The Samoan was relaxing at home when he got the call asking if he could join his fellow islanders for the IRB International Sevens events in London and Edinburgh last month.

Sanft doubted the offer was genuine, believing his Kirkcaldy team mates were on the wind-up, until the caller erased all doubts.

"I thought it was a prank," Sanft told SportsPress.

"I hadn't been involved with Samoa at all since 2004 so I was sure one of the boys was trying to set me up — until the guy started to speak Samoan.

"None of the Kirkcaldy boys can speak Samoan so I knew it had to be genuine!

"The only reservation I had was my fitness because our season had finished three weeks ago and I knew the Samoan lads would have been at a training camp to prepare for the tournaments.

"But they wanted me to go, so I packed my things and flew down to London the next day. I'm just glad I didn't have any plans!"

Sanft starred for the Samoans in front of 40,000 spectators at Twickenham, helping the team reach the bowl semi-final, while at Murrayfield the Samoans were knocked out at the cup quarter-final stage by hosts Scotland.

"It was an awesome experience," Sanft said.

"Twickenham was great because there was so many people there, but at Murrayfield I had a lot of Kirkcaldy fans supporting me which was brilliant.

"It's always an honour to play for your country, and to do it in the country you're living in at the moment was a great experience.

"All the Samoan lads were a lot bigger than me. I only got a few minutes in each game, but that was enough.

"I couldn't have lasted much longer than that!

"International sevens is so much quicker than anything I've been playing at Premier Three level in Scotland, and the pitches were a lot bigger than I'm used to at Beveridge Park."

Sanft started his international career with New Zealand due to his residence in the country.

He starred for the All Blacks at age group level, but when the offer of first XV international rugby came from his homeland, he grasped the chance.

"I could have been an All Black if I stuck at it, but when the Samoa call came up I wanted to make the most of it and took it," he explained.

"It was international rugby, and that was too big an opportunity to turn down."

Sanft won two caps against Scotland and Wales in 2000 but his decision to leave home for a new playing career in Scotland cost him the chance to earn any more.

"I moved overseas and you have to be based in or near Samoa to be able to go to the international trials," Sanft explained.

"The chance to experience rugby overseas was good enough to bring me here, but I had to sacrifice playing for more Samoan caps."

Sanft's first Scottish club was Kirkcaldy, but after a brief spell at Beveridge Park he signed for Biggar, and his international aspirations were put on hold.

He represented Samoa on the sevens circuit in 2004, but that was his final appearance on the international stage until his most recent call-up at the age of 32 last month.

"I'd love to play more international rugby, but it still clashes with my commitments over here," Sanft said.

"After the tournament at Murrayfield I was contemplating whether to go for it again or not, but I have to think about my fiancee here, and my job. I'd love to do it, but it's just not practical."

Sanft's re-emergence on the international scene, couple with his success at Kirkcaldy, has resulted in a flurry of interest in the player-coach at club level.

His contract at the Premier Three champions expired at the end of last season and while he has been offered a new deal to stay at the Blues, he has yet to sign on.

"I've had a few tempting offers from elsewhere," he confessed.

"Once you've had a taste of playing at a higher level, you want to play at that level all the time.

"I'm going home to Samoa next week for a fortnight with my fiancee Julie. I've got a lot of things to think about."