Ciarán Frawley's first Irish start had been in the post for for quite a while, but it was definitely worth the wait.
The 26-year-old has had to serve a long apprenticeship in the Irish squad. He was still 23 when he was first drafted in by head coach Andy Farrell back in 2021 for the Autumn Nations Series, and he while didn't feature in those three games, it looked for all the world like his day would come sooner rather than later.
A combination of badly times injuries, and the brilliantly timed breakthrough of Jack Cowley, meant that Frawley's Test career eventually came around later rather than sooner, as he made his debut in the World Cup warm-up win over Italy in August.
With an ability to play at out-half, centre and full-back, that versatility was always going to make him a valuable asset, and so it proved when Hugo Keenan picked up a knee injury in Ireland's Guinness Six Nations win over Italy last month.
The Skerries native was handed his first start at full-back for the 31-7 Round 3 win over Wales, and capped off an impressive all-round performance with a try under the posts, ticking off a lifetime ambition.
"I think as soon as I started playing, I dreamed of scoring a try for Ireland," he says, as he reflects on his first international try.
"It was class. I knew my family and friends were down that end [of the stadium] as well, they'd be buzzing. But I obviously couldn’t see them in the crowd, everyone was up on their feet, but it was obviously a very special moment."
To make the occasion even better, he was able to do it in front of his Grandad Justin, who had flown home from San Francisco on the morning of the game, while their embrace in the stands afterwards was picked up by TV cameras.
"He had a bit of jet-lag, and the occasion got the better of them! It was brilliant to watch it back, a brilliant day.
"It was about seven when I started playing [rugby]. I always loved soccer, my Grandad was mad into soccer, he would have played at a high enough level in England when he was younger, he was mad to get me supporting Leeds, but I was always [Manchester] United. He was massive.
"But my mam and my dad both got me into rugby because they had family and friends who were playing it and then I loved it from the get go."
Before he made his Ireland debut last August there was a brief moment when the possibility of Frawley representing Australia was floated, with the Leinster man having been born in Queensland.
But while he admits there was an approach from Down Under, it was never one he took seriously.
"I was in and out of [Ireland] camps from 2021 I think, and I felt my time was coming.
"I had a few injuries along the way and obviously I was still qualified for Australia, but I never had a phone call with [former Wallabies head coach] Eddie Jones.
"I knew there was interest from over there, but I was never going to go, I've lived in Ireland since I was three-years-old, Ireland was my home, I don’t want to move to the other side of the world when I felt I had the potential to do what I actually wanted to do," he added.
His caps for Ireland mean he's unlikely to be leaving the country any time soon, but his name is constantly floated as a candidate to leave Leinster for another Irish province, given the logjam of out-halves at the RDS.
But he's paying no attention to those rumours, as he targets as much gametime as he can with Leinster and Ireland.
"I didn't even know about that, the other provinces. You never look at it [speculation], know what I mean?
"Friends could have opinions and maybe they’re listening to other people on social media and maybe that’s how they’re getting it to me.
"I’d never take heed of it. It’s funny, my Dad would say to me, 'don’t listen to whatever is going on', and I don’t. I actually don’t. It helps on the pitch because you just focus on what you need to do for your teammates and coaches.
"I just want to play, that's the main thing. I want to play in big games.
"The way I see it is I think like a ten, I feel like I play like a ten, but I probably have the ability to jump into other positions and do a job there. So for me it is understanding that and then knowing that it will get me into the big games. That’s what I take the satisfaction from."
With Keenan targeting a return for next week's meeting with England at Twickenham, Frawley faces a tough task to retain his place in the side.
But as a multi-use back, his value to the Ireland squad remains high, particularly with head coach Farrell having gone for a 6:2 bench split for two of the opening three games.
"For sure, the way the modern game is going having versatile players always works when it comes to a 6:2 split or you saw with South Africa a 7:1.
"So, you always want to push to start and I'll always train to be starting but when it comes to a tight call on the bench, you'll take that because you always want to be involved.
"There's a lot of room for improvement. I was sitting down with Hugo Keenan, he's a mastermind of the back-field so I was sitting down with him and picking his brain.
"Catty's [attack coach Mike Catt] been brilliant with me, breaking down my game and work off the ball. It's a lot of the unseen work that creates the tries, working on that,
"Ball in hand, I know I have the capabilities to create something, so I'm constantly pushing on with that skillset and working on new things every time."
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