If you handed most aspiring young rugby players the choice between a Champions Cup clash against the English Premiership holders and a university rugby derby fixture against their nearest rivals, you would likely feel confident in guessing which one they would choose.
Sure, there may be some lengthy deliberations, but surely lure of top-tier European rugby would win out for most, if not all. Well, enter Joe Cowell who well and truly bucked this preconception.
The choice was put to the test last December when Cardiff Met captain Cowell was offered the chance to take on Harlequins at the Stoop, a week after he had answered Cardiff's emergency call with a 27-minute cameo against European champions Toulouse at the Arms Park.
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However, committing to the trip to face Quins would have seen the prop miss out on another bumper fixture at the Arms Park: a BUCS Super Rugby clash with Cardiff University RFC. In the end, it was a simple decision to make.
"It wasn't much of a sacrifice, to be fair," explained Cowell. "It was just a decision that I believed in and wanted to make. "Obviously it was a massive, massive occasion to be in amongst a professional outfit like Cardiff and to play against Toulouse was pretty special.
"But a big game comes around the corner and you're not in university forever. To be given the opportunity to play against Harlequins the week after was amazing, but I had to stick to my roots and play in the Cardiff clash. It's a decision I'll stick by."
Cardiff Met's director of men's rugby Danny Milton wasn't necessarily convinced it was the right call for Cowell, but admits "it was the one he wanted". He added: "That's how much the club means to him and I don't think we'd have squeezed over the line if he wasn't playing."
The match against Cardiff University capped a hectic couple of weeks. Initially training with Cardiff as cover, with only his family aware of his presence with the Covid-affected Welsh capital side, his phone soon went off the hook after being named on the bench against Toulouse.
Cowell jokes that he received a couple of messages the following week questioning his turning down the chance to face Harlequins, but it is not a decision he regrets.
"We have values in the club; team first, hard work and humility," he added. "I think putting the team first, particularly in that scenario against Cardiff University and an occasion like that, was a decision that I was never going to question.
"It was always the decision that I was going to make. There were talks going on to see if I could do the best of both worlds. I was talking a lot with Danny, making sure that everyone was happy.
"But I told him before that it's my club. I was fortunate to play against Toulouse. If you take it down to the bare bones though, I'm a Cardiff Met boy and they're my club. It was never a decision for me to say no.
"I've got another year in university and potentially a year of doing masters. So I've potentially got another two years playing in this league. I'm hoping that opportunities might spark up in the next 18 months but if they don't, they don't. If they do, happy days.
"I came to university to progress and make it as a professional player, but the main reason is to enjoy myself and play rugby with my mates. That's obviously what playing in BUCS rugby is. If it's the wrong decision, so be it, but I'm loving my rugby here."
Speaking to the 20-year-old loose-head, who is studying for a sports and conditioning rehab and massage degree, it is clear just how much university rugby means to him. The mix of the competitive nature of the rugby, the social side and the academic side makes for a special programme, in his view.
"I think playing in university is competitive, but you also see a lot of the boys you play with outside of rugby a lot and you get to know them," he explains. "Taking that professionalism out of it when you don't have to be in it is a special thing.
"We have similarities as clubs when it comes to sacrifices and recovery days, all to be part of the programme, but when you play on a Wednesday night, it's the last sport of the day. You get to go out with your mates afterwards whether you win or lose.
"Your mates are the ones who know what you do through the week and the sacrifices you make to get there. When you're playing in the tough games against Exeter and Loughborough, them cheering you on gives you that extra five or 10 per cent to get off the floor and put a shot in or make a carry when you're spent. It's a unique atmosphere at these games. Even the chants of 'UWIC' from opposition fans drive you on.
"You make a lot of friends and memories within it. To play such a high level of rugby across the UK is really good at this age. It prepares you for what professional rugby is like, but also for after that. If you go on to pro rugby or not, you have your mates and your degree.
"That's the best part of this league. You play such a high standard of rugby, but if nothing happens as the percentage of boys going professional is low, you've got a degree to fall back on and that can help you with the rest of your life. I can hopefully fall into the bracket of working within rugby, even if professional rugby doesn't work out."
For now, though, he is focused on the start of the new BUCS Super Rugby season and where that will take him. There may be more European experiences to come somewhere down the line, but for now, Cowell is content with seeing his mates cheering him on every Wednesday night. After all, you don't get chants of 'UWIC' in the Champions Cup.
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