He will finish up one World Cup finals shy of Lionel Messi's total of five, but what Johnny Sexton would give to end on the same triumphant note come next October.
Messi's World Cup history was littered with heartbreak - with what might have beens and outright failures - before the seismic events of December 18th at the Lusail Stadium in Qatar, when his last finals appearance reached the crescendo of that emotional victory on penalties over reigning champions France.
For the Argentinian wizard, it provided that definitive stamp of greatness that, arguably, he was missing, the icing on the cake success that not just put him on a par with his legendary compatriot Diego Maradona and Brazil's Pele but that elevated him above their out of this world talents.
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Messi made his own destiny in Qatar, displaying an elemental hunger to sign off with that iconic gold trophy.
It drove him on when logic suggested his 35-year-old legs wouldn't take him all the way.
Sexton will celebrate his 38th birthday on July 11. If he shows up after the summer break next year in the same vein that he did at the start of this season, then the heavy mileage in his legs shouldn't be a big problem.
A fully firing Sexton, the pivotal figure in what should be the best squad in terms of depth Ireland have ever brought to a World Cup, could dare to dream that this time on the world stage it can be different.
The Dubliner might not express his burning ambition to lift the William Webb Ellis trophy as colourfully as Messi did after lifting the FIFA World Cup, but he would surely feel the same if Ireland somehow went all the way for the first time.
"It's anyone's childhood dream," Messi said of his crowning moment.
"I was lucky to have achieved everything in this career...and this one that was missing is here.
"It's madness... look how she (the World Cup) is, she's gorgeous. I wanted her so much. I had a vision that this would be the one...she was getting closer."
Shortlisted as one of the top four players in the world in November, the Leinster and Ireland captain remains a driving force that the province and Test team can ill-afford to be without.
That will be a blessing if he stays fit and healthy, but over reliance on Sexton can also be a curse - and it has been in the past.
In 2015 and 2019, Joe Schmidt didn't have an effective back-up plan when his skipper was absent and disaster followed.
Schmidt's successor Andy Farrell has tried out numerous no 10s in a bid to have a proper Plan B in situ.
The stark fact is that no-one since Ronan O'Gara has provided Sexton with serious competition for the no 10 jersey.
For Felipe Contepomi, the comparisons with Messi are there to see. Contepomi, a compatriot of Messi, was the former Leinster playmaker as Sexton was coming through and who later went on to coach him.
"We could see his high standards coming through," Contepomi said in 2018, a couple of months before Sexton was crowned World Rugby player of the year.
"But what's more impressive, and it's what makes him the guy he is, is that he kept actually being for so many years at the top level and has kept those high standards, expectations and hard work all through.
"And that's what makes him...everyone speaks about Messi, but when you talk to a friend or colleague of Messi, they say he's the first one to arrive, the last one to leave.
"So you have that talent but you have to back it up with hard work, and that's Johnny.
"He's a talented footballer but definitely when you see him the way he's been all his professional career, the way he behaves, that's what made him become a different player."
Farrell will need his talisman to be fit for the final two World Cup group games against reigning champions South Africa and Scotland, then for what is expected to come next - a quarter-final against New Zealand or France.
There will be a lot said and written in the coming months about the merits of Ireland's challenge this time, how it can be different from what has gone before.
The parallels between 2018 and 2021 have been extensively documented, how Ireland climbed to number one in the world rankings before it all fell apart in World Cup year.
Sexton, Farrell et al banked what happened last time out in Japan - and in the months leading up to the last World Cup - and will do everything in their power to avoid the same pitfalls.
At least Ireland have at heart a pragmatic captain, one who understands that this team's status can only truly be earned next autumn on the world stage.
"To be number one in the world, you need to win the World Cup, that's where the goals are," Sexton stressed last month.
"Obviously you want to be the best in Europe, you want to win the Six Nations, so those sort of goals have nothing to do with being world number one.
"You’ve got to keep evolving, you’ve got to keep getting better. If you stay the same, other teams will pass you out."
Messi didn't let that happen over a glorious month of football. Sexton will do everything in his power to follow suit as he prepares for his own last dance.
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