When young prop Harri O'Connor was called into the Wales squad for the upcoming tour of South Africa, it's likely more than a few eyebrows were raised.
The uncapped Scarlets tight-head might have a bright future in the game, but the 21-year-old is certainly on the greener side of things. He's played just 207 minutes of senior rugby and started just one competitive match.
Granted, players have come in to the international fold with less experience - Christ Tshiunza had just 64 minutes under his belt before being capped last autumn - but prop is a bit of a different proposition. Particularly in South Africa.
Read more: Wales call up uncapped 21-year-old Harri O'Connor for South Africa tour in shock announcement
O'Connor's call-up means two of Wales' four tight-head options are uncapped - with O'Connor joining Saracens' Sam Wainwright, who has barely featured this season, in the squad. Understandably, given the mammoth task ahead with the Springboks' vast array of front-row riches, that might just see some Welsh fans waking up in a cold sweat.
The call-up of O'Connor comes as first-choice Tomas Francis struggles with a back niggle. "We are just treating that with care so it's just a precautionary measure to make sure we have the numbers in training and we can prepare as we need to," said Wayne Pivac when explaining O'Connor's call-up.
Pivac will be banking on the Osprey being fit. But concerns over his fitness and the attritional nature of a tour to South Africa means there's no guarantees that, even as fourth-choice, O'Connor won't be called upon to do simply more than hold tackle bags.
The Yorkshire-born prop started out with Dorchester Rugby Club, being spotted by Dorset & Wilts for county matches before moving into the Bath academy aged 15. He then got his chance in Wales through the WRU Exiles programme.
He studied at Llandovery College, turning out for the Scarlets U18s before winning age-grade caps for Wales' U18s and U20s - coming off the bench for the latter against Scotland, England and Ireland in the 2020 U20s Six Nations. Before making his competitive Scarlets debut, he spent time in the English Championship on loan with Nottingham.
During his time with the Archers, he notched up 196 minutes across nine matches - all bench appearances. One of those was a 28-minute cameo in a 56-0 defeat to Saracens.
His competitive debut for the Scarlets came against the Ospreys on New Year's Day, with O'Connor putting in a solid 50-minute shift in a 22-19 victory.
His remaining appearances since then have come off the bench. Coincidentally, his lengthiest cameo contributions both came out in South Africa - picking up nearly an hour of action off the bench in consecutive matches against the Sharks and Bulls.
As well as briefly going up against Springbok prop Ox Niche and a number of other grizzled props on South African soil, he's also benefitted from being coached by former All Black World Cup-winning prop Ben Franks.
Speaking about Franks' influence, O'Connor previously said: “I am picking his brains as he has been there and done that in the front row and won the World Cup twice.
“His experience is going to be invaluable in growing my career. There is no better person to learn from and I’m just trying to make my mark in training to earn myself a chance.”
O'Connor's younger brother Sam is also part of the Scarlets set-up. Those at Parc y Scarlets will likely be hoping this early exposure to the international scene doesn't stunt his growth.
That has been the case with other young props, with the likes of Rhys Carre and Leon Brown taking time to establish themselves after being thrown into the deep end. However, given his selection ahead of Scarlets team-mate WillGriff John, who has won a solitary cap for Wales, it speaks volumes of O'Connor's standing in Llanelli and now, seemingly, Wales.
Read more:
