Josh van der Flier is hoping his lineout throwing won't be needed tonight when Ireland face Scotland in their Pool B decider at the Stade de France, but is prepared to step in again if needed after his heroics at Murrayfield last March.
The world player of the year found himself in the unusual position of lineout thrower during the second half of the 22-7 Six Nations win, when both Dan Sheehan and Rónan Kelleher had departed the game with injuries.
The flanker did lose two throws late in that game but by then the result was beyond doubt, and he crucially nailed each of his throws when the match was still up for grabs.
"With the lineout throwing I'm always messing around and practicing. We do the odd bit here and there just preparing for scenarios like that, I guess," he says ahead of this evening's renewal with the Scots.
That game at Murrayfield taught us a lot about this Ireland team, who found themselves stuck in the mud when they lost two hookers due to injury, which could have seen them reduced to 14 players had their been a need for uncontested scrums.
However, with Cian Healy covering at hooker and Van der Flier on lineouts (below), they saw things out with little fuss and it was the manner in which they navigated their way through a minefield of a second half that says a lot about the temperament of this side.
"It’s a testament to the group that looking over the last the or four years we’ve ended up in loads of difficult situations and we’ve managed to have a few people playing out of position, or maybe a man down, or whatever happens.
"We've had a lot of adversity with people dropping out late and injured in warm-ups, that kind of thing, and the group has always managed to stay calm and not to panic and still come up with performances."
Van der Flier attributes a lot of their ability to stay cool under pressure to their performance coach Gary Keegan.
"I think it’s probably a testament to the preparation of the group and I think a lot of it comes down to, as well, the work of Gary Keegan, our sports psychologist. We do a lot of work on remaining calm and dealing with what happens in sport, which is unpredictable.
"I think that’s all part of what helps in those situations."
The 30-year-old will share a back row with Caelan Doris and Peter O'Mahony at the Stade de France, with O'Mahony set to win his 100th cap for Ireland.
Van der Flier, who has 55 Test appearances to his name, says the Munster captain has had a huge influence on his career.
"It's unbelievable to be able to play with someone like Pete. I would have looked up to him a huge amount when I was growing up. That makes you sound very old, 'when I was growing up', but when I was in the academy and trying to get in and play with Leinster, Pete was probably the last person you wanted to come up against.
"He drives incredible standards and he's such a leader and plays with such passion, always come up with big moments, so he was always the last person you wanted to see on the pitch opposite you.
"Getting to play with him with Ireland, he brings such leadership, always shows up when he needs to and I think as well as that, he’s a great bloke.
"He’s a great man to have around the changing room. He just adds so much to the group and I think there isn’t a single person in the squad who wouldn’t be absolutely thrilled to see him getting his 100th cap and hopefully celebrating it with a win."
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