Fergus Read knew it was time to come home after a five-month stint in Scotland playing semi-professional rugby.
But the Wanaka forward’s arrival in July meant he was too late for club rugby as the finals loomed, so instead he was proactive in his next step.
While overseas, Read emailed North Otago head coach Jason Forrest to see if he was interested in any returning players for the upcoming Heartland Championship season.
Forrest obviously liked what he saw and Read has made quite the impact in his opening three games for the Old Golds.
Read is relishing the chance to be part of the group this season.
"It’s good eh. I’m loving it", Read said.
"Good group of boys and the coaches are real good. [There is a] good culture.
"The supporters, they seem to come to most of our games up north as well."
The 21-year-old grew up in Wanaka, before heading to Lincoln to study agricultural business.
After finishing up in Christchurch in November, Read made the decision to head to Scotland in March this year and join the Stirling Wolves.
The Wolves, based about an hour from Edinburgh, are a semi-professional team in the Super Series competition.
Originally, Read was meant to be based in Scotland for a year, but when the Scotland rugby union cancelled the Super Series halfway through the season, Read returned home.
Nevertheless, he loved the chance to test himself in a northern hemisphere rugby environment.
"It was good fun, good experience and good to meet new people.
"Learnt a lot, especially because, you know, it was a lot more set piece-dominant.
"Definitely not as free-flowing as New Zealand rugby, but was still a good style to play."
Read is still living in Wanaka, where he is working as builder, and travels to Oamaru weekly with another Central Otago-based player, Hayden Todd.
The Old Golds’ blend of experience, Pasifika flair and promising young players had been enjoyable, he said.
The Heartland Championship was enjoyable too, giving Read a chance to see different parts of New Zealand.
"It’s a good level of rugby and definitely learning a lot as well", Read said.
"Especially playing with some of the older boys that have played Heartland for five, or six, years. They definitely know a thing or two.
"It’s also cool to travel around different areas that you’ve never been too, personally, and obviously meet different players and see different things."
The Old Golds started their campaign with two losses, but bounced back with a massive 69-19 win over Wairarapa-Bush last week.
"The first game probably wasn’t our best and then we were kind of building against Thames Valley.
"If we didn’t let in a few tries we probably would’ve had that game.
"The coaches were pleased with how we played on Saturday and a lot of the boys were pretty happy as well.
"It was probably the first game we’ve played some decent free-flowing rugby."
They are back at home today to face East Coast — who have recorded two wins and a loss — in their first Heartland game in Weston.
North Otago v East Coast
Weston, 2.30pm
North Otago: Jake Greenslade, Ryusei Kato, Bradley Harewood, Apenisa Tuiba, Fergus Read, Savenaca Rabaka, Cameron Rowland (cc), Kasimila Vaihu, Jake Matthews, Greg Dyer, Mavaetangi Finau, Chihiro Matsuyama, Hayden Todd, Oli Knopp, Ben McCarthy. Reserves: Max Sawers, Roney Vanila, Mathew Duff (cc), Conor Lawson, Lawrence Leung-Wai, Tyron Davies, Jamie Mullan, Seva Druma.
