Ringrose followed the conventional rugby route by progressing through the Leinster academy and into the senior ranks for club and country. Timoney had detoured to Ulster, Loughman ended up in Limerick, but Jager had really gone round the houses.

Jager had travelled down south for a bit of club footy and a few beers soon after school and ended up staying a decade and more and winning five Super Rugby titles with the Crusaders. He is only due to return for good this week when he starts his next chapter with Munster.

Loughman has fond memories of their time boarding and playing together at Blackrock College – he was a year younger - and of Jager’s father Harm, their Dutch-born S&C instructor and a man who had a voice like the Terminator.

And he can appreciate the risk Jager took all those years ago.

“He took a big leap of faith. He went to the [Crusaders] academy and threw all his eggs in one basket at 18 or 19, across the other side of the world, It's a big risk to take. The experience and knowledge, you learn a lot.” 

Munster forwards coach Andy Kyriacou has also touched on this very point this week. Jager has soaked up years of knowledge at one of the world’s top collectives and that can only aid Munster on and off the field as they look to back up last season’s URC title.

This is a squad that can draw on individual experiences from New Zealand, South Africa, France and England but the core of the operation obviously remains home grown and Loughman brings added value to the cause this term.

The Athy man was told initially that he hadn’t made Ireland’s World Cup squad. Then Cian Healy was ruled out two weeks into the prep stage and Loughman was parachuted back in to play six minutes against England and 60 against Samoa.

His on-field activity during the tournament itself was limited to just over half-an-hour of the opener against Romania but the whole experience left a lasting impression and one that maybe strips away some of the mystique at the same time.

“The big [lesson] when I first got in was the attention to the basics. You think going to international rugby it's going to be learning new tricks, but it's more how intense the basics are and stuff like that. It's the way lads prep for games.

“You can see why the lads are the best in the world in their positions in how they prep, how meticulous they are. Then you see in terms of the environment: when you have buy-in from everyone, when everyone is team-first and the lads who aren't starting are pushing it drives you on.

"It keeps the standards high. It could easily be lads saying they're upset that they're not getting picked, not giving you much, and it doesn't prepare you for the weekend.” 

It’s a chapter that he compares to a rollercoaster ride and, while he was handed three weeks off after the return from France, Loughman found himself itching to get back sooner. He has banked starts against Ulster and the Stormers since.

Last week’s gritty win against a South African side they had edged in the URC final back in May wasn’t perfect but it set them up nicely for another game against a rival that will be keen for payback after Leinster’s defeat in that Dublin semi-final.

The Aviva is navigating towards a full house if ticket sales are anything to go by and Loughman is relishing the chance to renew acquaintances with international colleagues and with a club that gave him his start in the pro game.

“It's a massive rivalry. I saw a tweet that there's 45,000 tickets sold. It's a big game, the type you want to play in. I've spent time there [at Leinster], I've spent a lot of time with those lads so I'm looking forward to it now.”