At the age of 21, the world was put at Rhys Carre’s feet.
Out of nowhere, Carre - who would only have been known to those paying attention in Wales, let alone anyone outside it - received a shock call.
Warren Gatland parachuted him into his training squad ahead of the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan.
Things got a little bit more surreal when he was named in the final squad to travel to the tournament at the expense of Rob Evans who, six months previously, had helped Wales to a Grand Slam.
It was a startling selection and Carre went on to feature in five games in the tournament, including the quarter-final and the semi-final.
It was an experience like no other.
"Being a young man, it was a lot to take in," the 23-year-old now admits.
"I went from having a couple of games off the bench for Cardiff to being thrown into a World Cup camp.
"It all went crazy from there.
"It was a massive opportunity and achievement two years ago.
"It gives me confidence when things aren’t going my way, I can look back at the games and know that I can do it.
"I’ve been in these stressful environments where everything matters and I know I can get through to the other side.
"For me, it’s a good cornerstone to have in the back of my mind. No matter what I go through, I can always relate back to that and know that I can do it."
But it wasn’t all plain sailing.
Before the tournament, Carre had agreed to join English giants Saracens, who were a force in Europe and the Gallagher Premiership at the time.
But when he returned from Japan and linked up with the club, they soon became embroiled in the salary cap scandal and were ultimately relegated to the Championship for a season.
It prompted Carre to return to the Arms Park after just one season away.
"It’s always good to experience a different environment," he insisted. "If you stay in one place for too long it can become stale.
"So, especially at a young age, to experience something else was good. Now I know what’s good and what’s not for me, I know how things can be done better.
"I’ve seen things from multiple perspectives now. I wouldn’t change things."
But the upheaval appeared to have an adverse impact on his form and Cardiff director of rugby Dai Young also pointed to the impact which the pandemic, and being forced to train in isolation, had on him.
It all meant that, towards the tail end of last season, Carre struggled to nail down a starting spot in the Cardiff side.
"Covid didn’t help a lot of players and he was one who probably struggled through the period," Young said.
"He’s worked really hard over the last couple of months on his fitness, his body composition and his game involvement.
"He tended to drift in and out of games. He’d do something good and then go missing for a little bit.
"He’s really worked hard on his fitness, his scrummaging. Rhys has got all the talents to go all the way. That was identified at a young age.
"He’s a big guy. He’s got to constantly keep working on his conditioning and that’s certainly a message from the Welsh camp.
"They want his conditioning to be where it is currently on a regular basis. That’s a big red flag for him, really. The international setup are very keen on him controlling that."
It all had a knock-on effect and resulted in Carre being left out of the Wales squad for summer matches against Canada and Argentina.
It looked to have been the perfect opportunity to continue his development in the Test arena with Wales’ frontline players away with the Lions.
But he was not selected and it felt like head coach Wayne Pivac was sending a message.
"You always hope that you’re going to be named in that squad, like every other rugby player in Wales," Carre said.
"I just brushed that disappointment off, enjoyed my time off and hit the ground running when I came back in for pre-season.
"I think I’ve benefited from that now because I’m playing well for Cardiff because I’ve been here for 15 weeks, in the system, with the boys, getting used to a couple of new coaches and a new style of play.
"I’ve benefited from being here for a longer amount of time."
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There certainly seems to be more of a spring in Carre’s step this season.
He has started two out of Cardiff’s opening three matches. While the set piece remains a constant work-on, Young is happy with what he’s seeing.
"When I came in after Christmas, he was a little bit unhappy with the situation," the Cardiff boss admitted.
"He didn’t feel like he had gotten any sort of string of games together and gotten any sort of form. He’s got to look at himself for that as well.
"But recently, he’s been in the mix week in and week out and he’s benefited from that. I’ve got a lot of trust in him. He’s somebody that we want to try and build a squad around.
"He’s certainly got all the attributes to have a long international career.
"He’s started the season off well, he’s scrummaging well. Even though we came off second best against the Ospreys, I thought he did well against Tomas Francis.
"I’ve been really pleased with his attitude, his commitment and he’s shown a steady improvement."
Carre’s early season form has now been rewarded with a Wales recall ahead of autumn fixtures against New Zealand, South Africa, Fiji and Australia.
It will now be up to Carre to prove himself to Wales boss Pivac.
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