There's always a plan, even if it's a rough one.
Test rugby is always attritional, but Sunday's 22-7 win against Scotland saw Ireland deal with almost unprecedented levels of injury withdrawals.
By half-time Caelan Doris, Dan Sheehan and Iain Henderson had all been forced off, while Sheehan's replacement Rónan Kelleher only had a few minutes left in him, struggling with a shoulder issue that ended his game shortly after the break.
Cian Healy could be seen practicing his throws on the sideline late in the first half, and while he ultimately would come on to pack down at hooker in the scrums, it was Josh van der Flier who was trusted with throwing the darts in the second half.
Thankfully, the flanker had been waiting for the day to come, admitting he's always worked on his throwing on the off chance it was ever needed.
"When I was in the academy I used to get given out to for messing about in the gym, doing hooker throws," Van der Flier says of his lineout throwing.
"But it's something we've talked about and practiced the odd time because a hooker can get yellow carded, or rarely now that you get two injuries like that, but it's something we talk about and we have a rough plan if it happens."
With Healy scrummaging at hooker and Van der Flier throwing into the lineout, it was worrying times for Ireland, but both players nailed their unfamiliar responsibilities.
Van der Flier's throwing wasn't quite 100% but while he had two misses late in the game, the result had long since been sewn up by that stage. When the game was in the balance he was finding the target.
"I've played seven for, it must be 15 years since playing in school, and that's never actually happened.
"There have been times where I've been close to throwing so no better place to do it than in Murrayfield with a packed house.
"It felt alright, felt fine. The chat out there was incredibly calm. James Ryan was calling the lineout and he was very relaxed. He was asking what I was comfortable with or whatever. So it was good."
And after just 40 minutes throwing lineouts in a Test match, he's already speaking like a true hooker when questioned about one overthrow early in the second half.
"It spun! It spun nicely. I was chatting to the other hookers after the game and they said, 'Whatever you do, you always blame the jumper and the lifter.' So I might go with that tactic this week."
Given the extent of the injures Ireland had, it was an impressive Ireland victory, particularly in the second half, where they outscored Scotland 14-0.
The win now sets up a shot at what would be just a fourth Grand Slam title for Ireland next week when they host England at the Aviva Stadium, and Van der Flier - who missed most of the 2018 title win due to injury - says the enormity of this week hasn't quite sunk in yet.
"It's incredible. I haven't really thought about it. Obviously, it's in the back of your mind and somebody might ask you about it but you try to completely block it out because we obviously had Scotland today. It's unbelievably exciting. St. Patrick's weekend and playing at home, it's a dream really.
"It was a physical game. Scotland threw a huge amount at us, really good ball-carriers. It was pretty physical. The ruck was a big contest, a lot of big hits went in. But my body is feeling good, which is great. No doubt it will be stiff tomorrow but I think there will be a lot of sore lads.
"Hopefully the lads who came off injured will be alright because it's a short enough turnaround. We have six days to the next game, so everyone's on their recovery strategies now."
