As he prepares to take his place in the side against Chichester, our often mesmeric No. 9 has spoken about his career and the injuries which hindered him throughout most of 2014.

Frustration was worse than anything he says.

‘It has not been so much a tough year but more frustrating.

‘I am an active person by nature so to be immobilised for three months in a neck brace post-surgery was very frustrating.

‘Then to be building for the [Cornish] Pirates game to only pull my hamstring, then to recover and then pull the other hamstring fourth game into the season, then to dislocate my shoulder in the return match from that.

‘I was reasonably optimistic about returning to the field post the neck injury as the surgeon filled me with confidence, saying that he would expect full recovery and he knew the whole time that rugby was still an option, which put my mind at ease.

‘It was after the dislocated shoulder when the real questions were asked, as you can only take so much and with the accumulation of injuries the frustration was at its peak.

‘But I didn’t want to make any hasty decisions and the shoulder settled down after a couple of months, and so I have returned back to rugby already, and long may it continue.’

The whole club will echo those thoughts, as the man from the far north of New Zealand has proven himself to be as fine a player ever to wear the Guernsey RFC shirt.

It is now four years since he and partner Megan sat down to discuss their future.

‘Megan and I had the ambition to travel while we were still young enough and had nothing really tying us down,’ he recalled.

‘We began looking online at teams in the UK/Europe who might be looking for a scrum half which I could play at.

‘We came across Guernsey online so begun emailing Jordy [Jordan Reynolds] and things got sorted out from there.

‘I didn’t know a whole lot about Guernsey before coming over, however once Guernsey was a realistic option for us, we began researching the island and liked what we saw: quiet, friendly, homely and an enthusiastic sporting community.’

That said Guernsey was showing its teeth when the couple arrived.

‘Obviously we arrived in the winter and the weather was cold wet and miserable.

‘However come on the summer months and the island was fantastic, close proximity and access to beaches, coastal walks and outdoor bars.’

The man originally from Whangarei, Northland, is now 30.

A high point of his career was when Waikato U21s coach, Johnny Walters, noticed him playing for his university side and chose him for Waikato U21s.

‘From there I was selected into the Waikato Rugby Academy and High Performance Programme and the real rugby began.

‘With injuries permitting I was in and out of the Waikato provisional side from 2006 to 2011 and that year I made the Chiefs Super Rugby wider training group in 2011.’

Then Guernsey and a new life opportunity neither he or Megan have regretted taking.

‘I’d just like to take the chance to thank Guernsey for the warm welcome and all the support that Megan and I have received since our arrival.

‘A special thank you to the club committee and all the supporters of GRFC.

‘You are all doing a fantastic job and it is much appreciated, not just by myself but by the entire squad.

Happy New Year.’