Terry Kennedy's sabbatical Down Under has him up for the Ireland Sevens' Olympic qualifying bid this week.
When he was crowned as the world Sevens player of the year in Monaco last November, Kennedy flew in from his temporary Sydney home rather than from Dublin.
The 26-year-old scored 50 tries in last season's World Series and Ireland boss James Topping admitted he was "irreplaceable", after he helped the team to a best-ever finish in the World Series and to their first World Cup medal in South Africa last September.
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“It was something I always wanted to do, go and live somewhere else, and Australia was always on the horizon for me," Kennedy explained.
"It got delayed with Tokyo being pushed back and even after Tokyo I did the year on the series and there is never the perfect time.
"So it wasn’t ideal having to miss a bit of the year with the lads but I played the World Cup, managed to get down for a few months and then got back now.
"Delighted I did it. No major reason other than something I always wanted to do. It was a cool experience."
Kennedy worked in the financial arena for the team's sponsor Tritonlake while in Sydney, an experience that pushed him out of his comfort zone.
