’s nice to finally get those two things in my life now — to have family around and be able to play for Otago and hopefully the Highlanders later on."
Ainsley enjoyed his time in Australia.
Initially a club player who worked as a glazier, he worked his way into the Force squad and learned plenty there.
When the franchise was removed from Super Rugby, he shifted to Melbourne to do three years with the Rebels.
In his first year there, he was called into the Wallabies squad, making his test debut against the All Blacks — the team he had grown up dreaming of playing for.
"It all happened quickly, my test debut. I got sent home for the week during that Bledisloe test. Then I got called in on the Thursday night.
"I got there at 8pm. I was playing golf that day so I left the course and got on the plane.
"It was a hell of an experience — having the jersey the night before and looking at it.
Given his "old man" had played for the All Blacks and that Ainsley had lived in New Zealand most of his life, he had to find his "why" in wanting to play for the Wallabies.
"It just came down to they gave the opportunity for my family and I to have a better life. That was kind of how I found my passion to play for the Wallabies. I’m really grateful to represent them still."
He has played at Forsyth Barr Stadium before, but always as a member of the opposition.
Tomorrow, he will get to do so as an Otago player for the first time, when he starts in the No 3 jersey against Taranaki.
That would be exciting. The significance ran deeper than than just that, though.
While he spent most of his childhood living with his mother, the opportunity to fill his father’s boots two decades later was special.
McDonnell, who now lives in Italy, had wished Ainsley luck before his debut.
"I think it’s just crazy that I’m playing where he used to play.
"I’ve got old photos of when I was in the changing rooms with Otago at Carisbrook. The jersey obviously goes a bit deeper than to someone else who hasn’t been there.
"That means a lot to me that I get to put the same jersey on that he did."
