The strapping loose forward was lumped with the nickname Genghis - "I think just because of his hair and because he looked quite formidable" - but his passport said Adam Thomson.
He is now an All Black and will start in a test for the first time against England in Christchurch on Saturday.
Walker was one of the managers of the Otago University club's tour of Asia at the end of the 2001 season and on the tour he became convinced the then 19-year-old Thomson was destined for great things.
"His potential as a player and his character were shining through. He was quite a reserved young man, but, obviously, he had the determination and the perseverance to go far."
Thomson has been a star in University colours for years but did not become a regular for Otago until 2006, and made the Highlanders only this season.
"I've always thought he's been underestimated," Walker said.
"We've seen this year that he's an exciting player . . . he's got flair we haven't seen in a long time, probably not since someone like Michael Jones."
Thomson has spent much of his life in Dunedin but has mid-Canterbury roots.
And in Ashburton, no-one is more delighted in his continuing rise than his devoted mother, Glenda.
"I'm totally excited for Adam, because it's his dream. It's been his dream since he was a little boy," she told the Otago Daily Times yesterday.
"He used to play rugby in Christchurch in the morning and then catch the bus and play at the Ashburton Showgrounds in the afternoon. He just loved it."
