2015 Rugby World Cup star Nehe Milner-Skudder will line up for Ngāti Porou East Coast in a pre-season game this weekend.
The former All Blacks flyer has been named at fullback for Saturday's run out against Poverty Bay in Ruatorea.
East Coast is coached by fellow former international Hosea Gear, who is also a former member of Super Rugby's Hurricanes.
30-year-old Milner-Skudder has barely played since a standout 13-test stint with the All Blacks ended in 2018.
The Taihape native was outstanding during the New Zealand's victorious World Cup run in 2015, while he also featured in the Hurricanes' only Super Rugby title in 2016.
Milner-Skudder signed for Toulon in 2018, but didn't play a game due to prolonged recovery from a shoulder injury suffered playing for the All Blacks in 2017.
The three-time Maori All Black was part of the Highlanders squad for Super Rugby in 2020, but only played one game.
During a 2020 interview with Ardie Savea, Milner-Skudder admitted he was forced into "some dark places" when injuries wrecked his once promising international career.
"It’s been a long, long time working my way back from that," Milner-Skudder told Savea on his self-titled podcast.
"I had my first shoulder [injury] back in 2016, so the last four years have been up and down with injuries - getting back from rehab, getting out on the field with setback after setback.
"At the same time, as a lot of people say, the adversity you go through in those struggles allows you to grow as a person. I’m not saying it doesn’t suck and I didn’t go to some dark places.
"I felt the weight and the heaviness of not being able to get out there with the brothers, but I feel like I have come out of these tough times with a better understanding of myself and it’s put things into perspective."
Skudder has played 50 games for Manawatu in provincial rugby.
