It was a phrase repeated throughout Joe Schmidt's team announcement for Sunday's Guinness Six Nations clash with Italy; 'game minutes'.
It was, he explained, a key determinant in his match-day squad selection which sees four players come into the starting XV, with Niall Scannell, Iain Henderson, uncapped Jack Carty and Andrew Conway taking their respective places on the bench.
As had been predicted, the backline remains in tact. The full-back experiment won't be revived for Rome with Rob Kearney keeping the 15 jersey and Robbie Henshaw not quite ready for action.
Chris Farrell and Bundee Aki get another opportunity to build a relationship in midfield, while Keith Earls and Jacob Stockdale aren't offered any rest on the wings.
Conor Murray and Johnny Sexton start for the 50th time at Test level and the two will hope to get back to the level of the last few seasons.
Aside from long-term injury victim Chris Farrell, only four players in Sunday's starting team had less than 600 minutes provincial action coming into the Six Nations. Murray and Sexton are part of that quartet, along with Rob Kearney and it is no surprise that Schmidt is keen for the trio to continue to play.
Joey Carbery's hamstring strain made the decision more straight forward when some had called for the Munster man to get a start.
"I think we probably would have started Johnny anyway to be honest," Schmidt told RTÉ Sport.
"He's had one game and 23 minutes since the Munster game, so, he's had very little game time whereas Joey has been really resilient so far this season and has had a lot of game time."
The same logic applies to Kearney at full-back, who offered assurance in the backfield against the Scots after Henshaw slotted in against England.
"Rob gave a lot of confidence to the players around him two weeks ago in Edinburgh. We also want to keep him going because in the context of who has had game minutes, Rob Kearney hasn't had much either.
"Chris Farrell, on the back of very little preparation, he's another guy who needs game minutes but did really well we felt in Edinburgh. Again, that's exactly what we want, we want guys going in and out as seamlessly as possible and still providing a really high level of performance."
Game minutes also works the other way and captain Rory Best, Cian Healy and James Ryan are afforded the weekend off, meaning Tadhg Furlong has new front row partners.
Dave Kilcoyne has profited from Jack McGrath's return from injury this season at loosehead, while Seán Cronin also makes his first Six Nations start.
Ten years on from his debut, all of his previous 364 minutes in the tournament have been as a replacement and now Rome offers an opportunity to translate his rich vein of Leinster form into the Test arena.
"He's trained well. He'll have the confidence from the 10 starts he has had in different fixtures, but the amount of times he's come off the bench and been involved in really important wins for us, I think, why not bring that from the start? It's a great opportunity for Sean and I'm hopeful he'll grab it with both hands."
Some have doubted whether the New Zealander has full confidence in the hooker, but Schmidt pointed out the 32-year-old was selected to start for the series deciding Test against Australia last summer before a hamstring injury forced the visitors into a late change.
The chance to oust the team captain with the World Cup looming is not something that should be overlooked.
"As much he's very team-oriented, he will personally want to put his best foot forward."
"The energy there was very much visible. I think the challenge when you bring that energy and enthusiasm is to combine it with the accuracy required"
Dillane profits from squad rotation in the engine room and will look to put down his own marker, while on the bench, Jack Carty is poised to make his bow.
Carbery's misfortune is an opportunity for Carty and his consistent displays for Connacht. Schmidt hinted at the out-half getting to grips with the new team environment, but appears impressed by his ability and willingness to learn.
"Jack is impossible to ruffle. We tried to put a bit of pressure on him in training, it doesn't mean that it's all been seamless and gone perfectly but if something does go wrong, he gets it right the next time.
"His ability to absorb information, to slot into the team, all those things have been really first rate and again, he went back to Connacht last week and I thought he was really good for them."
Hindsight is 20/20 of course, but Schmidt indicated that the lead-up to the England game wasn't quite where it needed to be.
Victory over the Scots was the jump-start the reigning champions needed, and while few foresee Italy claiming a second Six Nations win over Ireland, the week off hasn't diminished momentum or the hunger to keep up a title challenge.
"There has been a freshness," Schmidt responded when asked to describe the mood in camp following the rest week. "I felt we trained really well in the open session last Friday.
"The energy there was very much visible. I think the challenge when you bring that energy and enthusiasm is to combine it with the accuracy required. That's the real challenge. With the number of changes we have got, it will be a challenge."
The saying goes there are no easy games in international rugby, but some are more often than not easier than others.
The Italian pack, which used to bristle with intent, is no longer the fearsome operation it once was as The Azzurri look to develop a more expansive game plan, while the loss of captain Sergio Parisse is a significant blow.
For a team changing half its starting pack, Rome is perhaps the best environment to test out new combinations and reward those staking a claim for more regular inclusion.
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