Up until now, Ben Healy has been playing with house money.
While 10 of his 25 senior appearances have come from the start rather than the bench, his early career path has seen him compliment and supplement Munster's starting out-half.
As the apprentice to JJ Hanrahan last season and Joey Carbery in this campaign, the 22-year-old been able to go about his business with more to gain and less to lose. His good performances have put a bit of heat under Carbery this season, his poor performances - of which there have been very few - are chalked down to experience.
But with Hanrahan now wearing yellow in Clermont-Ferrand, and Carbery's left elbow in a sling, the next couple of months will likely see Healy as the starting 10 for Munster. More pressure, more responsibility, more to lose.
It helps that he'll have his own version of himself waiting to snap at heels; Jack Crowley comes just as highly rated. Six months younger than Healy, he's one place further back in the queue.
Add in 22-year-old Jake Flannery and the out-half competition at the HPC in Limerick is healthy. Carbery by is far the oldest of the quartet at 26, so the long-term owner of Munster's 10 jersey remains unclear, but not in a bad way.
"It's unrealistic that you will be in a team that competes for trophies at the end of the year when you're the only good player in your position, so we've obviously got a plethora of out-halves at the club at the moment who are really good players and that's what you need to get to the end of the season," said Healy this week.
"It's the same in every position in this club, I would say.
"We've got really good depth and you can't expect to be the only good player in your position and compete at the end of the year because there's so many games now and there's such squad rotation that takes place."
Early indications are that Healy enjoys the pressure.
In choosing to only take a one-year contract last season, he gave himself the opportunity to secure an even bigger deal in 2022, but on the flip side he's put pressure on himself to earn it.
As a speaker he seems confident and assured without being cocky. He doesn't speak in clichés which can understandably be a crutch for younger players.
When asked about how his own contract talks are developing, he's comfortable explaining how there has been "movement".
"Obviously I can't divulge too much, but heading in the right direction. I am happy with the way things are looking."
His confidence isn't exactly surprising, his 25 games of senior rugby to date have shown Munster fans a player who is willing to point for the posts and call for the tee anywhere inside 65 metres of the posts.
The hammer of a right foot was honed on the pitches of Nenagh Ormond and Glenstal Abbey, and it's the area of his game that will be his point of difference when trying to impress Munster's new head coach next season.
"I actually think my kicking has improved in the last year or two, just learning that I don't have to be obsessive about it in the week of a game," said the Garryowen clubman.
"When I was younger, mind-boggling hours went into it, because that's what I wanted to do when I was younger and I enjoyed it a lot, hours in the front garden.
"But as you get older and more mature, it's getting that understanding that there's a bank of work behind you and you can take confidence in that, that I don't have to kill myself during the week going into a game. It's more just around fine-tuning myself.
"The skills that you see, like the left foot and all of those types of things were actually developed years ago.
"It's more just about me being comfortable going into the game at this stage of my career."
However, he's determined to prove he's not just a rocket-launcher.
"All the way up in my school development and underage with Munster and Ireland, I was very much a game-controlling out-half. Like, good core skills, good control of territory, those types of things and I think if you want to get to the next level and be an international out-half - and to go beyond that and dominate at international level - you've got to have all the strings to your bow.
"You've got to be able to run, you've got to be able to control the game like I was doing but just have all the skills on top of that as well.
"A huge amount of it comes down to the guys outside you and it's that communication from the outside in.
"Again, growing up I would have been very much of the understanding that 10 controls things, he controls how you play, but as you get to the top level, it becomes more and more important to develop and the development is that you listen to the guys outside you, what they're saying.
"So a lot of the time it can be tough because you've got eyes on the ruck, you've got eyes inside, outside you, they're the guys who have more time and can tell you what the picture is and can paint the picture for you.
"So by the time you get the ball, a lot of the time they've made the decision for you. So the development there is really just having good players outside me who are able to communicate the pictures they're seeing into me."
"So I'm looking at the positives and I'm very grateful, and I can't say enough about him on how open he is to sharing his knowledge and trying to get the best out of me on a personal level."
The only real uncertainty is around who comes in next season.
With Johann van Graan and Stephen Larkham both departing in the summer, there will be a new coaching ticket to impress and a fresh start for those who may not feature much in the next few months.
Larkham's overall influence on Munster in his two-and-a-half-seasons to date has been debated, but Healy insists he just counts himself lucky to be able to soak up knowledge from one of the game's most influential out-halves of the professional era.
"You could view it as a disappointment but I'm just grateful I had him at this stage of my career, the timing couldn't really be better for me," he said.
"I came out of (under) 20s year and he came into the club, so I've had him since then and I still have another six months to the end of the season with him.
"So I'm looking at the positives and I'm very grateful, and I can't say enough about him on how open he is to sharing his knowledge and trying to get the best out of me on a personal level.
"He's obviously a very good coach for the team and has been very effective, but on a personal level he'd bend over backwards for you in terms of just trying to get the best out of me and constantly pushing me to get better as well."
