Now he is an All Black. It is a story of perseverance and never giving up on a dream, no matter how unrealistic it may seem.
It has been some journey for Hames, who worked for five years as a rugby development officer for Bay of Plenty union.
Hames, who turns 28 on Sunday, was born in Wellington and just chugged away in club rugby for years in the Bay of Plenty.
He went to Te Aute College in Hawke's Bay, and had a few scraps along the way. He never made any national junior representative sides and was, by and large, an ordinary rugby player.
A registered referee as well, he just wanted to get a crack at the big time.
He played loosehead prop for his club side in Tauranga but was constantly told he was too small.
So he made the decision to train and train.
As he told the Otago Daily Times in late 2013, he simply trained hard every day for two years. He got bigger but it seemed those in the know were not noticing.
Then he caught a lucky break. He was making up the numbers for a scrummaging session when the All Blacks were in town. He was only there because those in front of him were injured.
He impressed and the rugby bush telegraph got back to Highlanders coach Jamie Joseph, who was looking for new front rowers.
Hames then made his first-class debut in 2013 and played 10 games for an under-performing Bay of Plenty outfit.
He did enough to convince Joseph he was on the right path, and Hames arrived in the South to have a crack at Super rugby in 2014.
Hames quickly found a role model in Brad Thorn, like him, a committed Christian. Hames was a sponge for everything Thorn said to him and he ended up playing 16 games for the Highlanders that year. He trained hard, gave himself to the Highlanders cause and helped the franchise make the playoffs for the first time in 12 years.
The following year, though, was almost a complete opposite of the success of 2014.
Harshly suspended after the first game, he came back into the Highlanders side midway through the season, only to injure his knee and his season was over.
He went to Tasman but played only four games in last year's domestic competition as injuries - more specifically an ankle sprain - again got in the way.
He withdrew from Super rugby selection, wanting to get his body, and more particularly his knees, right.
But by late March this year, the Chiefs came calling.
Hames signed as medical cover and as the Chiefs front rowers kept falling by the wayside, he got involved and played nine games.
Then, with Joe Moody nursing a sore neck, Hames came into the All Black set-up and went on the bench.
He got about 20 minutes on the pitch on Saturday for the All Blacks.
He told media in Sydney on Saturday night he had been dreaming about playing for the All Blacks since he was 7.
``I just really wanted to get on because it's never official. I can get the jersey and I can keep the jersey - it has my name on it - but it's never official until you actually get on the field and play even one minute.''