Nasi Manu left the South on the ultimate high — co-captaining the Highlanders to the side’s first, and so far, only title, beating the Hurricanes in 2015.
Now he is back via Edinburgh, Treviso, various injuries, a cancer diagnosis and treatment, and then a hard lockdown Italian-style.
Manu (32), a hard-running No8 who played 65 games for the Highlanders, has been contracted to Otago for this season and will come off the bench in tomorrow’s game against Auckland.
Manu is looking to get back on the horse he left in 2015.
"Being back in a familiar place, being back in Dunedin — it is good. It feels like home. This is where it all started for me. Training at Logan Park. I’m enjoying every moment with the Otago boys," he said.
Manu admitted he went through many challenges when away, always helped by wife Alice and daughter Nadia (3).
He started off playing for Edinburgh.
"The Edinburgh experience for me was a bit hard in a way as I took a while to get over home. I really did miss home. And then, finally when I really found Edinburgh home, I did my shoulder.
"So I then went to Italy and really enjoyed it there. Made some lifelong friends. But again with my injuries I didn’t really make an impact there."
He played for three years for Treviso but he was hit by the diagnosis of testicular cancer in 2018.
"I think it [cancer] made me and my wife and Nadia quite close. It brought a lot of perspective into my life. Just all the support I received. I could not have asked for more and better support.
"At the end of the day, rugby is a great blessing and I get to do it for a living. But there are more important things.
"You know when you go for a run and you just don’t think. I think that was what it was like to get through it. And eventually you have finished your run.
" Initially, I was in a lot of shock. But once I started the treatment it was not so dark. I always knew I was going to get through it. I just didn’t know how long it was going to take. I was pretty fortunate it was not one that spread and I did not have too many complications with recovery. And I still managed to make the World Cup which was my dream."
Manu felt he pushed his body too far to get to the World Cup in Japan to play for Tonga but was happy to be there.
He recovered and was looking to get on the field to Treviso. Instead he was stuck in his apartment for countless weeks as Covid-19 hit Italy hard.
"We tried to not watch too much social media and other things as it made you more scared than you needed to be. My wife is a nurse so things were pretty well organised. Masks everywhere, hand sanitiser, wear gloves. For a long time you were not allowed outside your house more than 300m. We just respected it and did what was asked of us."
Manu said it was awesome to arrive in New Zealand in July although the family had to got through two weeks of isolation.
"You could open a sliding door and see outside. And be allowed to walk every day, had a little block to go round. Two weeks went fast, we were used to it.
"We have been on the same page with screen time for Nadia. We had no television in Italy and just got a laptop to watch the rugby. Then the first lockdown we gave her iPad time. But once we got into quarantine — all rules went out the window."