Johnny Sexton's Six Nations journey began against England and it will come to a close against the same opposition this weekend.
When the Ireland skipper leaves the Lansdowne Road pitch on Saturday evening, he will have played in 60 championship games, 14 of which will have been against England.
It only took him three minutes of his first clash with the Red Rose, his Six Nations debut, to make an impact, his grubber kick setting up Tommy Bowe for a try.
Despite an assist and a penalty kick in a four-point win, it’s not all fond memories of a wet day in Twickenham.
"How horrible a day it was," is his first recollection when prompted.
"I had played against South Africa the previous November and I thought that was big; it was at Croke Park and you were playing against the world champions at the time but then when you come to the Six Nations it’s just a different level, a different level of expectation.
"You’re coming in, in Twickenham, just the build-up to the game and I remember a lot of the game.
"I remember it like it was yesterday, that’s the scary part. It was 2010, and it’s mad how time has gone by so quickly but we got the win that day.
"I remember being a little disappointed after the game because I came off with about 20 to go for 'Rog' [Ronan O’Gara] and I think we were losing at the time, so I wasn’t too happy after the game.
"But then I saw how happy someone like Paul O’Connell was, who’d never beaten England previously at Twickenham, I think.
"So it was a huge result that day."
The 2003 renewal was the last time the sides met in Dublin with Ireland going for a Grand Slam.
Unfortunately, so were England and quickly put the contest to bed before running out 42-6 winners. That was the day visiting captain Martin Johnson refused to budge from the wrong end of the red carpet.
"Yeah, I do remember, us getting stuffed," smiles Sexton, who was among the 47,000 fans at the Dublin 4 venue.
"I get confused sometimes with the Martin Johnson one where he was injured for one of them and we beat them [2001].
"Yeah, he was playing in this one. Yeah, I think I was at both of them.
"Not a good memory as a fan but I remember how good that English team were, they were amazing and they won the Slam and went on to win the World Cup."
Food for thought?
"Well, it would be certainly nice if we could win a Grand Slam, I'd take it now," adds the Dubliner.
"I don't think it guarantees you anything going forward but it shows that you can win on the big occasion and perform on the big occasion."
Five years ago Ireland won their third ever Grand Slam and it was crowned on a freezing day in London.
Sexton, who will retire after the Rugby World Cup later this year, said the build-up has been comparable.
"I suppose it is very similar," said the 2018 World Rugby player of the year.
"When you come to cup finals the messages are mostly the same.
"I think we’ve come on in leaps and bounds in terms of the mental side of our game and that will be put to the test massively this week.
"In a cup final, being able to turn up, play your own game, be yourself, express yourself, that’s the biggest challenge in sport.
"It doesn’t matter what sport you play and the best players and the best teams do that. They can come and play well when it matters so that’s a huge challenge for us this week.
"Every time you play England it’s different, I suppose.
"We’ve had games where we’ve been the spoilers, where they’ve come looking for a win, and I suppose [it’s about] trying to reverse it and learn the lessons: why did we do what we did? What caused us to do that?"
"I have got a bit more emotional as the further I've gone on, so it'll be (a case of) trying to hold that back - but use it as well because hopefully it'll be a special day" - Johnny Sexton on keeping calm ahead of last ever Six Nations game #rterugby pic.twitter.com/W6aSHl2tBc
— RTÉ Rugby (@RTErugby) March 15, 2023
Sexton said his phone has been off as he bids to avoid the barrage of ticket requests that come on a week like this, but he keenly acknowledged the importance of the well-wishes.
"Of course, yeah. On big weeks, they do come in," said the former Racing 92 back, who will win cap number 113 on Saturday.
"The amount of support we’ve had throughout the championship has been incredible.
"It’s not lost on us. We do acknowledge it and we do speak about it.
"Number one for us is inspiring the country. That’s number one. That’s the first thing that we have on the list.
"All the other stuff comes next: performance, winning, but trying to do everyone proud is definitely it, and the support we get on these weeks makes you understand why you appreciate it so much."
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