Jacob Stockdale admits the prospect of playing on the world's biggest stage has hit home as Ireland build up to the crucial last weeks of their World Cup preparations.
After an eight week pre-season for nearly all of Joe Schmidt's frontliners they are facing into three Test weekends in a row before getting on the plane for Japan.
Suddenly it all seems more real to the prolific try-scoring winger as he gets ready to kick off his season with a visit to Twickenham on Saturday.
"Yeah, I think so," said Stockdale. "At the start of pre-season you're kinda going, 'I've got a lot of running to get through before I can even think about going to the World Cup'.
"But look, it's come up very, very quickly and it's becoming a proper reality that in less than a month we'll be in Japan, which is just dead exciting."
The Ulster star has been there before, earning his second Ireland cap in Tokyo on the summer tour there in 2017, having made his Test debut a fortnight earlier in the US.
"To be honest, for the first couple of days I didn't like it at all," he confessed.
"But the longer you're there, the more you start to enjoy it and by the end of it I was loving it.
"They do everything differently to the way it's done in Ireland and it's a big cultural shock.
"But once you get used to that...like, I really, really enjoyed it and it's just a really cool place to be in and to explore."
Given that experience, when Ireland played the host nation in hot and humid conditions, Stockdale fully understands the need for Ireland to spend eight days in the Algarve training.
"Yeah definitely, I mean this is probably not even as warm as it was the last time we played in Japan," said the 23-year-old, who was speaking today after training at the squad's Quinta Do Lago base.
"Obviously that was in June so it was probably a bit warmer than it will be this time around.
"But it will be very hot and very humid so getting this type of training in, in this weather, it really does help acclimatise you to those conditions.
"We're definitely getting used to it. The first couple of days out here was pretty tough and the heat really made a difference.
"After you've trained in it a couple of times, you do get used to it and it's a good tester for us because it's going to be like that in Japan.
"After the session is over, you need to cool down really well. Obviously, the times you're not training you need to be smart - not sitting out in the sun and getting roasted."
And his Twickenham return? The last time Stockdale wore the green jersey there, in 2018, he scored a brilliant try to help Ireland secure the Grand Slam.
"Yeah, obviously pretty good memories of Twickenham," he said. "But at the same time it's a long time ago so I'm just excited to get back into playing rugby.
"I haven't played in a couple of months and you're always excited for that first game back after pre-season. I'm just excited about the opportunity of getting stuck into it, really.
"I think Joe's got a plan that he's had for as long as I've been in and it's about being excellent in everything we do, like that's the kind of message that we've been given for seasons now and that hasn't really changed.
"Like, every player will be on top of his detail and there's no real kind of out there tactics that's going to win us this World Cup, but what we're planning for is just playing well and doing what we do well".
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