Willis Scott has taken a well-worn road to the Otago rugby team.
Play well at school, head south to the University of Otago and then, after a year or two of club rugby, make the blue and golds.
But for Scott, heading to Dunedin was more about relaxing and studies were just as important as, if not more important than, the oval ball.
''When I came down from Nelson, I did not want to focus too much on just rugby. I wanted to just take it as it comes. I'd find that more enjoyable,'' he said.
''There was no real pressure on me. It was more about playing with a bunch of mates and having a bit of fun.''
Scott (21), an openside flanker, impressed in his first season with the Taieri club last year and after another good club season this year, was named in the Otago squad.
''This year, I suppose I have taken it a bit more seriously. Having to take the step up and wanting to make an impact.
''At the start of this year, a goal of mine was to crack it. Coming down here, in that first year, I never really had any set goals and expectations. I just wanted to come down here and enjoy it.''
He is studying for a commerce degree, in accountancy and finance, though that is forced to take a back seat with his commitments on the rugby paddock.
He has come off the bench in the first three games and made his first start for Otago last week, playing in his old home town against Tasman.
It was a proud moment for his mother, Helen, with Willis' older brother Mitchell, a winger, coming off the bench for Tasman. She was at the ground to see both her sons.
It was the older brother who got the bragging rights, with Tasman winning 49-16.
''First-class rugby, of course, is a lot different. Just faster and all that ... they [Tasman] are a pretty good side. They have been there or thereabouts for a while now and have a pretty settled team.''
Scott is the son of an All Black: his father, Steve, played four games for the All Blacks in 1980 on a tour of Australia.
A halfback, he scored four tries in his All Black debut against Queensland Country, which remains a record for an All Black halfback.
But Scott senior died before he was 40, of a heart attack, in 1994.
''I was 20 months at the time so I don't really remember anything about him ... I do think about him still. Early on when I was playing, the coaches and that would try and turn me into a halfback, because I was small.''
Scott played two years in the Nelson College First XV and then took a year off after finishing school, heading for Australia and a few odd jobs, before returning to New Zealand to start his tertiary education.
