Joey Carbery says he's gained huge confidence from the show of faith put in him by Ireland head coach Andy Farrell.
The Munster out-half was given his first Guinness Six Nations start last Saturday against France following a hamstring injury to Johnny Sexton.
Carbery had supplemented Sexton on the bench in the Round 1 meeting with Wales, in what was his first appearance since December.
The 26-year-old suffered a fractured elbow in Munster's Heineken Champions Cup pool game against Wasps on 12 December, which kept him out for eight weeks, and despite Connacht's Jack Carty impressing during that period, it was the Munster man who was preferred by Farrell in the matchday squad, despite his lack of game time.
"Definitely, it's great for my confidence knowing the head coach fully believes in you," said Carbery.
"I'm very grateful he backs me and it's a nice feeling, especially going out there in a tough environment like Saturday, and it's very reassuring to know I've got the full backing behind me."
All eyes were on Carbery in Paris, as he stepped into the boots of Ireland's injured captain Sexton. And while Ireland were ultimately beaten, his performance was roundly praised, kicking four out of four off the tee and linking play well.
He was also busy in defence with France targeting his channel, and he says he's pleased on a personal level with the way he acquitted himself.
"I missed one or two (tackles), but was happy enough.
"We'd viewed them and had a look beforehand and knew it as one of the channels they were going to target because they have a few very good ball carriers.
"I was happy with my goal-kicking. I think the first half we probably could have challenged them a bit and move them a bit more, and in the second half we did, we got back into the game, we came back from that deficit,' added Carbery, who was speaking at the launch of the Tackle Your Feelings #ImTakingControl campaign
"It shows we have the belief there, we were fully capable of doing it. To be honest, I was delighted to get the start, but was very disappointed with the result," he added.
Whether or not he would handle the physicality of the game was arguably more important than his role in the attack, with question marks over his durability given his injury profile in recent seasons.
After ankle and wrist injuries saw him spend more than a year sidelined until February 2021, his fractured elbow in December raised further questions over whether or not he could stand up to the rigours of top level rugby.
"I've tried to work a lot on my tackle technique," he says when asked if the fear if further injuries plays on his mind.
"Having a good tackle technique helps prevent a lot of injuries, and I've worked a lot with Simon (Easterby) in camp on getting my foot close and just getting the right elements into it. So that's given me confidence to go into those tackles. And I suppose, it's not a good way to think, if you're thinking about getting injured, so I try not to.
"I try to focus on the parts that I can control, and falling back on my technique helps me a lot."
Since breaking onto the scene in 2016, Carbery has long been hailed as then heir to Sexton's 10 shirt.
Injuries and Sexton's defiance of his own age has meant that the inheritance is still yet to take place, with the likelihood that the captain will now continue to the 2023 World Cup in France.
"It's seriously enjoyable to be playing in. There's various options, and I think having the forwards and other guys around me who can play ball and are able to pass on the line, it just makes everyone's job so much easier."
And Carbery says he doesn't feel extra pressure at being so often compared and contrasted to one of Irish rugby's greats.
"I think if you look at it like that it's tough, but the way I look at it is just trying to put Ireland first.
"We both put our best foot forward and we can go out there and play to the best of our potential, then I think Ireland will be the main winner. In the environment we're in that's the main thing.
"It's obvious that we both want the same jersey, but the relationship is good, it's not negative and there are a lot of positives from it.
"It's a bit of a compliment to be always compared to him, or to be in the same conversation. Personally, I'm trying to get better from it and see where it brings me."
Ireland's current game plan is also seemingly well suited to Carbery's own strengths, with the Kildare man traditionally thriving off a less structured style, with players encouraged to make decisions in the moment.
"It's seriously enjoyable to be playing in. There's various options, and I think having the forwards and other guys around me who can play ball and are able to pass on the line, it just makes everyone's job so much easier.
"It's really enjoyable, and it actually makes my job a lot easier, so we (10s) probably shouldn't get as much credit as we get.
"I think we have to go back and have belief in our system, that it's going to work and having the trust in each other that we're all going to do our job.
"I think we started to do it a lot more in the second half and we started to find a few more holes and soft shoulders, and we started to make a few line-breaks and it got us back into the game.
"So the belief is definitely there. Personally, I know I can get a lot better at seeing the space. Once I can see the space, we can play to the space, so there's definitely a lot to improve on, but it's definitely very enjoyable as well."
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