Roger Tuivasa Sheck

That’s because – with almost 200 NRL appearances, a 2013 Premiership title and a 2018 Dally M Medal to his name – 28-year-old former Warriors captain is among the highest-profile cross-code converts to have moved from rugby league to rugby union.

As such, the inclusion of Tuivasa-Sheck in next year’s Blues squad makes him one of the most prominent names in the Auckland franchise’s roster, and that’s saying something given they also welcome the return of All Blacks centurion Beauden Barrett back from Japan.

New Zealand Rugby and the Blues confirmed on Saturday the captain of the Warriors rugby league side had signed a two-year contract through to the end of 2023.

The announcment also confirmed Tuivasa-Sheck would play NPC rugby for Auckland, joining the team "later this year" before starting with the Blues ahead of the 2022 Super Rugby season.

The NPC was scheduled to run from September 11 to November 27, with the Warriors NRL regular season campaign set to finish on September 9 and the Grand Final to be held on October 3.

It’s unknown how long the team will be based on the other side of the Tasman for the 2021 NRL competition, but they are locked in for the first four rounds of the campaign and whether they’ll then come home will depend on whether there’s a trans-Tasman bubble.

By the end of last season Tuivasa-Sheck was the only player not with his family and he admitted it was a struggle for him to be away from his wife and two young children.

But unlike last time, the Warriors captain knows when he’ll see his family again.