Tom Franklin was "like a good wine — maturing slowly but getting better with age".
It really was the ideal way to sum up a talented all-round lock who had to be patient before flourishing with the Highlanders.
And flourish he did.
Franklin eventually demanded selection every week at Super Rugby level as his immense workrate, ball-carrying and shuddering defence made him an integral part of a great Highlanders era.
He did all his core roles well, but also had a knack for popping up in the wide areas and contributing to the attack.
The only real disappointment for the man with the magnificent middle name of St George was that injury ruled him out of the crunch end of the 2015 season, when the Highlanders stormed to the championship.
Franklin had come to Otago from the small beach town of Ōpōtiki, two hours from Tauranga, where his parents had a kiwifruit and avocado orchard.
"My whole mindset on rugby was different back then. Rugby was sort of secondary for me. I came down here to enjoy the student life and rugby was sort of second."
Even when he made the New Zealand under-20 team, which won the world junior title in Argentina in 2010, he was not convinced he was on the same path as team-mates like Julian Savea and Tawera Kerr-Barlow.
"I thought I was out of my depth back then."
After developing nicely through the Southern club and three seasons with Otago, Franklin got his chance with the Highlanders, and really grabbed it.
He came desperately close to earning a test cap, regularly joining the All Blacks as injury and training cover, but in an era with people like Brodie Retallick and Sam Whitelock, it was hard for any other lock to push through.
Franklin, who played nine games for the Māori All Blacks, moved around after leaving the Highlanders, spending four seasons in Japan as well as having a stint in American rugby and back down under with the Western Force.
He did sterling work as a cancer advocate — he was 12 when his father died from liver cancer, and his brother, Luke, died of stomach cancer.
