A spell at home working on the farm has proved just the ticket for Whangape's Bronson Murray as he was pronounced fit for rugby just in time to board a flight for the New Zealand Maori European Tour.
The 1.84m prop suffered a neck injury playing for the Highlanders toward the end of the Super 15 season and for a while the injury looked very serious.
"I missed the ITM Cup with a bulge in my neck that jammed up one of my nerves so it was touch and go whether I would need surgery," he said after the Maori All Blacks' first training session on Sunday.
"It's not like an ankle were you can keep on strapping it. There's definitely a danger involved with playing when your neck is not 100 per cent."
Murray, who has played 96 games for Northland and has been a Super-Rugby regular since debuting for the Blues in 2008, decided to give his injury time to heal by heading north and basing himself at the family farm on the West Coast.
"I've been living doing a lot of fishing and some fencing in between and that's kept the muscles ticking over for me during my rehab," he said.
With the Maori tour looming it was with some trepidation that he booked an appointment at the hospital.
"I got some scans a couple of weeks ago and they were all clear so that was a big relief for me. Playing for the Maori is special," the 29-year-old said.
To be able to add to his nine caps for the Maori, and to tour with some good mates both on the team and the coaching staff, including his old mentor Jamie Joseph, was a real bonus.
All three of the Ngapuhi players in the team were with the Highlanders franchise this year.
"Elliot Dixon and Kurt Baker were both down there and Elliot came up north with me at the end of the Super season for a week because his family is from around Waimamaku and he comes up every now and then to visit," Murray said.
The laid-back Murray wasn't too worried about being without a Super Rugby or even an ITM Cup contract and believes the tour could open up opportunities.
"I'm not too sure what's ahead really. At this stage I'll probably head back down to Otago, but at the moment I'm just concentrating on the tour ahead, getting back into playing again and we'll just have to wait to see what happens after that."
With just a few games left to complete a century of games for the Taniwha, reaching that landmark was definitely one thing on his rugby bucket list - which will be music to the ears of Northland fans.
"I definitely want to knock those three games off at some stage - it would be a bit of a shame not to get to that 100-mark - so hopefully that's an option in the future," he said.
The 26-strong squad left for England this week for a three-match tour starting against Leicester Tigers on November 13, an RFU Championship XV six days later, and concluding with a game against Canada at Oxford University on November 23.