Former All Black Aaron Cruden has come to terms with the likelihood that he'll never pull on another silver fern, not that he's complaining.
The 28-year-old is settling into the 'la vie jolie' in the south of France after signing a three-year, $3.6 million deal with Top 14 side Montpellier, and is understandably at ease with the sacrifices his European move involved.
With a World Cup win and a half-century of Tests for the All Blacks to his name, it's a record he stands by and is ultimately completely satisfied with.
"Looking back I was lucky. I ended up with 50 caps for the All Blacks and if you had asked me ten years ago how many I thought I might achieve, I would have happily said one or two, just to pull on that jersey," he told the UK's Sunday Telegraph.
"For me the timing just felt right. I would have known deep down if there was a massive motivation to stick around to try and achieve another Rugby World Cup."
The former Chief said he and his wife, Grace, are wholeheartedly embracing their "pretty special" new life and all the challenges that come with it.
"They certainly do things a little bit differently but my wife and I were excited by that, putting ourselves out of our comfort zone on a personal level. Having to learn a language at 28-years-old and seeing how that goes, it’s all part of what life is about."
"We always know New Zealand is home and that we’ll go back there. But the world is such a big place with wonderful things on offer that it would be a shame to not take the opportunity to experience a few of those."
Cruden was heavily recruited by a number of overseas teams, including Steven Luatua and Charlie Piutau's Bristol.
However it was a tour of the luscious Montpellier surroundings with club owner Mohed Altrad following New Zealand's win over France in Paris in 2016 which proved the seal on the deal, Cruden admittedly impressed with his new boss' lofty ambitions.
After crossing the line against Toulon to stretch his side's unbeaten streak to four on Monday (NZT), a reunion of sorts now awaits Cruden as his team brace for a top of the table clash against Dan Carter's Racing '92.
"Mohed [Altrad] is extremely ambitious as an owner, but also talking to Vern Cotter as a coach he really wants to deliver. He wants to get out there and play an exciting brand of footy, although ultimately he knows you are judged on your performances.
"Talking to both of them made me excited to get here. This is a relatively young club that has not been around for a long time, but one which is hungry for success."
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