This No8 has unfinished business.
Paul Grant said it was a tough decision to come home and have another crack with Otago but the loose forward, who has played 57 games for his province, still yearns to play Super rugby.
Grant (28) arrived back in Dunedin this month after being away for two and a-half years playing the game overseas.
He played more than half a season at Montpellier in the French Top 14 before he moved to England and played for Nottingham in the championship, which is the tier down from the premiership.
Grant could have stayed at Nottingham - his grandmother was born in the United Kingdom, so he qualifies to stay in England - but in the end he decided to come home and throw his lot in with Otago and, hopefully, the Highlanders.
"Cory [Otago coach Cory Brown] got in touch just before Christmas and I had to think about it for the next few months,'' he said.
"It was either come back here or stay in England. But we had done two and a-half years overseas and it was time to move on from there.
"I have still got a desire to play Super rugby, to get back here and put my best foot forward.''
His partner Monique Bates, a teacher, was keen to come back to New Zealand, so the couple have landed back in the South.
Grant said he had enjoyed his stints in both France and England.
His time at Montpellier could have been longer but the couple decided to head to England.
The Nottingham side just missed out on the playoffs in the two years he played.
"It was similar to here but a championship team would probably not be up to the standard of an ITM Cup [provincial] team. The boys there, they try hard and work really hard but they do not grow up with it. That's the biggest difference. They love doing lineouts and scrummaging for penalties.''
Grant finished last season as the top try-scorer in the championship with 19 tries, including seven in seven games, which was a club record.
"There was a bit of luck to them. A lot of them came off 5m lineouts where you just had to take the ball up the middle.''
Football was still very much king in England, he said.
He went to one game at the Rugby World Cup - the All Blacks demolition of France in the quarterfinal in Cardiff - but had to keep playing while the cup was on.
"I've played a lot of rugby in the past two and a-half years. The body still feels good, though, and I'm looking forward to getting back on the field.''
He would play club rugby for Kaikorai in a couple of weeks, saying he had a connection with the Bishopscourt club through family and friends.
He had watched Otago and the Highlanders last season and was excited with the performance of the two sides.
"Super rugby is still a goal of mine. It has always been in the back of my mind and you can only do that if you are back here.''
