Kyle Sinckler went from Lions heartbreak to joy today when called into the squad by boss Warren Gatland.
The England’s prop’s highly emotional reaction to missing out on initial selection went viral on social media.
Following Sinckler's omission, he conducted an honest interview claiming that while it didn't make sense, he wanted to lead by example in his reaction.
"It's been an emotional week, especially for myself," said Sinckler last month. "I want to thank my teammates, my family, my loved ones for helping me.
"From a team's perspective, how good! First-half wasn't great, but second-half we dug in.
"I'm not going to lie, I'm quite emotional right now. It's been tough.
"It means so much to me. I'm just lucky I've got my mentor at Saviour World and we broke it down. I kind of understand the reasons why.
"I think, in a year or two, I'll look back and it'll all make sense. Right now, it doesn't make sense.
"But what I wanted to do was lead by example and show the kids. How easy would it have been for me to play the victim, say 'sorry me' and throw my toys out of the pram.”
And his on-field reaction to the the setback convinced Gatland he should replace injured Irish tighthead Andrew Porter.
“I have been very pleased to see the way Kyle has responded to initially being left out of the touring party,” said the Kiwi head coach.
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“He’s showed some excellent form of late and I hope he continues to stick two fingers up to me about leaving him out in the first place.”
Porter was ruled out of the South Africa tour by a toe injury sustained playing for Leinster against Glasgow on Friday.
Gatland said: “It’s really bad luck for Andrew and we send him our very best wishes for a quick and successful rehab.
“Andrew is a young man with a big future ahead of him and I’m sure he’ll be in contention again in four years time.”
Sinckler, who featured in all three Tests for the 2017 Lions in New Zealand, will join up with the squad at the end of Bristol’s season.
The Bears booked a home Premiership semi-final with victory at Leicester on Saturday. The final is at Twickenham on June 26 - the same day as the Lions’ warm-up match against Japan at Murrayfield.
