Former All Blacks wing Joe Rokocoko thought it was funny seeing former teammate Dan Carter looking "uncomfortable" after putting on a Blues jersey for the first time.
Earlier this month, the Blues announced Carter has signed for the Super Rugby Aotearoa season as injury cover for Stephen Perofeta, who will miss the entire campaign with a broken foot.
The signing sent shockwaves throughout the rugby world considering Carter is a proud Cantabrian and played 141 games for the Crusaders, where he won three Super Rugby titles before continuing his career abroad.
After COVID-19 forced the Japanese rugby season to be cancelled where Carter was playing, he said the decision to sign with the Auckland franchise was to help out his former Crusaders and All Blacks teammate - now Blues head coach - Leon MacDonald.
Speaking to South African website Sport24, Rokocoko says he had to make sure it wasn't April Fools Day when initially hearing rumours Carter had signed with the Blues.
"When the news was confirmed, I felt happy and weird at the same time. If you are a real die-hard Blues or Crusaders fan or former player, his move to Auckland was just a no-no.
"I saw him putting on his Blues training kit for the first time, and I was laughing to myself because he looked so uncomfortable.
"He used to dominate in that red jumper so it looked wrong for him to be in blue.
"But it just shows the person that he is. He has put all that aside and sees the bigger picture at the Blues by developing and mentoring the younger players."
"I was lucky enough to have played alongside and against him. There is no doubt he is world-class and will go down as one of our greats."
Rokocoko played 96 games for the Blues, before moving to France where he played until last year when he decided to hang up the boots.
He remains based in Paris and has been getting up early to watch the opening Super Rugby Aotearoa games.
"It's been a while since I have been so excited to watch live games," Rokocoko told Sport24.
"Pre-lockdown, I used to hold off and wait for the highlights because there was too much rugby but now Aotearoa is exciting.
"It's a short window with local derbies because of COVID-19. It doesn't get more intense than 10 weeks of New Zealand derbies.
"In terms of who I will support in the competition, it will always be the Blues but it's so hard to put a finger on who is going to win the domestic tournament because all five franchises are good teams."
Rokocoko believes the Aotearoa competition will be even more fierce.
"It's hard enough playing against each other in a normal season of Super Rugby but Aotearoa will be even more intense," he said.
Join us at 7pm Saturday for live updates of the Chiefs v Blues Super Rugby Aotearoa clash.
