Born in Clanwilliam, raised in Lambert's Bay and Darling, Embrose Papier opted to do his growing up in Pretoria.
No one can accuse this son of West Coast soil of not warming to a challenge, or vacating his comfort zone.
On an unremarkable Friday afternoon in Darling in the Western Cape's flower belt, the then 15-year-old and his mom were told about the prospect of the scrumhalf being offered a bursary at a school they had not heard of in faraway Pretoria. Bags packed, Papier was on his way the next morning to take on the challenge ... by himself.
"The first few weeks I cried and called my mom every day, saying 'I want to come home'. She just told me to hang in there and that things would get better," Papier recalled as he looked over the expanse of the Bulls' training fields this week.
Dreams aren't realised on those fields but it is where Papier of late has honed and fine-tuned his craft. Already there are comparisons to the blue bloods that used to don the Bulls' No9 jersey.
He takes on defenders in the way Joost van der Westhuizen did in his pomp, while the speed and precision with which Papier clears the base have a hint of Fourie du Preez about them.
He looks back at his move from the West Coast, not with a sense of accomplishment but as duty to himself and his family.
"I was offered a bursary to come to (Höerskool) Die Wilgers. I told my mom I was ready. It was a very quick decision," the now 20-year-old said about that Friday.
Apart from the emotional first few weeks, Papier soon settled in. "It helped that I just focused on my rugby. There wasn't time to miss home."
He was at Die Wilgers for a year and then Garsfontein [High School] came with the promise of bigger and better things. The Bulls also came knocking and Papier put pen to paper.It has helped that his new circle of friends include other players from the Boland who have migrated north, but the pull of the West Coast remains. It's salty, windswept earthiness is under Papier's skin.
"I would fly to Cape Town but would only spend time on the West Coast. I will always be an oke from the West Coast. I miss the sea and seafood. And the weather."
Uprooting at 15 wasn't new for Papier.
"My whole family is in Lambert's Bay but we moved to Darling because of my mom's job at Standard Bank. I had to go with. I didn't know anyone in Darling.
"My mom has been a huge influence. My dad lives in New Zealand; he's a chef. My dad had to go to New Zealand when I was young. I saw him recently when the Bulls toured New Zealand. He's in Wellington and had to drive a good few hours to Hamilton.
"So it was basically my mom and my granddad - my dad's dad - who were always there.
"They have photos of me hanging in their homes. They have motivated and supported me a lot."
His granddad's influence doesn't stop there. "My dad is Edwill and my granddad is Edward. My name had to start with an E."
After moving to Darling, Papier started playing rugby with more purpose, and selection for Boland's under-13 team followed.
"There were other guys from Darling who had come up to Pretoria and when they came back home I noticed how big they had become. I was thin," he recalled of that period.
Papier has now made the physical transition too and has developed into one of the most assertive scrumhalves in the country.
"I came here really young. I couldn't compare it to anything. I had to mature quickly. I came for rugby," he said pointedly.
The speed of Papier's service was one of the attributes that got him in the Bulls squad ahead of Rudy Paige.
Papier's brief from coach John Mitchell was simple. "To speed up possession. I also see my sweeping as a strength but I'm working on my communication.
"I try and stay calm by embracing pressure," he reveals.
"I'm focusing on what I need to do. Any player wants to pull the green and gold over their head. I want to be the best nine. To learn every day, to become a Springbok."..