Life after rugby comes at you fast. In Andy Ellis' case, quicker than an Aaron Smith bullet pass. One minute he was in the midst of his farewell season in Japan, the next he was dashing home to be with his family in Christchurch lockdown with nothing but time to contemplate his next move.

Lucky for Ellis, his wife Emma and children Scarlett, 10, and Arthur, 5, this is a World Cup-winning halfback who is well organised, not just in his game, but life. He has been working towards this moment for a half-dozen years, as he's compiled a portfolio of investments that seem certain to keep him as occupied as he ever was on the rugby field.

In many ways this chirpy Cantab is a poster boy for the "Life After Rugby" concept so heavily emphasised by players' associations the world over. The 36-year-old long-time Crusaders No 9, who played 28 tests for the All Blacks between 2006 and 2015, has long understood that a sharp pass and eye for the gap would take him only so far in life.

He may or may not be at the end of that particular road now, with his final season in the Top League for Kobelco Steelers brought to a premature end by the sporting shutdown caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Now, he'll take some time to consider if the fumes in his tank have another lap of the rugby track left in them.

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"I'm 80 per cent there," he said when asked if this was it for him in rugby. "I'll take six months, and if I'm still feeling good … the thing is there are so many cool opportunities opening up in places like the US, I don't want to say 'that's it', and something comes up."

Let's just say Ellis doesn't have to go through the rugby slog to provide for his family, having been chipping away at multiple business interests since he first dipped his toe in those waters back in 2015.

Ellis is one of five principal investors in rural broadband company Gravity that is doing important things for Kiwi folk in remote parts of the country right now. It's a business he is especially proud of, and working hard for, as the nation comes to grips with the unprecedented coronavirus lockdown.

He is also a partner in high-end beef operation Waitaha Wagyu that he formed out of a special relationship developed during his time in Japan and is also a shareholder in two restaurants, Auckland's Mad Samurai and Bar Yoku in Christchurch, that dovetail nicely with the former enterprise.

JOSEPH JOHNSON/STUFF Ex-All Black Andy Ellis has a Wagyu beef business he's eager to tuck into.

He is, it is fair to say, a busy man as he juggles the requirements of all four (he looks after relationships and partnerships with Gravity, is hugely invested in his Wagyu beef company with his Japanese partner Arato, and is not averse to popping behind the counter of his restaurants when the situation warrants) with the need to stay sharp for his day job.

"I am one of those guys who has to be busy," says Ellis in an interview with Stuff from his home in Christchurch. "It does my wife's head in. I'm pretty driven, and I don't like sitting still for too long. I've always liked having things outside rugby – it's nice not to be consumed by it all the time."

He has been discussing what comes next with friend and long-time team-mate Dan Carter who similarly made the dash home from Kobe to make lockdown. "At the start it was a little unnerving … now it's almost nice to be forced to have a good think about 'what's next?'" adds Ellis.

Gravity, in a way, has taken over. On his return Ellis has been locked in to a busy time with the rural internet provider as they've sought to meet a growing demand from a Kiwi pubic desperate for connectivity.

GETTY IMAGES Andy Ellis proved himself on the rugby field and is now doing the same in business.

He first got involved in 2015 when he and a friend (now CEO of Gravity) recognised an opportunity in the tech space, essentially investing in a new satellite being launched in 2019 that was going to "revolutionise the way the internet was done" and jumped on board.

Ellis has the sales pitch down pat. "We can reach anywhere in New Zealand with speeds the same as urban and pricing is affordable now," he says, with considerable enthusiasm. "With what's happened the last couple of weeks, the phones haven't stopped ringing and we're trying our best to connect Kiwis the best we can.

"It's cool. A couple of weeks ago we got a message from this farmer, an old boy who was down in his shed, and he was able fix his tractor by watching a YouTube video. He'd had dialup for 20 years and was emotional about it. That makes me proud.

"For me in business it's about more than just the money invested. It's got to have a cool story or something about it. This was always about being able to help people like the tractor guy. For a lot of these communities there isn't a lot of money but to be connected is vital. We're working through that with them now."

Then there's the beefier tale. Early in his time in Japan Ellis formed a relationship with his local butcher (who happened to have been schooled in Auckland), one thing led to another and by 2015 they were taking the bull by the horns and starting up a Wagyu beef programme out of New Zealand.

"We both wondered why New Zealand, as such a proud farming country, did not do Wagyu, the world's premium beef. Now we've got a beautiful farm in Chertsey, just out of Raikaia, and it's all done with Japanese techniques, the old way, with all the love put into the animals. Six months ago we started processing, and the chefs love it."

It's been a real learning curve – "It's not till three years from when the animal is conceived you see if what you've done is right" – with a lot of variables going into a very high-end product. But they're finally entering an exciting phase with production ramping up and export orders on the horizon.

Ellis, who's dabbled with landscape gardening, media work and other activities, is asked if he's got a message to young professionals perhaps not thinking yet about LAR. "You're so committed to your rugby, and to be the best you have to be. But it isn't going to last forever … I tried to say yes to as many opportunities as I could, they didn't all go gangbusters but I learnt so much. It's helped me figure out what I wanted to be involved in."

Ellis recommends regarding the promos and sponsor activities that are a part of the modern player's lot as a chance, not a chore. He did the former, met people, improved his communication skills, educated himself about opportunities out there and expanded his horizons.

He's also asked everyone he could about their experiences post-career. "All you hear is it's really hard, nothing prepares you for it and that part of the way to deal with it is to understand it," he says.

Players boss Rob Nichol rightly regards Ellis, a genuine bloke with a heart of gold, as a personification of the message his organisations puts a lot of effort into spreading. "Rugby is not who you are; it's what you do," he says. "A big part of being a successful professional athlete is to develop a great level of self-awareness, a desire to grow personally and to explore careers outside of the game."

For Ellis that time is now and, Covid or not, he's as prepared as he can be to pick this thing up and run with it.