Highlanders back Jonah Lowe spent the best part of 12 months bandaged up on the sideline with a heavy knee injury.
He returned for the latter part of last year for the better, starting the last five games of the Super Rugby season and scoring four tries.
‘‘Yeah, it was real pleasing for me because I was out for 12 months and obviously getting older was a real hard time for me,’’ Lowe said.
‘‘But I think in that time you can kind of reset and then you kind of realise how lucky you are to play rugby.
‘‘I think it was just like a mental reset for me, so when I came back I was just mentally fresh and showed on the field.’’
Time away spent with his friends and family and letting his body recover — ‘‘I’ve had a lot of injuries in the past’’ — gave him a new lease on the field.
‘‘I haven’t had one injury since I’ve come back from ACL, so that was a big part of it.
‘‘I think as you get older I believe in less is more.
‘‘When you’re younger, obviously your body’s fresh but you’re not as confident.
‘‘But when you’re older you know what to do and what you’re good at so it’s more about just keeping the body fresh.’’
The 30-year-old has returned in fine form for his fourth season with the franchise, but has reinvented himself after being moved from centre to wing.
‘‘I think I’m a bit of a hybrid.
‘‘I trained the whole preseason on the wing and then for our first preseason game they named me centre.
‘‘I’m enjoying both positions at the moment, starting at midfield and if one of the wingers go down then switch out to the wing.’’
Being in the middle of the park had its differences from being on the edges, but playing inside co-captain Timoci Tavatavanawai has its perks.
‘‘I pretty much just let him do everything,’’ Lowe said.
‘‘I kind of just run off him every time he carries I know he’s going to make game line. I’m just trying to support him, run off him and just let him do his thing really.’’
And seeing the Highlanders back three of Jona Nareki, Caleb Tangitau and Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens lighting up the field helped.
‘‘They’re all pretty electric.
‘‘I’m just trying to give them the ball early and try to let them do their thing at the moment.
‘‘I haven’t really had much opportunities to attack but as long as they’re all doing well then I’m happy.’’
Lowe, who will run out with one sock for Zingari and one for his home club, Clive, in Hawke’s Bay for club rugby round, will start at centre for the fourth straight game when the Highlanders host the Western Force at home this afternoon.
The Highlanders need to respond after a disappointing 31-14 loss to the Reds in Brisbane last week, while the Force got their campaign under way with a 35-19 win against Moana Pasifika.
That puts the Highlanders and the Force on a level playing field with the same record of one win, two losses to start the season.
They will both be hoping for a better performance than their previous encounter under the roof at Forsyth Barr Stadium in 2024, where the Highlanders eventually won 7-6.
The Force are full of threats in their loose forward trio.
Carlo Tizzano is a machine at openside and has scored in all three games, Vaiolini Ekuasi is in form at No8, and Nick Champion de Crespigny returns from injury to the blindside.
Former Highlander Nathan Hastie will start at halfback for the Force.
