He might well have been lining up for Wales and not New Zealand in Monday's World Rugby Under-20 Championship clash in Rosario, Argentina.
Because the Junior All Blacks side features an up-and-coming second-row, born in Swansea, and with a dad well known to Welsh rugby.
New Zealand's clash with Wales at the Racecourse Stadium, for the right to contest the fifth-placed spot, might not be the game either country wanted with the Kiwis being six-times winners of the tournament and Wales beaten finalists in 2013.
But for Taine Plumtree it's the chance to go up against players from the land of his birth.
He arrived on the scene the same year his dad John had piloted Swansea RFC to the 2000 Welsh-Scottish League title and 12 months after they had lifted the Welsh Cup.
But within 12 months of Taine's arrival into the world, Plumtree senior was released from his contract with the All Whites and headed home to the land of the All Blacks, to coach Wellington.
"For some time, I've harboured an ambition to return, at some point, to southern hemisphere rugby in a coaching capacity," said Plumtree at the time.
"With my work at Swansea coming to an end, it seems an appropriate time for me to look to realising this ambition.
"I have been approached quite recently by a few southern hemisphere provinces, who have expressed an interest in offering me coaching positions and I am now going to discuss these options with my family."
After five seasons in Wellington, the Plumtree clan were on their travels again spending five years in South Africa with the Durban-based Sharks in Super Rugby, before a brief stint with Ireland in 2013 as forwards coach working alongside Joe Schmidt.
He's now back in Super Rugby with the Hurricanes, while he also helped out Japan in 2017.
Though as a flanker John Plumtree only made trials for the All Blacks while playing for Taranaki, big things are expected of his son.
Taine said it was a “dream come true” to be selected in the 28-man New Zealand squad out in Argentina even though his rugby commitments sees him taking time out from his studies for an Environmental science degree at Victoria University.
And on the influence of having a top-notch coach as his father he said: “He’ll tell me what my work-ons are but I think most of my development from the last year has come through the Wellington Academy.”
And on Monday afternoon the second-row, who helped himself to tries in the pool wins over Georgia and Scotland, can put those 'works-ons' into practice against the land where he was born.
