Craig Casey has looked up to Conor Murray since he was that kid who developed a serious passion for Munster and Ireland.
Week after week, Casey closely watched Murray's performances at Thomond Park, soaking in what he did to become the world's best scrum-half before becoming his understudy at the province.
The events of the week just gone by have added to the learning process - and to his admiration for a man who was once a childhood hero and is now a team-mate and a rival for the no 9 jersey, for province and country.
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“Incredible from Mur, to be honest," said Casey.
Murray's father, Gerry, was cycling near his home in Limerick when he was involved in a road traffic collision that left him with serious injuries.
The 33-year-old left Ireland camp to visit his dad in midweek and, after discussing the situation with his mother Barbara and his sisters, decided that he would play against France on Saturday.
Somehow Murray found the will to play for 57 minutes before making way for Casey, who is one day shy of 10 years his junior.
Together, they kept irresistible Ireland ticking over to an historic victory.
Murray came close to scoring three times, adding to the attacking intent he showed in Cardiff the previous week when he got the late call to replace the injured Jamison Gibson-Park.
He has delivered for Andy Farrell having only recently lost out to Casey in the selection battle at Munster for the final two Champions Cup pool games.
"It was a very tough week for him and the family and obviously all week we’ve been thinking about Gerry, Barbara, all the family," explained Casey.
"It’s a credit to Mur. He’s someone I’ve looked up to for years and, obviously being behind him at Munster, I’ve learned a lot from him.
"And, again, I learned a lot from him this week as well, about mental toughness and mental resilience I think.
"He’s a credit to his family the way he showed up today and a credit to this team. And I’m delighted we got the win for him today, for him and Gerry."
It was an emotional week in camp - no wonder Johnny Sexton and Andrew Porter shed tears during the anthems on Saturday.
On Monday, Brian O'Driscoll and Craig Doyle, spoke to the players about the Shoulder to Shoulder documentary they produced on the cross-border nature of the Ireland team and how it brought people together during the Troubles.
Former international David 'The Doc' Irwin, who was interviewed for the documentary, also addressed the group.
Ulster's team doctor was travelling to Dublin to train with Ireland with two team-mates when they were caught in the car bomb that killed Lord Justice Maurice Gibson and his wife Cecily.
Paul Rouse, the historian, was also in to speak to the players about the history of the Irish jersey.
Later in the week, when the matchday squad was announced, there were congratulations for three players earning their 50th caps - James Ryan, Andrew Porter and Dave Kilcoyne.
'Killer' was one of three players to reach the milestone last Saturday, along with Andrew Porter and James Ryan.
"It means the world to me, to be honest," he confessed. "You grow up as the old cliché everyone wants to play for Ireland. All my family were there today in the audience.
"Faz (Andy Farrell) put on a little presentation for me, Ports and James Ryan during the week and they just talked about how special it is to get 50 caps.
"Pete (O'Mahony) was telling me during the week he heard only 6% of players who get capped for Ireland end up going on to get 50 caps.
"They called out a list of maybe 10 props that have actually done it, so it’s a hard thing to do.
"I had a bad setback with my neck in last year’s Six Nations. A scrum went down at the end of the game and I lost all the power down to one side of my arm.
"It just set me back a while, eventually I had to get an operation which obviously for a prop getting two discs shaved in your neck is not ideal.
"So it was unnerving times and I’m proud of myself and the resilience I showed to get back in the squad, but I did have that inner belief that once I got the power back that I would get back in.
"I always back myself and to get 50 caps, it really does mean a lot to me. It means more to me probably than my first cap, just because of what I’ve had to go through in the last year."
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