A Mormon mission, stints with the Australian and New Zealand sevens teams and working as a landscaper - Jordan Smiler has taken the long road to reach his Super Rugby dream.
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While he jokes he could be working in the mines instead of making his debut on Friday night, Smiler is determined to repay the ACT Brumbies for his lifeline.
Smiler will play his first game for the Brumbies when he starts at blindside flanker against the Otago Highlanders at Forsyth Barr Stadium.
It comes less than 12 months after he considered giving up on landing a professional contract.
He contemplated life as a university student, a tradie or even with his dad in the mines in Western Australia before a phone call came from Brumbies coach Jake White.
At 27, New Zealand-born Smiler is determined to make the most of his opportunity. ''I wasn't expecting anything when I came to train with the Brumbies [last year] and then Jake phoned me up,'' Smiler said.
''It was my last shot, I didn't have anything to lose and if I didn't make any Super Rugby squad this year I probably would have hung up the boots professionally.
''I thought I was good enough, I just needed to be given a shot … now I'm here this is an opportunity to show I'm good enough.''
Smiler will enter the Super Rugby cauldron a week after playing club rugby for Easts in Canberra.
His journey to the top has been a long process and included a two-year Mormon mission to a small Pacific Island nation to help rebuild huts and spread word of his religion.
For two years he didn't train or think about rugby.
But when he returned he scored a contract with New Zealand provincial side Waikato and spent four years in the system trying to force his way into the professional set up.
When they cut him loose in 2011 and his sevens bid with New Zealand and then Australia failed, Smiler moved to Sydney and was a part-time landscaper while playing rugby for Norths in the Shute Shield.
He trained with the Brumbies part-time last year, but with no Super Rugby deal on the table he was ready to give up. Smiler says it's ''a bit weird'' playing in New Zealand just hours from where he grew up.
''My mind is ready for what's coming … growing up in New Zealand, rugby is all you do. My dad has always been the one in my ear, he was my coach right into high school.
''I'm excited to do this for him too, this is for both of us and it's a big milestone.''
Brumbies coach White has shown a willingness to put faith in older players.
His gamble on an unknown 27-year-old paid off last year when Scott Fardy dominated in his rookie season. Now it's Smiler's turn.
''Jordan has played in New Zealand, he's Aussie eligible [through his Australian grandmother], he's a bit older, wiser and more mature and understands what's needed in a team,'' White said.