After a strong first six months to 2017, Jack McGrath could be forgiven for wondering how things took a nosedive following his eye-catching Lions tour.
Another stellar showing in the Six Nations campaign earned the prop a place on the plane to New Zealand and he appeared in all three Tests against the All Blacks as a replacement.
After receiving praise from the opposition, and indeed the hard-to-please New Zealand rugby public, he was unlikely to foresee a situation where just four months later he would fail to make Joe Schmidt’s match-day squads for the November internationals against South Africa and Argentina, though the Dubliner did start the middle fixture against Fiji.
A resurgent Cian Healy has usurped his provincial team-mate in blue and green jerseys, while Dave Kilcoyne was given the nod on the bench against the Springboks and Pumas.
For the 42-cap international, it was a whole new experience after four years of being in the driving seat.
"I had never encountered it before," he told RTÉ Sport. "After November, I just parked it. I came in, spoke to Leo and the backroom staff and told them what was going on.
"They were more than helpful and I put a plan in place for what I needed to do. To get back to where I was."
Following on from the demanding Lions tour, was it mental or physical fatigue which had set in?
"I think it was more from a fitness aspect. I just wasn’t up to the pace and at this level if you are a little bit off the pace, you stand out on the negative side of things. I feel like I have that back now."
Scrum coach John Fogarty has seen the dynamic prop at close quarters and witnessed his commitment to get back to the level of form that saw him as an automatic pick for club and country.
A slice of good fortune also played it's part.
Cian Healy’s three-week ban allowed McGrath to return to the starting team for the Stephens’ Day win over Munster after warming the bench for the last three Champions Cup ties.
Fogarty says that in the professional era, a drop-off in performance level at some point is almost inevitable.
"Mentally, to stay up there for that long, it’s impressive, but there is bound to be little dips," he says.
"Maybe there was a little bit of fitness issues early on when he came back after pre-season. You’ll get caught up. I think that happened to him but he got that out of his system.
"He’s in a really good position now mentally and physically."
The slate is wiped clean for 2018, and the 28-year-old is keen to look forward, with Ulster next in his sights ahead of the Champions Cup double header and the Six Nations on the horizon.
"It’s how you react to these things. I’m over that now. There’s no point in me looking back on that because it is only bad memories. It’s not even on my radar anymore.
"It’s not something I dwell on."
