OPINION: Pita Gus Sowukula's feel-good rise from Fijian basketball star to All Blacks bolter has taken an all too familiar turn, after he was dropped for the Rugby Championship.
The 27-year-old seemed an inspired selection for the test-series against Ireland, after starring for the Chiefs in Super Rugby Pacific and establishing himself as a fan favourite.
No try received the same roar of the crowd than Sowakula's break from the scrum to touch down on in his All Blacks debut in the first test against Ireland at Eden Park.
But, he now finds himself in a wilderness many Pasifika players before him have encountered - capped by the All Blacks, only to be dismissed just as quickly.
The Fijian-born Sowakula played just 30 minutes over two tests for his adopted nation, before his omission from the matchday squad for the final fixture in Wellington.
Following the All Blacks' historic series defeat to Ireland, changes were expected and Sowakula finds himself discarded to allow for the return of Shannon Frizell among the loose forwards - but how can his brief, but impressive cameos justify such a dropping?
Sowakula previously rejected advances to represent Fiji at the 2019 Rugby World Cup, with his eyes firmly on the black jersey, but now faces the real possibility of missing out on selection for next year's tournament, after forfeited eligibility for his birth nation at least another three years.
In 2022, World Rugby introduced new eligibility rules, following outcries from former All Blacks of Pasifika heritage to allow them to switch allegiances.
Charles Piatau, Malakai Fekitoa and Seta Tamanivalu are just a few who have gone on to turn out for their countries of birth since the ruling, but given the All Blacks' history of capping Pasifika players - denying them the chance to represent another nation - before moving on to the next shiniest toy, Sowakula seems to have fallen victim to another poach from NZ Rugby.
Tamanivalu's case is eerily similar, after he was capped just five times in 2016, mostly from the bench, before never turning out for the All Blacks again, and relocating for a club career in France and then Japan.
Vaea Fifita is another to have been discarded by the All Blacks, playing 11 tests before his decision to leave New Zealand. Admittedly, Fifita, 30, is now almost guaranteed to turn out for Tonga at next year's World Cup, after their qualification victory over Hong Kong.
To be clear, nobody is owed the black jersey and Sowakula is certainly no exception to that, but conversations were had with Sowakula about representing New Zealand. He was then chosen, performed well in limited action, just to be left out of the very next squad.
Why select him in the first place? And subsequently, when does the merry-go round of hoarding talent from our neighboring nations end?
Perhaps World Rugby has to introduce even more relaxed eligibility rules to combat the seemingly endless cases of one-and-done All Blacks.
Sowakula deserved better and can count himself extremely unlucky to have been made an unlikely scapegoat, as the All Blacks seek to salvage a tumultuous 2022.
He was one of the few bright spots in a disastrous series loss to the Irish and often out-performed current All Blacks captain Sam Cane in a strong Chiefs back-row.
Sowakula should be on the plane to South Africa and provided the opportunity to test himself against the always-physical, world champion Springboks.
Instead, he must wait to see if he becomes yet another Pasifika player forgotten by All Blacks coaches, but never the rugby fans.
Reece Labuschagne is a Newshub online sports producer
