OPINION: What a stink way to celebrate your 27th birthday.
After 54 Tests and an incredible 46 tries, Julian Savea has been dropped from the All Blacks.
It's quite an incredible fall from grace for the winger who was once described as being "probably better" than Jonah Lomu by coach Steve Hansen.
Savea will probably play for the All Blacks again at some stage in the future, but his days of having the number eleven jersey on lock-down are gone.
So what should he do?
Savea's signed on with New Zealand Rugby until the end of 2019 and now has to decide whether to keep fighting for a place in the World Cup squad for Japan or take the money and run.
All Blacks wingers have a short shelf-life, especially in the professional era, so could it be the end of the road for "The Bus" after just five and a half seasons?
Israel Dagg's shown that you can come back from being dropped, but Savea lacks the all-round skill that's seen Dagg reinvent himself from a fullback to a right-winger.
Apart from versatility, Savea's major problem is that there are several other wingers lining up to take his spot, headlined by 20-year-old Rieko Ioane.
Then there's Waisake Naholo who can easily switch to the left-wing and a reborn Seta Tamanivalu who's switched position for the Crusaders and, on form, is looking like a better prospect right now than Savea who couldn't even make the starting fifteen for the Hurricanes by the end of the season.
The call is Savea's to make, but those overseas offers might look extremely tempting right now because the road ahead doesn't look easy.
John Day is a Rugby Reporter for RadioLIVE
