Playing 10 months a year seemed mentally and physically impossible to him then. And, while there are no guarantees in terms of selection or future injuries, the sabbatical clause he inserted into his four-year deal at least makes helping the All Blacks defend their title in England and Wales in 2015 a possibility.
"It's mainly to prolong my career," he said at the All Blacks training camp at Mt Maunganui yesterday when confirming his sabbatical for the first time. "When I sat down with the NZRU, they were keen for me to hang around for a bit longer; to get two or three more years out of me and to even look towards the next World Cup.
"I felt I needed a longer break and not to be playing 10 months of every year for the next four years as it was then when I sat down with them."
He said one of the options put forward by the NZRU was for him to miss the Rugby Championship against Argentina, Australia and South Africa which starts in August.
"There were times in the middle of last year that I genuinely thought that that could be a better option but over time I felt I still wanted to be involved for the majority of this year and that's the way it's turned out."
He said he would travel with his partner during his time off. "Just to enjoy things other than rugby which isn't always the case at the moment. You just play that long and it's that busy a schedule that you can't do much else."
With All Blacks captain Richie McCaw still on a break, and Dan Carter tipped to announce one of his own soon, player sabbaticals are once again in the spotlight. Yet, while All Blacks coach Steve Hansen suggested yesterday there might be more to come, they are likely to become less common as the sport gets to grips with a "global" season.
Smith reckoned the seachange of a co-ordinated playing window wouldn't happen during his playing career, but there are suggestions player power could make it a reality in 2016.
He felt playing eight months of the year, rather than the current 10, was more realistic. He said he could handle playing between 20-25 games during that time, which allowed for two months off and two months of pre-season training, a schedule which got the nod from Hansen. As a comparison, last year Liam Messam, an All Black with one of the highest workloads, played 28.
"If you could have a couple of months off and a couple of months genuine pre-season training where you're not worried about preparing for games, where you're actually getting your body right, would be an ideal situation," Smith said.
Hansen said of Smith's break: "We can only support that. I'd rather he went on a sabbatical than retire. There's still a lot of rugby left in him, it's just an indicator that players need to step out and get that decent break to get their bodies right."
As the All Blacks prepared to leave Mt Maunganui, Hansen said the camp ahead of the France tests had given his squad a good head start.
Highlanders Hosea Gear, Andrew Hore, Ma'a Nonu, Aaron Smith, Ben Smith and Tony Woodcock attended this one following their overseas campaign and Hansen acknowledged the change of environment would probably do them good.
"They're a team that are struggling for various reasons," Hansen said of a side with a one-win, 11-loss record this season. "When your team's not playing well, it's hard for individuals to play well."