In the first of a four-part interview with departing Green Is, King's, Otago, Highlanders and All Black legend Ben Smith talks to Paul Dwyer about his early days playing rugby, and the importance of family.
Ben Smith discusses his start to rugby with Green Island, saying: "I was a bit of a battler, I just enjoyed the game."
Shuffled around the park, from the forward pack across the backs, he never thought he would get a go at the big time, and neither did his parents.
"They [my parents] were similar to me really, they never thought I'd get a crack."
After his inauspicious debut for Otago, a 70-point drubbing from Wellington, he worried that might have been it for his professional career.
"I played my first game for Otago, but it could've been my last."