It's just under two years since Cian Prendergast found out there wouldn't be a place for him in Leinster's academy setup.
Having played for Ireland Under-20s in the 2020 Six Nations prior to its cancellation due to Covid-19, Prendergast didn't make the cut for the few available spots in the following season's Leinster intake. His Irish U20 coach Noel McNamara was then the province's academy chief.
Connacht's academy manager Eric Elwood pounced within a few days though, and from there Prendergast hasn't looked back.
"It's probably been the best thing that's ever happened to me," he told RTÉ Sport.
"I got that phone call from Eric Elwood over the original lockdown, which seems like ages ago. I think it was April 2020 when he rang me and it was probably the best phone call I've ever gotten.
"I'll be forever grateful for that phone call. Everyone's been so accommodating and willing to work with me, it has been incredible for me."
Connacht have a track record of polishing diamonds in recent years, but Prendergast has the potential to be one of their great pieces of business.
The versatile forward, who only turned 22 last week, has been ticking off the boxes at high speed in his 23 games of professional rugby to date.
After linking up with the Connacht academy in the summer of 2020, he made his debut off the bench that October in a win away to Edinburgh, before a Heineken Champions Cup debut followed a couple of months later.
The Kildare native made 10 appearances last season and was named Academy Player of the Year, before being given a senior deal in the summer.
He's been almost ever-present in Andy Friend's team this season, forming a consistent partnership with Conor Oliver and Jarrad Butler in the back row, scoring his first try for the province in their Champions Cup win against Stade Francais in December.
And that form was rewarded by Ireland head coach Andy Farrell, who gave him his first taste of international rugby in recent weeks, including him as a 'development player' in the squad that prepared for the Six Nations Championship at the end of January.
"It was an incredible experience," Prendergast said of his time training with Ireland.
"I got to pick the brains of people in my position and see how they prepare for Test matches, see what they do from week to week, how they prepare for training, how they train, how they conduct themselves.
"It was a really good experience for me and I learned a lot from it."
Prendergast was the latest young player to be given their introduction to Farrell's setup as a designated development player, one who trains with the group but isn't part of the final squad being considered for matches.
It's been a regular feature in the Farrell regime, used as a way to drip-feed the Test camp experience to players, with Craig Casey, Ryan Baird, Robert Baloucoune and Harry Byrne among those who have moved from the apprenticeship to being capped in the last two years.
But while development players aren't considered for selection, Prendergast says there is no drop off in expectations.
"You want to meet the standard that's at training, you don’t want to be a guy that’s there just for the experience.
"You want to contribute to the group because if you just sit back and think 'I’ll enjoy this', it’s just going to sail by you. You want to enjoy it and soak up everything but you want to meet the standard of the group pretty quickly, and find your feet within a day.
"That’s probably the biggest challenge going into camps. They had 12 days to prep for Wales, and it’s all brand new detail. They’re all coming off details they have at Leinster, Munster, Ulster and Connacht.
"The best players get it straight away, they don't need to be told twice, and that’s a big thing I need to take away from it."
While he admits to being "a bit all over the place" on his first day, with his head "scrambled" from the new information, the former Newbridge College man now has sights on getting back into the camp, but this time with the intention of winning a cap.
"I had a couple of conversations with my parents, academy is obviously three years, and they said, 'Listen, don't go down and expect to wait your turn. Go in there and try to put your best foot forward. Don't wait, just go as hard as you can straight away.'
And he says he's been given plenty of feedback from Andy Farrell on how he can go about doing it.
"There were general things around attack, things you won't get away with at international rugby that you might get away with in a URC game.
"You have to be more aware of what the defence is giving you, the pictures you're seeing and you have to be able to do it at a higher speed.
"That’s what makes Test match rugby the animal it is, from what I gauged in training and seeing the best players like Tadhg Furlong, Peter O’Mahony, Johnny Sexton, how they adapt to things in front of them straight away without having to take a step back. They just figure it out when it’s in front of them."
Prendergast's exposure to senior rugby at Connacht cannot be ignored. His 23rd game as a professional came just days after his 22nd birthday, a level of experience he'd be unlikely to have had if he had been brought into the Leinster set-up, particularly given their logjam of loose forwards.
And he says he was in no mood to wait around once he made it to Galway.
"I had a couple of conversations with my parents, academy is obviously three years, and they said, 'Listen, don't go down and expect to wait your turn. Go in there and try to put your best foot forward. Don't wait, just go as hard as you can straight away.'
"Luckily enough, I got an opportunity to do that pre-season with the senior squad straight away which was a good opportunity for me and I just really enjoyed it. It was a good experience for me," he added.
Since returning from his stint in Ireland camp, Prendergast has continued to impress, and was Player of the Match in the recent win away to the Scarlets, Connacht's first in Llanelli since 2004.
His fast progression has been no surprise to Connacht's senior coach Pete Wilkins.
"I think that determination and ambition is something that we'd look to promote," Wilkins said when asked about Prendergast's growth.
"And I think if it's channeled in a really positive way of improving yourself and trying to make the best of every opportunity you get, I think that's really effective.
"Paul Boyle was another one before, who had similar determination when he first came into an academy contract and as a result found himself in that senior squad very quickly in the scheme of things.
"So to channel ambition positively towards self-development and towards work ethic, their potential really thrives on the back of that.
"If it's coming in banging on the head coach's door from day one saying 'You've got to pick me', that's very different.
"So I think when you channel that in a constructive way, I think that's part of the reason that the Cian has had that success."
Since returning from his stint in Ireland camp, Prendergast has continued to impress, and was Player of the Match in the recent win away to the Scarlets, Connacht's first in Llanelli since 2004.
And having seen off the Stormers in Galway 19-17 last weekend, the province will look to make it three wins in a row when they face Edinburgh in the Scottish capital on Friday night.
"I hadn't played against the Springboks before, so that (Stormers game) was different.
"You had players like Steven Kitshoff, and (Marvin) Orie who was running the lineout and (Damian) Willemse in the centre, as well as those sevens players in the back three.
"It was a good test for us as group to go against players of the calibre. Especially our scrum, we thought it would be a big focus area for them considering they have one of the best looseheads in the world (Kitshoff), we stood up to that challenge and it was a real positive for the group," he added.
