The doubters are never too far away from Dillon Lewis' door.
When news of Tomas Francis' back injury emerged before the Wales squad flew to South Africa, the reaction among the majority of supporters was one of panic. To some, the success or otherwise of this entire tour hinged on Francis' fitness.
But it was Lewis who filled the No. 3 jersey at Loftus Versfeld against the world champions, and the scrum was not the catastrophe which many may have feared. But it turned into a longer day at the office than Lewis might have expected.
Read more: Wales to throw young prop into cauldron as they insist Wyn Jones not an option
When he trotted to the sideline in the 50th minute and began donning a jacket, he would have been pretty content with his performance as Wales led 18-10. But he had not even finished putting said jacket on when word came down that he had to go back onto the field.
His replacement, Tomas Francis, suffered a heavy blow to the head and was concussed. Lewis was going to have to do 79 minutes and 30 seconds against one of the most revered packs in world rugby at altitude in one of the most hostile stadiums on the planet. No small task.
He told reporters in Johannesburg: “I didn’t have much time to think about it to be honest. It wasn’t nice seeing Franny down the way that he was. It was quite a nasty one, so I was hoping that he was okay.
“I remember Nugget [Martyn Williams, team manager] telling me to get back on. You don’t really prep for those situations, they just happen.
"It was definitely a test on the lungs and the legs. They’re big men as well so it’s not just the running around that you have to worry about, it’s also trying to stop them running over you. It was a tough Test but an enjoyable one, probably one of my most enjoyable Test matches for Wales.”
Lewis is used to long days at the office, though. In the third-place play-off at the 2019 Rugby World Cup, he went 77 minutes against none other than the All Blacks. However, when quizzed on which was more challenging the answer was pretty swift.
“The Springboks were probably tougher, especially up front," he said. "There’s a lot more to it than just running around, you know exactly where they are coming. There is the set piece aspect.”
When you consider challenging opponents for tight-heads, South Africa and New Zealand would obviously be up there but not far behind, for different reasons, would be the free-flowing Fijians. Lewis has countered them, too, rounding off a painful trinity.
Last November, he played 73 minutes of the entertaining 38-23 victory, only this time he did it after snapping the plantar fascia — the ligament which runs along the bottom of your foot — in both of his feet.
“Yeah, that was quite a mental week," he smiled. "I wasn’t supposed to be involved but Franny pulled out on the Thursday. WillGriff John was starting and then he got concussed a few minutes into the game, so I had 70-odd minutes of Fijians dancing around me!
“Again, it’s one of those things. You’ve got a job at hand, you can’t let it affect you, you’ve got to get on with it. It was extremely painful. It was just lots of painkillers and adrenaline.”
For a tight-head, it doesn't get much tougher than playing more than 70 minutes against the aforementioned opposition. But after Wales' devastating 32-29 defeat in Pretoria, he is expecting things to get even tougher this Saturday in Bloemfontein.
“I’d like to think we took a bit to South Africa," he says. "We expected it to go there [to the gutter] and you always do when you play against them. It was physical, it was tough and we went to some dark places at times, especially around the 70th minute when I’m blowing out of my a**e but it’s always like that against them.
“I expect it to get a lot tougher over the next two Tests as well. It’s been a while since both teams have played together, so it’s only going to get better, more physical, faster. I expect it to get darker on Saturday.”
But, if nothing else, Lewis has shown a willingness to go to those dark places throughout his 39 caps. Yet, just as it was before the 2019 World Cup, people were doubting his abilities before this tour. It is something which has riled Wales' forwards coach Jonathan Humphreys. "Dillon has been fantastic for us, he has played through a lot of pain," Humphreys said. "He does not get enough credit, for me. He has been excellent in this environment and it's a hell of an ask to do what he did at the weekend but he is ready to go again and he is going to have to be."
Lewis added: “It was probably a bit of a win-win game for me going into it, to be honest. Everybody wrote me off at scrum time so if it didn’t go well then it was nothing people didn’t already know but if it did go well then it’s something for me to take some confidence from.
"I’m probably giving people reasons to doubt me at times and that’s my own inconsistency that I have to try and iron out. I tend not to listen too much to external factors. If the coach is picking me then I must be doing something right."
Read next:
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- Graham Price: The lesson Dan Biggar must learn and the one change I'd make to the Wales team for second Test
- Wales ready to throw young props into Springbok cauldron as they insist Wyn Jones is not an option
- Wales star tells South Africa 'bring it on' and England's Jonny Hill to escape citing
- Jiffy identifies 23-year-old as next Wales captain after clues evident in clash against South Africa
- South Africa v Wales winners and losers as Pivac earns respite and personal horror show unfolds
- Dan Biggar denies any wrongdoing in moment that lost the game
