Sitting down for a quick interview, All Blacks lock Brodie Retallick was already dishing up jokes and talking about his family.
The 28-year-old was all smiles knowing he was going to be running out for the All Blacks this weekend - a stark contrast to where he was at the end of July earlier this year.
During the All Blacks' Rugby Championship clash with the Springboks, Retallick was forced off the field - the two-metre-tall giant hunched over hold his arm with pain on his face having just dislocated his shoulder.
"The joint wasn't out but they think there was a little bit of scar tissue - just something still sitting in there," he said.
"Before then, I probably had about 40 degrees of range."
There were instant concerns. Coach Steve Hansen called it "despair" as thoughts of Retallick being ruled out of the World Cup surfaced hours after the Test but scans in the following days put everyone at ease as Retallick was instead given a timeline where he'd be able to return in time for the World Cup quarter-finals.
But even that outlook displeased Retallick.
"Being here so far and not being able to play a part has been frustrating," Retallick said.
He did have a role, though, becoming a team driver while out and about in Japan thanks to the international driver's license he'd picked up prior to departing for this year's tournament.
"I've just been driving the boys around when they want to go for a coffee or sometimes we've been going for a little bit of a lookaround the different cities we've been in," Retallick told 1 NEWS.
"It's been useful to get out of the hotel."
Despite the part-time taxxi gig, Retallick has made impressive strides during his recovery to the point he's passed fitness two weeks earlier than projected, allowing him to line up for the All Blacks on Sunday against Namibia.
"There's no real secret," Retallick said of his early return.
"We've just been working hard and obviously the medical staff and the environment are world class.
"The quarter-final was sort of the opening date - if it happened before it, then that was dead and if it didn't then that was sort of the deadline.
"From the get-go, I targetted this game."
Part of his return was getting back into the swing of things at team trainings where Hansen said Retallick has rediscovered his "annoying" side as he reminded him daily of his upcoming return.
Retallick managed to get on assistant coach Ian Foster's nerves as well, although it was for a completely different reason - a recent kicking competition before training.
"I was with Anton [Lienert-Brown] and Bridgey [George Bridge] and Anton had his kicking tee out there because he backs himself with the kicking," Retallick said.
"None of the boys were out warming up yet so we decided to have a little kicking comp and then Fozzy came out on to the ground and said, 'You should just stop kicking now. No more.'
"I ended up losing as well so it was probably a good time to stop."
Retallick will bring up his 78th Test Cap on Sunday in Tokyo.
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