Calvin Nash says he has Andy Farrell and Keith Earls to thank after he capped off a dream Guinness Six Nations debut with a try in Ireland's 38-17 win against France.
The Munster wing's first Test try sent the defending champions on their way to a record away win against the French, a fine reward for an impressive outing for the 26-year-old.
The win in Marseille was just a second cap for Nash and a first start in international rugby, with his only previous Test experience being a run off the bench in the World Cup warm-up versus Italy last August.
Those stakes are hardly comparable, something Nash admitted he was well aware of.
"I was quite nervous now, to be fair," said the Limerick man, as he looked back on one of the biggest games of his career.
"I actually texted Earlsy at the start of the week as well saying, 'Man, I'm up the walls here now'.
"He just said, 'man, you need to enjoy it.' He wished he enjoyed it more. And yeah, that’s what I tried to do out there I suppose."
In spite of those words of wisdom, there was still some nerves in the system, before a chat with his head coach Farrell after the captain's run on Friday put his mind at ease.
"It opened up my eyes to how good Faz [Farrell] is with people, you know, looking out to see what way they are.
"He was like, 'you've been quiet this week,' and I was like, ‘how has he spotted this?’
"It was good. I had a good chat with him. He just said, 'what are you going to do in attack? What are you going to do in defence?' That kind of way. I had all the answers. So he was like, 'there you go, there’s all the answers, just be yourself.'
"To be honest, that made me feel way better. Yeah, it was class to be out there."
Aside from his try, it was an all-round strong showing from Nash, who brought his good Munster form onto the international stage, which should see him retain his place in the starting line-up on Sunday against Italy (3pm).
Farrell was particularly impressed with the rookie's appetite for work.
"It's nice when people are able to be upfront and tell you exactly how they're feeling so you can help them, there's no point not saying anything," the Ireland coach said.
"It was a big week for him and at the start of the week, I'm sure that there was a lot that was going through his mind but, through the help of his team-mates and the reassurance of what he brings to the team, he was able over the last couple of days to get himself to a point where he was able to be himself.
"I thought he looked strong on the ball and he is strong, isn't he? His point of difference is always chasing something down and all that stuff that doesn't take much talent and he nearly got one in the air as well from the kick-off and that's part of his game as well.
"I thought he looked really assured. He's tough. His defence was tough as well. He came off with a little bit of a dead leg there so he'll be fine."
The winger's career has been a slow burn. Having been a prodigious schools talent at Crescent College, the former Ireland U20 star found himself in a logjam for gametime in Munster's back three, while injury also slowed his progress.
His Munster team-mate Simon Zebo revealed last week that Nash had come close to retiring two years ago when he was struggling to get enjoyment from the game.
But Nash says he's glad he stayed around, with Munster's game plan under attack coach Mike Prendergast bringing out the best in him.
He said: "Myself and Zeebs were injured and I was like, 'man, what am I doing?' I just felt like I was in a rut, couldn’t get out of it.
"I’m massively privileged to be where I am. Faz says, 'with great pressure comes massive privilege as well'.
"It’s a great quote, I feel. It was an unbelievable experience to hear the anthems and sing our own anthem. It was unbelievable. I’d love to do it again."
Follow a live blog on Ireland v Italy in the Guinness Six Nations on Sunday from 2pm on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app and listen to live commentary on RTÉ Radio 1
Watch England v Wales in the Under-20 Six Nations on Friday from 7.05pm on RTÉ Player
Watch England v Wales in the Guinness Six Nations on Saturday from 4.15pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player
