Now, the motherland is giving Dunedin three of its sporting stars.
England loose forward James Haskell is the latest athlete to join the move down under.
The bulky 26-year-old has signed with the Highlanders for the 2012 Super 15 season. Haskell has played 39 games for England and was with the team during its unhappy World Cup campaign.
He plays for Japanese club Ricoh and will return to English club Wasps at the end of the Super 15 campaign. He has always said he would like to play a season of Super 15 rugby and yesterday's announcement fulfilled that wish.
Haskell is the third high-profile English sporting star to link up with a team from the region.
English cricketers Steven Finn and Dimitri Mascarenhas will pay for the Volts this summer.
Finn, who has played 12 tests for England, arrived in the city this week and will play four Plunket Shield games for Otago.
The 22-year-old is capable of bowling 150kmh thunderbolts which fizz and snarl from the deck and he should be a handful for the country's opening batsmen.
Mascarenhas is returning to the city for a second stint. The big-hitting all-rounder was a popular member of the Otago team in 2008-09 and helped the Volts win the domestic twenty/20 title that season. He is back for another shot at the twenty/20 trophy.
