Tadhg Furlong never dreamed of captaining Ireland but now that moment has arrived, he will embrace it on Saturday.
On Monday, Andy Farrell asked the world-class Leinster prop if he would lead the team out against Fiji if he recovered in time from the ankle injury he suffered in last weekend's Autumn series victory over South Africa.
Put through his paces in training today, the Wexford man was given the nod to start at the Aviva Stadium.
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"It could be my only time," exclaimed Furlong. "Faz said it to me on Monday, 'would you skipper the team, if you're fit and ready to go?', so of course.
"It's class, it's class, it's not something I ever thought was on my radar. To get an opportunity is special, you know?
"I said it to Faz, 'No bother off the pitch, but what the hell do I do if I'm going to the corner?', he had a few good bits and pieces for me, to rely on the boys, and just getting about my work and making the lads feel good for the week. Trust the boys.
"I never even thought of it. You know when you dream as a young fella, you want to play for Ireland, you want to play for Leinster, you want to play for the Lions… I never even dreamed of captaining Ireland.
Asked what he did dream of, Furlong quipped: "Spuds. Gravy. The mother’s Sunday roast.
"No, playing! Just playing for Ireland. It (the captaincy) was never on the radar, to be honest with you.
"And look, I know it’s for a game. I know it’s not captaining your country week-in, week-out, but it’s still class. It’s still a class feeling.
"I know from people back home, they’ll be very proud. So it’s great.
"It’s definitely up there. I literally came off the training pitch an hour and a half ago, and I didn’t even think of this because it was the first time I was lacing up all week.
"I suppose in time when you look back, it’s something no-one will ever take away from you, you know? So it’s definitely up there."
The last time Furlong captained any team was the Ireland under-18s.
"That's going back, boy," the 29-year-old grinned. "It was a lot of blood and guts, banging tables back then.
"I've been lucky to be involved in a lot of good teams with a lot of good captains, it's trying to fit your way in and enjoy it as much as possible."
Furlong has changed and, as Johnny Sexton said last week, he had to be coaxed into joining Ireland's leadership group by Andy Farrell when he took over as head coach after the last Rugby World Cup.
Asked how he is in team talks, Furlong replied: "I don't know, really. You'd have to ask the lads for their honest opinion of me.
"I wouldn't be mad emotional, if that makes sense, as a person. It's nice to have a bit of yin and yang."
Sexton has been helpful this week, asking if there's anything that Furlong needs to know in leading the group, and the tighthead is using his colleague as the template in terms of putting in a top performance while leading the team.
As to whether it is something he would like to do beyond this weekend, Furlong smiled and said: "To be brutally honest with you, I’m a prop.
"If I’m playing I’m playing for 50-60 minutes, and I’ve my head in the ground for most of the game...I think there’s a reason front rows, and props especially, aren’t captain all that often.
"It’s because of that and I think that’s the reality of it. Is it something I’d like to do? I haven’t even thought of it.
"I didn’t even think it was on my radar. I just want to make the most out of the weekend."
Furlong added: "There was a time where players were about doing their job, putting the blinkers on and getting about with your business.
"People have changed, rugby has changed, in terms of more rounded, holistic environments, and wanting peoples' opinions, wanting people to be themselves, wanting people to want to learn and not be afraid to ask for advice and be vulnerable a small bit.
"I had no clue of it. None of it. It's something I didn't know how to approach at the start.
"I think as a leadership group we didn't, we were quite quiet. 'What does Faz want?', was the question. But as we grew and the years went on, it came a lot more naturally to us."
In terms of how he has benefited from being in that leadership group, Furlong says he has got as much out of it as a person as he has as a player.
He explained: "It forces you to think outside your own game. Your blinkers are off.
"You need to be across how the squad is feeling, our game, how we’re messaging - the younger players coming through, how do we make them feel a million dollars from the minute they walk in the door so they can put their best foot forward?
"It’s a little bit of everything and you learn a lot about yourself in respect of, you're outside your comfort zone a lot.
"You’re putting yourself in situations where you might be working with a player and he might not exactly know that you’re working with him, small chats. It’s about having conversations and putting yourself out there."
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