The voice at the other end was not that of Ruan Pienaar when the Sunday Times called this week. It was his mom.
Pienaar, capped 88 times for the Springboks, is back home in every sense, but his decision to return to the place of his birth is as close to involuntary as you can imagine.
Restrictive playing criteria denied him the opportunity to continue his career at his beloved Ulster, while the death of his sister in a motor vehicle accident in February added to the gravitational force to come home.
"If you asked me a year ago, I would have said we would stay in Belfast. Things worked out differently," said the scrumhalf.
"We had a very difficult start to the year. That definitely played a role. We figured if we can't give it a go now to spend more time with the family we would probably never be able to do it."
DIFFICULT DECISION TO LEAVE BELFAST
Pienaar explains the timing of the Cheetahs' offer of a two-year contract presented a viable option. "It was very difficult to make the decision because I was abroad for nine years. My kids only know Belfast. They were in school there and we were all happy there. Obviously the last year was difficult because they moved back to Belfast," said Pienaar, who was plying his trade with Montpellier.
"At the end of the day, family considerations played a huge role. We don't want to wonder, in five or 10 years, whether we should have given it a go here. That, in a way, made the decision a little easier. We want the kids to get to know their cousins and of course spend time with the grandparents. Hopefully they enjoy it and settle in quickly," he said of his kids aged seven, five and 18 months.
HOME IS WHERE HIS PARENTS ARE
Pienaar explained his seven-year old will end up in an English school, but that Afrikaans has remained the home language.
That will certainly be the case under the roof where they are temporarily residing. "We are staying with my folks until our furniture arrives and until we get a place to stay. That will take a little while. But it is nice to be here."
Though it was tough to pack up in Belfast, Pienaar has one thing he won't miss of Northern Ireland. "Obviously the weather. It's very rainy there, but that's Ireland. The people, however, are wonderful. It is similar to Bloemfontein in that the people are friendly and helpful. They were unbelievably good to me and my family. As a family we were very happy there."
Pienaar left the Free State as a boy but he returns a man schooled in the ways of the world. He played 141 matches for Ulster, where he kicked, passed and tackled his way to cult-hero status.
He had to leave Ulster for Montpellier when the Irish rugby bosses started to get tougher on foreigners.
"The last year has been difficult in France," he said about being apart from his family, who quickly moved back to Belfast.
"I thought of finishing up there but then the Cheetahs offered me the opportunity. It still wasn't an easy decision to make. I'm very thankful they made the offer.
"It will certainly be the last two seasons for me," said the 35-year-old about his agreement with the Cheetahs.
His experience will help lend the Cheetahs the composure they have at times lacked in the Pro 14. "I know all the teams reasonably well and I know the conditions. That is what I've become accustomed to over the years. I had seven wonderful years with Ulster. It will feel odd to go back there to play against them," said Pienaar.
"I'm quite older than a lot of the guys at the Cheetahs so I may struggle to keep up.
"Hopefully, I can finish my career on a high and look back at it fondly."
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