The other retirement was just a rehearsal.
That is how Otago Spirit prop Gemma Tuhega views her practice retirement last season.
The 33-year-old previously told the Otago Daily Times she was not planning on returning for the Spirit this season.
But when her team-mates read about her retirement, the teasing began almost immediately.
It was not long before she was lured back by the prospect of playing 50 games for the province.
She will reach that milestone today, when she runs out at Forsyth Barr Stadium for Otago’s final match of the season against North Harbour.
And then she will call it quits for good — well, sort of.
She is eyeing up 200 club games for Pirates.
She has played 178 games, so what is another 22 games.
But she is definitely done with representative rugby.
"It feels like a sense or relief," she said.
"I’m still loving it and I love being part of the team. I have so much passion for Otago rugby. But I know my time has come."
Tuhega and her husband Nineva Viatupu have three boys.
Orlando (11) is in the Otago under-48kg team and is skipping the game against South Canterbury in Oamaru today so he can see his mum play her 50th.
Jeremiah (8) loves his rugby and Phoenix (4) is a budding young player as well.
All three boys play for the Pirates club which can make Saturday mornings a logistical nightmare.
Viatupu plays touch rugby and is an age group national representative, and he also does body building. By day Tuhega is teacher at Taieri College, so life is busy.
"We are a full-on family," she said, laughing again.
She does a lot of that.
"I am really looking forward to not playing rep rugby because I’m away all the time and hardly get to see the boys. I work, train and if we got paid, I reckon I’d be as rich as. I’ve been around for a bloody long time."
Sixteen years to be precise.
She made the squad for the first time in 2000.
It took her a couple of years before she cemented her spot in the side and she has taken time off to start and then expand her family.
She has had to force her way back each time, so getting to 50 games has required a lot of tenacity and sacrifice.
One of her highlights was helping win the JJ Stewart Trophy off Auckland in 2013.
"It’s the Ranfurly Shield of women’s rugby. Basically, we never knew about it because we never won against Auckland, anyway, and then all of a sudden we got presented with it.
"That was certainly a highlight. But what was quite funny is Canterbury came and took it off us in the next match. Then Canterbury played Auckland the next weekend and lost it, so it ended up back in bloody Auckland again."
Cue more laughter.
"The Spirit have always been up and down. The reason why is when the students come down and study, they play for the club and stay for three or four seasons.
"The Spirit gets good and we’re in the top four and finals and all those sort of things, and then they all leave or graduate and can’t get jobs down here and they go. And then we drop down again and go into a development phase again. That is the phase was are in at the moment."
Otago v North Harbour
Forsyth Barr Stadium, today, 12.05pm
Otago: Hannah Stolba, Kilisitina Moata’ane, Greer Muir, Michaela Baker, Renaye Flockton, Olivia Waldron, Megan Manson, Rachel Ovens, Angie Sisifa, Georgia Mason, Julia Gorinski, Annemieke van Vliet, Gemma Tuhega, Tegan Hollows, Kirsten Shalosky. Reserves: Paige Church, Eilis Doyle, Jess Kendall, Maddi Finch, Zoe Whatarau, Kiana Wereta, Kathryn Kibby.
North Harbour: Briar McNamara, Florida Fatanitivake, Emma Iversen, Chelsea Alley, Rina Paraone, Claudia McMeekin, Stacey Martin, Jemma Palmer, Hannah Croucher, Pia Tapsell, Rebecca Wood, Charmaine Smith, Olivia Ward-Duin, Billy-Jo Jones, Wicky Auva’a. Reserves: Aigaevalu Timani-Samau, Jessicca Reid, Lauren Meyer, Maryke Penman, Justine Vizirgianakis, Anien Bester, Gabrielle Burt.