Jake Ball was ready to call time on his rugby career.
At the end of 2024, the former Wales lock had announced plans to retire after finishing his stint in Japan with NEC Green Rockets.
Yet less than a year later, the 33-year-old finds himself back in west Wales, reversing that decision, signing again for the Scarlets, and eyeing another shot at international rugby.
What has changed most in that period, Ball insists, is not only his perspective on the sport but also his approach to his body.
“I’ve changed a lot of things nutritionally,” he explains.
“I’ve started my own supplement company now so I started doing my own blood work back in Australia.
"Just looking at certain markers like inflammatory markers and things like that.
"Seeing where I can make improvements and things. What you eat affects certain markers which also affects performance.”
Ball, who has won 50 Wales caps, has been renowned throughout his career for his physical edge, the abrasive lock with the flame-red beard, who relished collisions in the tight.
But after years of carrying heavy bulk, he has recalibrated what his “best playing weight” actually is.
“The heaviest I’ve ever got to was 127 kilos which was in 2015 during the World Cup which to be honest in hindsight was probably a bit too heavy,” he says.
“I think my good playing weight is around 120-119kg which is where I’m sat at the moment.”
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Part of that shift has come from experimenting with diet in meticulous detail.
During his time away from Welsh rugby, Ball began tracking hormonal markers and recovery indicators through blood testing.
“During those periods I did one thing around testosterone.
"A lot of people say you can’t alter things like that through food and nutrition. I set out during that four-month period to eat a certain way every day.
"I actually ended up proving you could increase certain levels through nutrition and eating.”
His regime involved a steady diet of eggs, red meat, Greek yoghurt and berries, along with what he calls “smart supplementation”.
“I actually posted it online.
"I increased it by about 50% which is a lot through that period.
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"It was interesting to see because I obviously filmed and took pictures through that whole period of how I trained and what I was up to.
"It’s pretty crazy, some of the strength gains through that period.”
That scientific curiosity, Ball argues, has made him more resilient than when he left Scarlets in 2021.
“In a nutshell, I realised for a long period I wasn’t functioning at my best and at the time you think it’s normal but certainly for me it wasn’t normal.
"I didn’t realise that until I started changing things.
"I’d train flat out, do a session, and then I’d feel really tired and want to go to sleep.
"Sometimes, I’d eat certain meals and that would make me feel tired.
"I guess I started really paying attention to that and changing and altering things, structuring my day the right way and timing carbohydrates.”
It means that when Scarlets reached out after Alex Craig’s departure to Glasgow created a vacancy in the second row, Ball was not a fading force returning out of sentimentality, but a player who feels physically sharper.
“Physically, I feel in a better place than when I left and the ambition to play at the top level still burns bright,” he says.
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Head coach Dwayne Peel agree and the liklihood is that Ball will slot stright back into the team that hosts Munster in the Scarlets' United Rugby Championship opener on Saturday night.
But Ball admits that family circumstances also shaped his path.
When he left Llanelli three years ago, Covid had disrupted rugby and travel, alike.
His wife was heavily pregnant, they returned to Australia, and he ended up missing large periods of his children’s early lives.
“I actually didn’t meet Max, my youngest, until he was six months old,” he says.
“I did 10 months here on my own in the UK because my wife went back 10 months early.
So, I had 10 months on my own not seeing my kids. Then I went to Japan but with Covid over there I couldn’t leave so I did an eight-month stint in Japan without seeing them again.”
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The experience left him determined to put family first, which is why the Scarlets’ offer came at the right time.
“My boys are almost a five-year-old and a seven-year-old now.
"They came out and watched me play once in Japan but they weren’t of an age where they could remember anything.
"They are both playing rugby now at Loughor. They are loving it.”
Life in Japan itself, Ball stresses, was an education.
“I think culturally over there, I really enjoyed it.
"I’m big into health and longevity so seeing a different culture and how the Japanese do things, I found fascinating.
"Even from a player point of view, how they eat, how they present themselves, and how they take on knowledge.
"They are very book smart in Japan. That was quite interesting as well.”
He also worked under Michael Cheika, the former Wallabies coach and says: “I thoroughly enjoyed working with him.
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"I’ve got a lot of time and respect for him.
"At times, he can be a bit of a misunderstood character. I love how passionate he is and I haven’t got a bad word to say.”
Yet the lure of Parc y Scarlets, and the sense of “unfinished business”, pulled him back.
“When I left the Scarlets, it was around the time of the coronavirus pandemic and it didn’t feel like the farewell I wanted,” he says.
“Since I finished in Japan and announced my retirement from rugby, I have had this feeling of unfinished business.”
That itch became stronger once the Scarlets made their approach.
“When I heard the Scarlets were looking for a second row, I talked to them and they spoke about what is building at the club, the exciting young talent coming through, the environment and ambition there, and I wanted to be part of that.”
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The return also reopens the door to Test rugby with Wales.
Ball has never formally retired from international duty and is now eligible for selection again.
“No, I never officially retired but if you play well for your club then potentially those things come around.
"That really is all the focus I’m going to put into that. I’m just focused on Scarlets and if someone does give me a call then that’s a conversation to be had.”
Asked what it would mean to run out once more at the Principality Stadium, he adds simply: “It would be pretty special.”
Ball knows competition is difficult to assess, with Wales in transition under new coaches, but believes performances will speak for themselves.
“If I play well I’m sure someone will give me a call. My performances will determine that and it’s not really worth me thinking further than that.”
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For now, his focus is on pre-season in Llanelli, offering leadership to younger forwards and showing his fitness levels are higher than ever.
“I think age is just a number. I’ve always worked hard.
"My plan in going to Japan was never to take it easy.
"I’ve always trained hard and I’ve probably trained harder during my off season than some people would train during their season.
"A big part for me was being able to show what work I put in and play some quality rugby.”
For the Scarlets, and perhaps for Wales, Ball’s unfinished business might yet prove to be another starting point.
