Spark-plug Sevu Reece is poised to take the field against several of his "close mates", when the All Blacks take on Fiji on Saturday - mates who, on a different day, he may well have been playing alongside.
The 24-year-old has revealed he was within inches of committing to play for the Drua at the 2019 Rugby World Cup, before the All Blacks snapped him up.
Reece peers between his thumb and his index finger to demonstrate just how narrow the margin was, as he pondered the approach from then Fiji coach John McKee, after his breakout Super Rugby campaign for the Crusaders.
"The head coach for Fiji [the John McKee], he was messaging me just before the World Cup," says Reece, who was born in the Fijian capital of Nadi.
"I was in a position where I didn’t know whether I was going to make the All Blacks.
"He gave me a call, and I was going to catch up with him ... to be fair, I was 'this close' to playing for Fiji."
Reece went on to make his mark as one the All Blacks' best backs through their build-up to the World Cup in Japan, where he also shone in a tightly-contested contingent of outside backs.
"It was a really tough decision, because I'm only 24," Reece continues. "I've got a plan for me personally. I could wait a few more years and try and crack the All Blacks, but it happened a lot faster for me.
"It was pretty special."
The latest in a long line of All Blacks wings of Fijian heritage, Reece admits the white sevens jersey was always his goal, until a move to New Zealand to attend Hamilton Boys High School changed his trajectory.
"Growing up in Fiji, you watched the sevens and the 15s, and that was obviously your goal," says Reece, who now has eight test caps to his name.
"Just like any NZ kid who wants to play for the All Blacks... for me, growing up you obviously wanted to play for Fiji.
"It's not until you actually get out of Fiji.. grow a bit older and watch the All Blacks, watch Joe Rokocoko and Sitiveni Sivivatu and all those guys and you're like 'I want to be that one day'."
After starring on the club scene for Melville, Reece was soon selected for Waikato's national provincial championship team, where his try-scoring exploits saw him pounced upon by the Crusaders.
Fellow All Blacks teammates, Crusaders prop George Bower and Blues No. 8 Hoskins Sotutu, are also of Fijian descent, and are poised to be part of the game day squad for the test at Dunedin's Forsyth Barr Stadium - the first time the two sides have met since 2011.
In fact, last year, prop George Bower - who made his test debut against Tonga last weekend - admitted he faced a similar situation to Reece, choosing to spurn the advances of coach McKee to commit his international allegiance to New Zealand.
Even if he won't be wearing the same jersey of his boyhood heroes, Reece says Saturday will be a huge occasion for his native homeland.
"It's a small country and everyone loves rugby," he says.
"Fiji versus the All Blacks is a massive achievement, not just for the Fiji team but for the whole of Fiji."
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