Michael Alaalatoa will make his Test debut for Samoa on Saturday night after decisions of the head and heart led him to align himself with the pacific nation.
Alaalatoa could feasibly have been eligible to play for the Wallabies, having been born in Australia, or New Zealand, having qualified via residency.
Instead, he opted to declare for Samoa and follow in father Villi’s footsteps in playing for the rugby-mad country.
Villi played for Samoa in the 1991 Rugby World Cup and Alaalatoa grew up in Sydney’s west idolising both Samoa and the Wallabies.
He made his Super Rugby debut for the Waratahs in 2014 but moved to New Zealand for greater opportunities, landing at the Crusaders.
After four seasons with the Super Rugby powerhouse, Alaalatoa could have moved back to Australia and become immediately eligible for the Wallabies, ala Crusaders teammate Pete Samu, or decided to try and push for a spot with the All Blacks.
In the end, though, he opted to follow his heart in playing for the country of his heritage.
“I've been thinking about it for a while and Samoa's my heritage and it's my blood,” he said.
“New Zealand gave me the chance to better my rugby career and I'm grateful for that but Samoa's where my heart's at, as well as being born and raised in Sydney.
“It was a no-brainer then to put my hand up and try and play for Samoa.”
Alaalatoa admitted he had considered a potential move back to Australia, with the prospect of one day uniting with younger brother Allan as a Wallaby, but felt he had owed something to the Crusaders for giving him a shot.
“I guess I had thought about it (coming back to Australia) for a bit but I think the best thing for me and my wife was to stay in Christchurch,” he said.
“I've been there for three years, for four years this year and set up a life for ourselves over there, so we're pretty happy just to stay there and the Crusaders - they've looked after me and nurtured me and I feel like I owe them a lot so it was pretty easy to decide to stay over there.
“Now that I'm with Samoa, it might change things in the future, but I‘ll cross that bridge when it comes.”
Alaalatoa said it was the Crusaders that truly transformed him and his rugby and put him in a space where he could be a leader in a rugby side.
“I think the Crusaders environment allowed me to be myself,” he said.
“In other environments, I've been in my shell a bit more, not wanting to speak out if there's things that need to be said.
“The Crusaders have allowed me to be myself and I feel like the more I've gotten to know the boys in Samoan environment, I've been able to add some suggestions here and there where I can but first and foremost I'm just here to do a job and that's just play well for my country.
“Obviously I owe a lot to the Crusaders for setting me up well to do that.”
Alaalatoa won’t have the chance to face off with Wallaby brother Allan this weekend, with the Aussie prop being rested for the match, but he will be embracing the chance to take on retiring veteran Sekope Kepu in his last match in Australia.
“Gutted that Allan's not playing but fortunate to play against Keps in his milestone as well,” he said.
“I've got a lot of respect for Keps. I played under him at the Waratahs for a couple of seasons so to play against him in his last Test in Sydney is pretty special as well.
“I'm hoping the family turn up in blue now that Allan's not playing.
“I'll probably tell them to wear blue so hopefully we'll get a turn out and they're supporting Samoa.”
The Wallabies take on Samoa on Saturday September 7, kicking off at 7:30pm AEST, LIVE on Network Ten, Foxtel, Kayo Sports and via RUGBY.com.au RADIO. Buy tickets here.
