What's rare is wonderful, they say, but Hugo Keenan would take an alternative view on this particular anomaly.
The Leinster and Ireland full-back knocked on a Garryowen from Mack Hansen when Connacht came to the RDS last Friday.
Not unusual in rugby union, you might think, but for the 25-year-old Dubliner it was notable for its rarity.
When the simple question 'what happened?’ is thrown to him at today’s online press conference, he already knows what it's in reference to.
"It was a focus error, it was a bit of a dead duck," he tells RTÉ Sport about the flight of the Gilbert size 5 as it fell from the heavens
"Even caught under it I was like, ‘oh no’.
Leinster full-back Hugo Keenan tells @RTESport's @micilglennon about their preparation for Bath in Champions Cup, Josh van der Flier's form and just what happened to that 'dead duck' #RTERugby #RTESport #LEIvBAT pic.twitter.com/9met6HTIbv
— RTÉ Rugby (@RTErugby) December 8, 2021
"Sometimes they just don’t fall nice for you but I’m not proud of it and hopefully that will be the only one of the season."
Anyone who has watched Ireland since Keenan became the man in possession of the 15 shirt against Italy in October 2020 would struggle to find a similar error.
Can he remember it happening in the last couple of years?
"You try not to dwell on those mistakes, you learn from them and put it in the past," he adds.
"There’s always a couple but that one was probably highlighted because there was no one around me, probably [team-mate] Rhys Ruddock was the only one putting me under pressure.
"I’ll try not to dwell on it, I got a few under the belt today in training and once the first one is caught on the weekend it will be a thing of the past."
Leinster hooker Rónan Kelleher won't let Bath's poor Premiership form fool him ahead of their @ChampionsCup clash at the weekend #RTERugby #RTESport pic.twitter.com/IVpPUQV4Wq
— RTÉ Rugby (@RTErugby) December 6, 2021
URC table-toppers Leinster get their Champions Cup campaign under way against Bath on Saturday at the Aviva (3.15pm) and Keenan says they won’t pay too much attention to their domestic form, which sees them bottom of the Premiership with nine defeats from nine games, the most recent a 40-19 loss to Northampton.
"They have been quite unlucky this year with injuries but they’ve also lost a good few games by small margin, I think six of them within 10 points," he says.
"The Northampton coach said it won’t be long until they get their first win because they are a serious side. You just look at the team sheet, some of the names, like Danny Cipriani and Jonathan Joseph, to see the quality.
"It’s the Champions Cup, a new start for them and they are going to come out firing.
"It’s a format where you can’t slip up and you want to get maximum points."
