At the turn of the year, Jack Conan hadn't played for Leinster in almost three months due to a neck injury. By the time he made his return for Ireland in February, it had been 17 months since he had last worn the green jersey, following the cruelly timed foot injury he picked up at the 2019 World Cup.
It's not surprising then, that making the Lions tour wasn't exactly on Conan's agenda, let alone starting in the first Test. Yet here we are.
After a rollercoaster couple of years, Conan has battled his own body, as well as his way up the pecking order to wear the Lions No 8 jersey against South Africa on Saturday.
With such a prestigious honour comes a huge amount of pressure, but a couple of days out from the biggest game of his career, Conan didn't show any signs of nerves as he faced the media.
The 28-year-old has missed enough big days to understand the importance of appreciating them when they come along, so while he finds himself in a position that far outweighed his own goals for 2021, he is determined to make the most of this golden opportunity.
“It (starting first Lions Test) wasn’t among my wish list then I must say,” Conan admitted.
“At that stage it was just about getting fit again and not having these constant setbacks. So I wasn’t projecting myself too far forward. No, the Lions was not on top of my list. It was far from it really.”
Back in 2019, there was a growing sense on the ground in Japan that Conan was being lined up for a prominent role in Ireland's World Cup campaign, until a long-standing foot injury dashed his dreams, costing him a lengthy spell on the sidelines.
The pandemic then threw another spanner in the works, but reflecting on his journey since suffering that devastation, he acknowledges that he has come a long way.
“It's had a lot of ups and downs. The road to here hasn't always been easy, but it has definitely been worth it,” Conan said.
“Look, obviously I had a bad injury in 2019 at the World Cup and didn't get to lay down the marker that I would have liked to in that campaign.
“Obviously then I didn't get the chance to play until late August 2020 because of the pandemic and everything else.
“So, it was a bit of a disrupted route back into the game and even since then, I have had a few knocks and niggles and setbacks, but thankfully the last few months and hopefully the next few weeks will go all injury-free and it will help me play some good rugby.”
Conan has been excellent on the Lions tour and has been rightly rewarded for his scintillating form with a Test start.
The Leinster man firmly believes he is a much better player now than he was before his injury nightmare spell, and he is now relishing being able to showcase that on such a big stage.
“I think my ability to just stay in the game and stay in the moment a bit more, to put myself forward to probably be, not wait for things to happen, but to go out there and assert myself a bit more,” Conan explained.
“I think, as well, I probably spent a lot of time overthinking and worrying about mistakes and if I made a mistake to go into myself whereas now you realise that if you make mistakes it’s just part of the game. It happens, so just get on with it and don’t let it affect the next moment.
“In saying that I’ve generally just tried to enjoy it a lot more, to appreciate where I am, to appreciate the life that I have and the job I get to do every day. It’s a dream come true and I’ve loved every moment of it, even the bad ones, because it makes the good ones seem even better.
“I suppose I’ve probably become just a bit more appreciative of everything, after all the knocks and all the setbacks to then go on and kick on, and just enjoy it a bit more, and I think it’s helped massively.”
Back home in Bray, all eyes will be on Cape Town come five o'clock on Saturday evening, with one particular familiar face set to lead the party.
“I’m actually housing James Lowe and his missus for a few days in my house," Conan added.
"I don’t know if he got kicked out of his house or he’s sold it and waiting to move into his new one or something, but he’s staying in my house back in Carrickmines.
“So, I think my missus is going to watch it with him and his girlfriend and then there’ll be a bit of a party, I would imagine, in Bray with my parents and the rest of the family.
“By the sounds of it they have a few people coming over, with protocols and social distancing and all that. But yeah, there’ll be a bit of a party in Bray if anyone is looking to join!”