Forced to venture abroad, former North Harbour second-five Michael Little has found greener pastures with the Sunwolves in Japan.
Little was a standout for his province, helping them to promotion to the NPC Premiership in 2016 and was duly nominated for the player-of-the-year honours.
Despite his success, he was unable to seal a contract with any of the five New Zealand Super Rugby franchises - the closest he came was the Blues development squad.
Instead, the 25-year-old ventured to Japan, where he played for the Mitsubishi Dynaboars in the Top Challenge League, before Sunwolves coach Jamie Joseph came calling.
Little has thrived under the former Highlanders boss this year and is confident the team's diversity will lead to a turnaround in fortune, with the formidable challenge of the champion Crusaders up next.
"This has the same sort of feel as a lot of the other teams I've been a part of, but you've obviously got your Japanese boys, South Africans, Aussies, Kiwis and Island boys, and it's pretty awesome," he told Newshub.
"We've got the culture right, guys love to come to training and they love to hang out. We love to play rugby and you see through some of our attack, the guys like to express themselves and they enjoy themselves.
"I think every time we step out onto the field, it's an opportunity to express and I know the results don't speak for themselves, but we're still really positive, our coaching environment is really positive and we're hoping to fire some bullets again against the Crusaders this weekend."
Little is one of eight New Zealand-born players in the squad, with former Highlanders players Jason Emery and Hayden Parker among them.
Add Joseph and Brown to the mix, and you have a very Kiwi-influenced style of play, something Little's loved being a part of.
"Jamie and Brownie, they've got their routines and stuff, so it's not too dissimilar to how I've been coached over in New Zealand and a lot of the boys enjoy," he told Newshub.
"It's bit of a shock to your South African boys, those Aussie boys and especially the Japanese guys, but Jamie's been involved for a long time now and guys get used to it."
Little hopes to join a long list of Japan-adopted internationals and with Joseph in charge of that as well, he's got the inside lane.
However, he hasn't ruled out returning to New Zealand should the opportunity arise.
"I could see the next couple of years in Japan and hope that opportunity comes up, but at the moment, I'm taking it one step at a time. For me now, it's focusing on the Crusaders, and hopefully get in next week and the week after, and try to build some confidence, some rhythm," Little told Newshub.
"I'm enjoying myself here, and Jamie and Brownie are awesome coaches and some of the best coaches, if not the best I've had so far.
"So we'll see what happens, I guess. If an opportunity comes up. I'll have a look, but I'm not too sure."
Newshub.
