Iain Henderson will lead Ireland out as captain for the second time tonight, when Andy Farrell's side host Italy.
This time it will be different though.
The Ulster skipper was initially installed as Irish captain for the Six Nations visit of France in 2021, on a day when Johnny Sexton was injured and regular stand-ins James Ryan and Peter O'Mahony were also unavailable.
One of the biggest honours of Henderson's career, it was played out in front of an empty stadium. Tonight against Italy, he'll get to do it the right way in front of more than 42,000 people, and in particular in front of friends and family.
"Don't get me wrong, the first time was incredibly special," the 31-year-old says.
"That was against France and it was a tough game.
"That was one of the those that got away from us on the day but it will be incredibly special to have my family at this, and like I said to be able to play with the three guys winning their first caps."
Henderson (above) is the latest in a long line of Ulstermen to captain Ireland, following on from the likes of Rory and Simon Best, David Humphreys, Paddy Johns, Willie Anderson and the great Willie John McBride.
"Obviously Besty [Rory Best] was massive in terms of me developing in my professional career.
"He was massive for me in terms of understanding the way he liked to lead, watching him lead; when Johann Muller was captain [of Ulster], Rory was still one of our definite leaders at Ulster.
"Having him become one of my closest friends throughout the last five years of his career, I got quite close to him and a lot of the things I picked up...a lot of guys would say it to me, but I haven't meant to pick them up – it’s sort of subconscious vibes, or whatever you like, I’ve taken off them and carried them.
"I haven’t read his book but I know Willie Anderson very well because Willie obviously coached up at Ulster for a good number of tears.
"Being able to watch him coach the guys in the academy set-up and knowing their thoughts on how Willie likes to play and the emotion he brings to it, and I’ve met Willie John McBride a number of times."
The versatile forward is preparing for his third Rugby World Cup, having been a staple of the Irish side in both 2015 and 2019.
He'll win his 73rd cap against Italy tonight starting in the second row alongside 22-year-old, who is at the other end of his Test journey, earning a second cap. Henderson expects it to be the second of many.
"Joe's been incredible when he's been with us for the last few campaigns. He's been a physical specimen, he's powerful, strong and he has that desire and ability to want to learn, not only about scrum or lineout but the game as a whole as well. It's exciting for him.
"I have no doubt in my mind he's going to have a huge Irish career. He’ll do amazing things for years to come in an Irish jersey, I have no doubt in my mind. He’s light years ahead of where I was when I was his age. I think him building on that, he’s only going to get better and better for years to come.
"I was actually chatting about it with a few of the lads the other day, he’s one of the lads I’m most excited about seeing this weekend playing. I think he’s really going to take this and grasp this opportunity prior to the World Cup."
Head coach Andy Farrell made it clear on Thursday that he is expecting Ireland to come out with their best rugby against Italy and throughout these warm-up games, making little allowance for it being the first game of the season. On top of that, it's a first time playing together for many of the players.
Henderson, who hasn't played since fracturing his arm in March, agrees it's "a big ask", but argues that it's something the squad have to embrace if they want to hit the ground running ahead off the World Cup.
"I think those different coaches wouldn't ask us to do anything we were not capable of. There's a huge amount of emphasis on doing difficult things for us because they know or think that he's capable of coping with it.
"And for us to come back in, they expect us to switch back and get back up to speed as quickly as possible.
"We came into New Zealand [in 2022] where we had a slow start in New Zealand, and it was after that we really talked about it then.
"It is about trying to get this team to play to its ability as quickly as possible because the international window is so small."
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