Blake (25) is set to start at openside flanker for Bay of Plenty in its Mitre 10 Cup championship semifinal against Otago at Tauranga on Saturday.
Blake, who was a dominant club player for Dunedin while in the South, played 18 games for Otago in his time in the blue and gold jersey but left at the end of the 2014 season, linking with Edinburgh Rugby.
It has been a rollercoaster ride since for Blake.
He was controversially picked in the Scotland team just a few months into his overseas spell.
However, the former New Zealand under-20 representative could not find much playing time with Edinburgh so moved to the other professional club in Scotland, in Glasgow, in early 2015.
He played his one test for Scotland in August 2015, but was not picked for the Scotland World Cup team.
''I was struggling to get game time and rather than hold a tackle pad at practice, I thought I would do something else. So I went to sevens and played in some tournaments.
''I was going back to Glasgow in between. But I got to the end of last year up there and I thought I needed to play 15s.''
He had family links in Bay of Plenty and was released to go and play for the Steamers last year.
But it did not all go to plan, with the flanker suffering a spiral fracture to his left leg against North Harbour.
That cut short his Bay of Plenty season and he returned to Scotland, where he mostly played sevens for the Scottish side, which chalked up a surprise tournament victory at Twickenham.
Now he is back playing for Bay of Plenty. He has the option to go back to Scotland and play sevens at the end of the season but wants to stay in New Zealand.
''I just want to play some 15s. It is a lot harder to make it in sevens. Just with the way it is played, and the money is not as good.
''When I was with Otago I just had some really bad luck with injuries. I dislocated my elbow and then I did my MCL the next season. You miss five weeks in that competition and it is a lot.
''A spot might be open for Super Rugby and then you get an injury and it is no longer there. Plus it is just one man's opinion.''
Blake still has a heart for the South - his partner, Georgia Baker, hails from Dunedin - and he was a couple of games away from reaching a half century for the Dunedin club.
''It has been an eventful couple of years and yeah, I've been to a few places. That is why I want the security of a contract. I've basically lived out of a bag for the past few years. Don't get me wrong, it is a good times, but it will be good to get something more permanent.''
Blake said he was looking forward to the game on Saturday and Otago was a dangerous opponent.
''We are just treating it as another game ... we're pleased we're playing at home. That can be an advantage. Just the way with other teams have to take a couple of flights to get here.''