Freakishly talented New Zealander Ollie Sapsford slipped through the rugby cracks a decade ago when he moved to Western Australia as a farmer.
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The Brumbies ensured this week it wouldn't happen a second time when they signed the All Blacks Sevens centre to fill the final spot available on their roster.
Sapsford has taken a giant leap towards fulfilling his Super Rugby dream, with the 26-year-old, 104kg giant set to bolster an already bulging Brumbies' outside back core for at least the next two seasons.
He'll join the club from New Zealand domestic heavyweights Hawke's Bay, where he's plied his trade for the past three seasons, completing a remarkable journey to Super Rugby that looked dead in the water when he gave the sport away as a teenager.
"I actually stopped playing rugby when I was 15 - I had a few years off, I'd just started a building apprenticeship so wanted to put everything into that," Sapsford said.
"I loved rugby when I was a kid but never really put everything into it.
"I went over to Perth and worked on a farm and actually became really good mates with the boss. He played local AFL footy there so he dragged me along one Thursday and I ended up staying and playing a season with them.
"They were talking to me [about] whether I'd consider pursuing an AFL career. I didn't really think too hard about it, I just considered if I can do that that quickly playing footy I'd be pretty keen to go home and give rugby a crack."
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Sapsford returned to New Zealand. Aged 20, he crafted a list of sporting goals, headed by what was now the overriding driver in his life - to play Super Rugby.
Within three years he'd joined Hawke's Bay. An invitation to join the All Blacks Sevens program followed, before the Brumbies came knocking.
"I've always backed myself - in my own head I've always pushed myself," Sapsford said.
"If I want something, I'll generally knuckle down and work pretty hard to get it.
"I just turned 26 a couple of weeks ago so if I look at it, the next steps in my head, if I ever want to make it to the next level again, I've got to start putting in those down payments and that ground work.
"I want to give myself two, three, four years in Super Rugby and really put my hand up and give it my best crack.
"For me it just felt right. It's been a goal of mine for four or five years now. An opportunity raised its hand and I'm jumping through it."
Sapsford's signing might just prove one of the Brumbies' best scouting maneuvers of recent seasons.
They've signed a ready-made centre/winger whose 191cm frame brims with explosive pace.
He's a proven try scorer on the field, but also a country boy from rural Ashburton in the middle of New Zealand's South Island, genuinely excited by the prospect of living in Canberra.
"I had a Zoom with the coaches, Rod [Seib] and Chris Tindall and spoke about the environment - environment to me is pretty huge," Sapsford said.
"Once I feel comfortable I can get the best out of myself and once I'm comfortable with the environment, that's when I play my best footy.
"We had a long Zoom and I really sussed that out and what the environment was like, what the boys were like and they really sold it to me. I'm pretty excited to come over and see what it's all about over there.
"Ashburton. . . is a small country town, that's where I was born and raised and went to school so I'm definitely a smaller town man."
"I loved rugby when I was a kid but never really put everything into it"
- Brumbies recruit Ollie Sapsford
James Buckley
James is a Queanbeyan boy enjoying his second stint at the Canberra Times, more than eight years on from his first. In between he's traveled the world, and spent time covering sport in Sydney.
James is a Queanbeyan boy enjoying his second stint at the Canberra Times, more than eight years on from his first. In between he's traveled the world, and spent time covering sport in Sydney.
