Taine Randell is living in Havelock North, and was born in Hawkes Bay, but he says when he flew into Dunedin yesterday afternoon it felt like coming home.
Randell, the former Otago, Highlanders and All Black captain, arrived in Dunedin yesterday for the first time since he left in 2003 to play rugby overseas.
It has been a long time away for Randell and his wife, Jo.
"We [Randell and Jo] came down here for university and stayed here for 12 years. When we were flying in today it did really feel like coming home. It just feels really comfortable. We've both got a set of grandparents from down here and some good friends that we want to catch up with."
Randell and Jo, and sons Lanson (5) and Tori (3), are renting a house in Havelock North, and have bought some property on which they might one day build.
Still only 34, Randell spent five years in London before returning to New Zealand at the end of last year.
For the first three years when overseas he played for the Saracens club in London.
He then worked in the city's financial sector for two years before deciding to shift home, just before Christmas, mainly for his children's education.
He was weighing up his options and said he had no firm career plans.
"I have no real idea what I want to do, but I'm not too bothered. I'll fall into something. How and when that happens is not too much of a concern."
Randell said he had enjoyed his time in London, although the rugby was not of a high standard.
"If anything it's got worse since I got there. But it was still a great experience. I had an OE while playing rugby and got to meet some great people and lead an interesting couple of years."
He said it was great to come back to New Zealand, and his sons were Highlanders supporters.
"When I was over there I was really following European rugby but now I've got back here I'm following the Super 14.
"One thing you can say about the Highlanders is they have played to their potential and they can beat any team in New Zealand.
"Their losses have not been by much. They have grown a lot and I think they've got the best tight five in the country. You can see from the way they play, they have been well selected and well coached."
Randell said professional rugby had changed the landscape for Otago rugby.
"To be honest if I was in Hawkes Bay now and they dangled a professional contract in front of me when I'm in year 12 or year 13 at school to stay in Hawkes Bay, I would take it. Back when I was starting out, the career path was to come down here and be a doctor, be a PE student. But now there is the career to be a rugby player."
He said Carisbrook had not changed much since he left, apart from a few new seats on the terrace, and he was going to Friday night's game between the Highlanders and the Stormers.
Randell, who qualified with a double degree from the University of Otago, had a career as a rugby player and more recently as an oil broker in the city of London.
"It was an amazing time to be in the oil business. I was still playing when I started working there. I was there when the price of oil went from $30 a barrel up to $150, and then back down again.
"It was a once in a lifetime experience. The markets, not just oil, were really out of control," he said.
"The day I handed in my resignation was the day Lehman Brothers went bankrupt."
(Lehman Brothers, a financial services company, filed for the largest bankruptcy in United States history in September last year.)
"So I still had eight weeks to work out my time and that was great, as I had no real pressure on me, despite what was happening."
He said there was "no way" he would consider playing again.
"My body had had enough. My mind had had enough. I've just played for long enough."
Randell said some of the current criticism about rugby was not new.
"They keep going on about how they have to clean up the ruck. But they were going on about that when I was playing. It's not new.
"I think they've made a great decision to drop most of the ELVs [experimental law variations]. Even though I never played under them, some of them were never going to work."
Randell said New Zealand rugby faced huge challenges.
"Players are always going to go overseas. But I think we've got to create genuine interest back in rugby for the supporter. The supporters now are selective. The players and the supporters need an off-season.
"There are too many matches. It should be more about quality than quantity."
He said he was dismayed to see the national provincial competition being downgraded.
"Then you look at South Africa with their Currie Cup and the way they have protected it. The New Zealand union will argue it is about money in playing more games, but that is a short-term thing.
"There is a lot of passion for provincial sides and a wholehearted attitude towards playing and supporting your province. We haven't protected it to the same degree.
"They may be making money out of games at the moment but it is a short-term approach."
Randell was captain when the All Blacks lost to France in the semifinal of the 1999 Rugby World Cup, which may explain his willingness to come down and launch the public sale of tickets for the teams' June test.
"I hope they [France] send out their best team and we absolutely thrash them. But I've actually met a lot of those guys in the French team from that day, and there are good guys."
Randell said he was looking forward to see what had happened in Dunedin since his departure, and especially a visit to the Gardens Tavern, which held special memories for him.
• The Randell File
Age: 34
Games for All Blacks: 61 (51 tests) (1995-2002)
Points for All Blacks: 60 (12 tries)
Tests as All Black captain: 22
Games for Otago: 82
Games for Highlanders: 77
