For a proud northern Englishman whose rugby peak was to tame the Wallabies on their own turf in Lions' red, Geoff Parling has felt right at home "back in the motherland", revisiting old friends and family in London.
But if there's no time for too much fond reminiscing, that's because there's a streak of Aussie gold running through Parling now.
Melbourne is his beloved home, mates tease him about the faintest Aussie twang to his accent, and his job as a coach helping to restore the Wallabies to former glories "feels like the biggest thing in the world" to him.
