Leinster centre Charlie Ngatai laughs that in another life he could be amassing riches in cricket's megabucks IPL competition.
Instead, the one-time All Black is all in on helping the province to a first Champions Cup and URC double since 2018 in his first season at the club.
Ngatai, 32, was a sporting prodigy as a kid. He represented his country as a sprinter in the Youth Olympics in Sydney in 2007, but really it was rugby and cricket that captured his heart.
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“I did athletics from a young age," he recalled. "I did a lot in the summer, with cricket, and then rugby obviously in the winter in New Zealand.
"I got to a point in high school where rugby and cricket took over and athletics was on the side, but I competed in athletics in the summer to try and keep my fitness and speed up."
He had natural speed and through intensive training got his PB down to 10.9 seconds for the 100m and he mentions making "a lot of sacrifices" to compete in Sydney.
"It gave me a perspective on individual sport and team sport," he said.
"Obviously you’re training and doing a lot of things on your own. The coach can only give you so much.
"I quite liked it and, from there, athletics kind of transferred into rugby. It certainly helped with speed and fitness."
His potential was clear as a cricketer as he grew up playing with current New Zealand internationals such as Tim Southee and Kane Williamson.
"I pretty much played with all of them," said Ngatai, who was a medium fast bowler.
"A lot of them were good footie players as well, probably similar to myself, rugby and cricket, and they chose cricket. We played a lot of competitions together."
Now some of those guys are among the 13 Black Caps competing in India's lucrative league this season.
“If I knew that I might have stuck at it and had a change of heart," he smiled.
Ngatai ditched his athletics career when he signed his first pro rugby contract with Wellington.
"My true love was rugby. My whole family played, old man, uncles, cousins, we all played rugby and so it was sort of in the blood and I had no choice, really."
Ngatai came to Leinster last summer after four years with Lyon and, after hitting the ground running with the province, he suffered a hamstring injury against Ospreys on January 7.
That set-back ruled him out for four months but, with Robbie Henshaw forced out of the picture for the Champions Cup semi-final against Toulouse last week, Ngatai's return came a little earlier than was planned and he partnered Garry Ringrose.
"It's cool but there were a lot of nerves as well, given I’d been out for so long and the occasion of the match against an open style of team where they love running similar to ourselves," he said.
“There were a few nervous people, even my wife and the physios as well, leading into that but I managed to come through that alright and that sets up the next few weeks pretty well.
"All they asked was that I empty the tank and ‘give us what you can’ and we’ll bring on the reserves to finish the game and that’s what I tried to do."
Three minutes in, the veteran set off of a 60 metre run downfield as Leinster found space on the right flank.
Ngatai recalled: "'Don’t get injured’, that’s what I was thinking, 'just don’t pull anything, hopefully the calf or the Achilles will hold'.
"My wife in the stands was thinking that as well, the physios were thinking that. I found once it opened up there I felt alright so I managed to carry on."
Ngatai played very well and is in line to start against the Sharks in tomorrow's URC quarter-final, also at the Aviva Stadium.
"I was a bit rusty in some places but I’d only one week of training after being out for so long," he said.
"I can only get better from now on. I’m looking forward to ironing out a few things over the next week."
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