Tom Stewart has nothing to lose and everything to gain.
With the Ulsterman competing alongside Dan Sheehan, Rónan Kelleher and Rob Herring for one of what's likely to be three hooker spots at the Rugby World Cup, the 22-year-old's relative lack of experience may just leave him as the odd one out, barring injury
If he doesn't get to the World Cup next month, it shouldn't knock the confidence of someone who's exploded onto the Irish rugby scene in the last year.
"It was kind of a bit of a surprise even to be here over the summer and I was delighted I got selected," he says.
Having played just a handful of senior games for Ulster prior to the 2022/23 season - and all of those off the bench - Stewart wouldn't have been on the radar of the casual Irish rugby fan even a year ago.
Seventeen tries in 19 games changed all that though. The hooker has been prolific in the last year, setting a new single-season record of 16 tries in the BKT United Rugby Championship (his other came in the Champions Cup), and was named the competition's Next-Gen Player of the Season. In one five-game stretch between February and April, the Belfast native scored 10 times, an average of a try every 24 minutes.
That form saw him earn a call-up to the wider Irish squad during the Six Nations as well as this summer's World Cup training camp, before making his debut against Italy in last Saturday's 33-17 win against Italy, replacing his Ulster teammate Rob Herring for the final 29 minutes.
"I was delighted really, speechless at the time, but for any young boy growing up playing rugby the dream is to one day pull on the green jersey and run out in front of the Aviva.
"The fact that I got to do that on Saturday with some really good lads, good teammates and good coaches was very special, and it'll always be there with me and it will go down as one of my prouder moments playing rugby."
Recent history has shown hooker to be an attritional position for Ireland, with Sheehan, Herring and Kelleher all missing games due to injury over the course of the Six Nations.
As such, a World Cup place is a realistic aim for Stewart, although the rookie is happy to use his first cap as a learning experience.
"I'm trying not to think about it too much, like I said earlier I'm just trying to take each day as a learning day.
"It's very special for me to be here as it is and learn and to be involved with the wider squad, let alone if I was involved in the World Cup squad.
"So I'm just trying to soak in and sponge as much information as I can, that will help my game in the long run and what will be off the back of that will be."
One of those areas he's keen to improve is at the scrum.
"It's probably one of the weaker parts of my game that I need to work on, especially when you get to international level.
"It's such a big part of the game, the set-piece, you know, it's how you get your platform. It's how you launch [attacks]. So, there's just little habits and little set-up moves, how I go about it, that I need to fix.
"I think, again, that's what I've been most worried about but I'm getting through and all the boys have been very helpful.
"Tadhg [Furlong] and Cian [Healy] and I worked a lot throughout the week, getting what felt comfortable for us and it was good to get their opinions of things and how they like it so we could all come together on the Saturday and put it into action.
"I think we scrummed well, so that was probably a big positive for me, and that was one of the things that I was worried about going into the match, so I was happy that I came out with a positive," he added.
The former Ireland U20 hooker is hoping Saturday's debut can be the first of many days in the green shirt, after fulfilling a lifetime ambition.
"I always thought singing the national anthem would be a big one for me, I was standing in the line beside Tadhg [Furlong] and he nudged me and said, 'Look at the roof' and I was kind of holding it in, I looked up at the roof and soaked it all in.
"I always remember watching the national anthem and thinking, 'Aw, one day I'd love to be down there on the pitch singing it in front of all these people, about to play the game that I love'.
"Once I was standing there about to sing 'Ireland's Call', it just kind of hit me and I soaked it all in, so the main thing for me was just standing there singing the anthem with so many people behind me."
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