But Guernsey are glad to have this versatile back in their squad. A player who, as he explained, did not take much convincing to lay his hat down here for a while.

But how did the introduction come?

‘First my friend from Uni, Greg Smith, asked if I would be interested in coming over, so I came over for the Cornish Pirates game which was a great game and I was impressed with the players, support staff and facilities.

‘Chris Gnapp then sent my CV over to a couple of companies and I had interviews with Deloitte and they offered me a job.

Now he finds himself as an auditor at Deloitte, training for his ACA.

‘I knew nothing of Guernsey, but I was promised a island off the Cote D'Azur,’ he jokes.

But he is glad he came.

‘It’s a very picturesque place that has a great small town feel to it. The island has a good work/life balance.’

It turns out Ned emanates originally from Cambridge and spent most of his early years there before going to secondary school in South Africa.

‘My father has had a huge influence on my rugby career and my time in South Africa at Michaelhouse had a school with a rich rugby pedigree.’

He says one of the highlights of his career so far was winning the under 20's counties championship with Yorkshire.

As for a disappointment?

‘Missing out on a year of rugby through shoulder surgery which meant I missed my last year of under 20's representative rugby.’

His home club is Shelford in Cambridge that play in National Two South.

But he says Guernsey RFC has much to be proud of.

‘It has got a great ethos and facilities. It’s an ambitious club with a strong focus.

‘It’s been a frustrating season but we have the calibre of player and coaching staff to push for the top spot.’