On Tuesday, Rory Best will have a unique opportunity to start alongside two Ulster teammates in a British & Irish Lions jersey when Warren Gatland's side take on the Highlanders.
In this, his second Lions tour, Ireland captain Best is enjoying his time on tour, and says it’s made all the more special with Iain Henderson and Jared Payne are also in New Zealand.
“They are two great fellas to play with and I’ve been very fortunate to have played alongside both of them for many years now. To see the way they have developed is great.
“It’s always fantastic to represent the British and Irish Lions, but to do it with two club mates makes it a little bit more special as well.”
Best continued to speak highly of Henderson, and how he’s developed since making his senior debut for the Northern province in April 2012.
“We always knew he was a fantastic talent, but I remember the first day he turned up to pre-season with Ulster, and he was this floppy-haired kid with not a lot of meat on him.
“While he’s had his fair share of injuries over the last couple of years I think he’s really learned to play through niggles, and bumps and bruises, and just the way he has matured his game.
“A lot of people don’t get to see how hard he works off the pitch in terms of the line-outs, but also in the gym to make himself bigger and stronger, and just trying to improve.
“When you get somebody like that who comes in so young and you play alongside him, and you see that improvement, it does make you proud.”
Best is aware that he’s made a couple of mistakes on the tour so far, but he’s pretty happy with his form and has vowed to continue to work hard in the hope of earning a starting spot for the Tests.
“It’s been a little frustrating because I feel I’ve been playing reasonably well around the pitch but there’s been a couple of set-piece issues and obviously there’s been that one big one when we had the opportunity to win that game in Auckland.
“Having said that I’ve been around the block enough to know that you can’t dwell on these things, especially on a short tour like this. You’ve got to keep working hard on those areas.
“Like somebody said, the last game put a bit more pressure on because the boys did so well at set-piece. But that’s what you want. You don’t want to have it easy.
“You want to work hard for it, and that’s personally what I’m trying to do at the minute.”
With the Lions picking up an impressive 3-12 win versus the Crusaders on Saturday, Best admits that the pressure is on the all-new starting XV to repeat that against the Highlanders. Not a bad thing though, according to Best.
“That’s the pressure that comes with this squad, when there’s so many good players. They set standards and it’s up to us to make sure that we set a higher bar again, and that’s what will ultimately drive us on to win the games coming up, but also in trying to win a series.
“It’s about making sure that we push ourselves and that there's no perceived midweek team or Saturday team; that everyone is playing as close to their best. That will drive competition and that will drive performances.”
In this, his second Lions tour, Ireland captain Best is enjoying his time on tour, and says it’s made all the more special with Iain Henderson and Jared Payne are also in New Zealand.
“They are two great fellas to play with and I’ve been very fortunate to have played alongside both of them for many years now. To see the way they have developed is great.
“It’s always fantastic to represent the British and Irish Lions, but to do it with two club mates makes it a little bit more special as well.”
Best continued to speak highly of Henderson, and how he’s developed since making his senior debut for the Northern province in April 2012.
“We always knew he was a fantastic talent, but I remember the first day he turned up to pre-season with Ulster, and he was this floppy-haired kid with not a lot of meat on him.
“While he’s had his fair share of injuries over the last couple of years I think he’s really learned to play through niggles, and bumps and bruises, and just the way he has matured his game.
“A lot of people don’t get to see how hard he works off the pitch in terms of the line-outs, but also in the gym to make himself bigger and stronger, and just trying to improve.
“When you get somebody like that who comes in so young and you play alongside him, and you see that improvement, it does make you proud.”
Best is aware that he’s made a couple of mistakes on the tour so far, but he’s pretty happy with his form and has vowed to continue to work hard in the hope of earning a starting spot for the Tests.
“It’s been a little frustrating because I feel I’ve been playing reasonably well around the pitch but there’s been a couple of set-piece issues and obviously there’s been that one big one when we had the opportunity to win that game in Auckland.
“Having said that I’ve been around the block enough to know that you can’t dwell on these things, especially on a short tour like this. You’ve got to keep working hard on those areas.
“Like somebody said, the last game put a bit more pressure on because the boys did so well at set-piece. But that’s what you want. You don’t want to have it easy.
“You want to work hard for it, and that’s personally what I’m trying to do at the minute.”
With the Lions picking up an impressive 3-12 win versus the Crusaders on Saturday, Best admits that the pressure is on the all-new starting XV to repeat that against the Highlanders. Not a bad thing though, according to Best.
“That’s the pressure that comes with this squad, when there’s so many good players. They set standards and it’s up to us to make sure that we set a higher bar again, and that’s what will ultimately drive us on to win the games coming up, but also in trying to win a series.
“It’s about making sure that we push ourselves and that there's no perceived midweek team or Saturday team; that everyone is playing as close to their best. That will drive competition and that will drive performances.”