This time last year Jack Willis was among his own and preparing for a European semi-final, just as he is ahead of Saturday's visit to the Aviva Stadium.
Wasps lost at Lyon in the Challenge Cup before, just six months later, the club suffered a financial meltdown that led to suspension and relegation. Willis was swiftly on his way to a totally new experience - life in the south of France as a Top 14 player.
This weekend, the England back row will be among Toulouse's foreign legion attempting to make up for last year's last four loss to Leinster in the Champions Cup.
READ MORE: James Lowe out of Leinster's Champions Cup semi-final clash with Toulouse
"It’s certainly been a rough rollercoaster of emotions," said the 26-year-old.
"Going from everything that happened at Wasps was probably the lowest low point of my career so far - and in life in general.
"It didn’t just affect me. It affected friends, family and I had to sort of find what was next. And I feel very, very fortunate that I’ve ended up at such a special club.
"This is now probably the biggest week’s prep I’ve ever had in my club career. The biggest club game I’ve ever been involved in. So it really is pretty special and I feel very grateful.
"This is the sort of game you dream of being involved in. I’m incredibly excited for where I am at the moment."
Willis, like his brother Tom who he played alongside at Wasps, could have declared for Ireland as they have a Northern Ireland-born grandfather.
Instead, Jack came off the bench against Ireland in the under-20 World Cup final in 2016.
"I'm quarter-Irish but I’ve always grown up supporting England, my brother the same," he explained. "You're always looking into possibilities, you want to be playing international rugby but we see ourselves as English."
Three of those who played for Ireland that day - James Ryan, Andrew Porter and Hugo Keenan - are mainstays of the Leinster side that Toulouse will face on Saturday.
They also faced Willis when England were well beaten in Ireland's recent Grand Slam clinching triumph at the Lansdowne Road ground, a game in which he was yellow carded late on.
"We all know the quality of the likes of (Josh) van der Flier and (Caelan) Doris and how well they’ve been playing both for Leinster and Ireland," he said.
"They both pose a real threat at the breakdown but also in the way Leinster attack. They add heat to the game.
"If we can stop them getting over the gain line and offloading and playing the way they want to play, then hopefully it will go a long way to stopping their flow. They really are the pivotal part of getting Leinster over the gain line.
"It's their home ground effectively but we can’t let that change our preparation. Leinster are a quality side, home or away, so we’ll try not to make that a factor.
"I know how good the atmosphere can be there when we played a few weeks ago against Ireland in the Six Nations - an incredible atmosphere - but I’m sure there will be a few Toulouse supporters heading there and trying to make some noise.
"It's obviously the exact same fixture as last year - and we want to make sure we put in the best account of ourselves and put in a performance we can be proud of."
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