Like many Pacific Island athletes, former Samoa rugby league international Constantine (Con) Mika makes his living thousands of miles away from home.
Con Mika is grateful for quality time with his family during the Covid-19 lockdown. Photo: Supplied
The 30-year-old second rower captains Toulouse Olympique in the second-tier RFL Championship and has been based in the south-west of France since 2016.
Toulouse made a perfect start to the 2020 season with Mika leading the team, which includes fellow Toa Samoa alumni Frank Winterstein and Harrison Hansen, to five straight wins and top spot in the competition standings before the season was suspended due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Con Mika captains Toulouse Olympique in the second-tier RFL Championship. Photo: RIEU Bernard
The former Newcastle Knight, who played one test for Toa Samoa back in 2010, is in the third week of an enforced coronavirus lockdown. It's a difficult time for everyone, but it's one the Auckland-born Mika is making the most of; spending time with his partner, almost two-year-old daughter and celebrating the birth of his son three weeks ago.
Merci à notre capitaine Con MIKA et sa femme Steph de nous offrir ça de bon matin pic.twitter.com/wHBbJ6SJrU
— Toulouse Olympique XIII (@TOXIII) April 9, 2020
"It's hard to talk about or share online when there's so many people out there who have lost their loved ones," he said.
"But I guess this lockdown has come at a time where I'm needed the most at home."
Having a baby so far from home is something Mika is familiar with. His daughter was born in France in 2018, but this time it's different.
The strict restrictions enforced by the French government meant there was a possibility he would miss the birth of his son. And with no family on hand to help, he relied on his team mates for support.
"I wasn't allowed in the ward and the delivery itself was a bit touch-and-go there [of] whether I could be in the delivery," he said.
"Obviously with the restrictions we couldn't take our daughter with us. I have no family here so luckily we have some good mates in the team that took our daughter for the night and it was hard because it was the first time that we've ever been away from her."
"It was pretty tough but luckily baby was okay, mum was okay and that's most important."
Une bonne nouvelle qui fait encore plus de bien en ce moment !
— Toulouse Olympique XIII (@TOXIII) March 21, 2020
Félicitations à notre capitaine Constantine MIKA qui est de nouveau papa, d'un petit garçon prénommé CeeJae, depuis jeudi !
Le #TOXIII souhaite à toute la famille MIKA beaucoup de bonheur ☺
D. GIBSON pic.twitter.com/xqMaDlLtdc
Mika said the coronavirus outbreak coupled with the birth of his newborn son has made the distance back home to New Zealand that much further, but he looks forward to the day his parents can meet their grandson.
"That's the only stink thing now is they can't travel here and we can't take the kids home anytime soon so in that respect it's pretty tough but what can you do, everyone is kind of on the same boat. We've just got to bite the bullet until this all blows over," he said.
Thoughts of what life might look like after footy has come earlier for some, and while many athletes are using this time to think more about their future, it's never been too far from his mind.
A product of the famous Otahuhu club which has produced some of rugby league's best, including Tonga's Jason Taumalolo and Kiwis star Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, 16-year-old Mika signed his first playing contract for New Zealand's Junior Warriors.
Con Mika was unable to break into the first grade side during his time with the New Zealand Warriors Photo: PHOTOSPORT
He represented New Zealand at under-16 and under-18 level and played for the Junior Kiwis, but a sense of fulfilment was always missing.
"I look back and I don't think I maximised my potential and when you have that feeling, there's some regret, as much as you don't want to say it, there is a little bit of that there," he said.
"Rugby league wasn't always the be or ender for me and I guess the thought of what life would look like after footy has always been on my mind."
"When I got that first contract [with the NZ Warriors], I had to decide that I was going to do this, leave school and put everything I had into it and make sure something came out of it."
"But that transition from school to playing professionally made it real and that's when it became a job. It wasn't really a passion and I just didn't give it everything I had because it ended up being a job."
Eventually while playing for UK's Hull Kingston Rovers in the Super League, whatever interest he had left for the sport had gone. He returned home to New Zealand ready to pack rugby league up altogether.
"Playing in the UK that was the final straw for me. I wasn't giving it my all and I wasn't wholeheartedly in rugby league… and then you've got the fans over there who are really passionate and they let you know if you're having a bad game [and] they really get in your face."
"That's when I thought 'stuff this, I don't need to deal with this crap, I don't want to play anymore' and I packed up shop to come home."
But his trip back home wasn't so permanent. It took nine months before an offer to play for a rugby team in south of France became available.
"When I came back home I started to remember why I started playing this game. I played because I enjoyed it and I guess that's just what I do now. I just play for a different reason, I enjoy playing, and it's been that way ever since I've been back playing in France."
Mika now calls France his 'home away from home.'
Tolouse Olympique XIII 2020 rugby league squad. Photo: Facebook / Tolouse Olympique XIII - Officiel
"It's refreshing to be at a place like this and I'm pretty lucky to come back and find myself where I am now," he said.
"This team is different to any other team I've ever played in. The coach has created this environment where the boys want to turn up, they want to be there for training and they want to play for him and play for each other and over my career there's been some instances where that hasn't been the case."
"I love it here in France and I'd say I'm happy to finish up my professional career here. It's my home away from home and I have never felt like this anywhere else."
Until rugby league returns, Mika is sharing his experience to give insight and words of advice for anyone that might find themselves on the same path.
One day it will all be over and this chapter will be closed..
— Con Mika (@ConMika1) March 23, 2020
Rugby league has always been a part of my life but never the most important.
´Your passion is what you get paid for but your purpose is what you live… https://t.co/dDqYhDexPh
"Now that I'm older, I just look at things a little bit different."
"I remember for the first few years of my career, I thought I was the shit and doing this and that which I probably shouldn't have done and it's just little things like that can throw you off."
"I've lived it, I've done that, so if I can help someone else so that they don't do the same stupid stuff I did or make the same mistakes I did, hopefully they can look back and say 'you know what I did my absolute best' and when they finish up they can be satisfied with their career."
"I think I probably could have been better than what I ended up being. I've just ended up with an average career and I know that, but there's a lot I've learnt in my time so I just want to share my experiences and hopefully help someone."
"I know there's another me out there somewhere, either coming through the ranks or they might find themselves following a similar journey and feeling the way I was back then… something I say might resonate with them and help them in some sort of way."
