As a kid Jonathan Davies grew up watching Brian O'Driscoll and aspired to play like him. Little did he guess that, one day, he would be preparing to wear O'Driscoll's No13 jersey and talking to a room of journalists about his Lions inclusion at the expense of his hero. The temptation to keep a straight face and reply: "Brian Who?" to the inevitable questions must have been overwhelming.
As he contemplated the rows of digital recorders in front of him and waited for the television broadcasters to connect their live feed the 25-year-old Davies was obviously under strict instructions to say nothing mischievous.
Those hoping for something indiscreet – "The old bloke had it coming" or "Frankly, I reckon there should be more Welsh boys in the team" – were never going to be rewarded. If he is as steadfast on the field this weekend, Warren Gatland's faith will have been amply rewarded.
Even Davies the Diplomat, though, could not entirely gloss over the BOD-sized elephant in the basement room of the Royal Automobile Club of Australia, just up the street from Sydney Opera House. To say the former is filling a sizeable pair of boots is the tour's biggest understatement, with the added complication that the jilted Irish star has been among his room-mates on this trip. O'Driscoll's wife, Amy, and their baby daughter have arrived; you can bet Davies prays for an empty corridor every time his lift door opens.
Such is the continuing fallout from the O'Driscoll axing that even some of the Lions support staff are still wearing the glazed expressions of people who cannot quite believe the news. How tough it must be for Davies to block out the cacophony of noises off and concentrate on his job, aware the scrutiny of the whole world is on him. It is not his fault but, suddenly, this is the biggest game of his life, just as it is Gatland's.
There is no hiding the fact that O'Driscoll has been deeply disappointed by his omission. Manu Tuilagi, a slightly less measured media operator, confirmed as much. "I spoke to him and he said he was pretty gutted not to be included," the Leicester centre said. Even Davies hinted the selection had rocked the camp. "I don't know whether everyone was shocked or not but for the boys not involved it is a huge disappointment. What he [O'Driscoll] has achieved in the game, no other might do. He has been a great player. He might not like me saying it but I've grown up watching him play. I have admired his work and to have been able to play with him was very special. I have admiration for the man and a lot of respect."
The good news for the Lions is that Davies, among the most consistent players on this trip, is not about to sit back and await unflattering comparisons between himself and the world's most-capped centre. "I did expect a few questions," he said. "I think that shows how great a player Brian is. But I have to make sure I prepare myself for a Test match and that is what I will be doing."
His fine performance against the Waratahs in this city almost three weeks ago suggested he is maturing as a top-class footballer. "That's one of the things I've worked on in the last few years: making sure that when the pressure is on you deliver. It is slowly coming together and I am reasonably pleased with my form but I want to keep pushing myself forward," he said
It might also not be universally appreciated outside Wales that the England-born Davies and Jamie Roberts are the most-capped Wales centre partnership of all time, having overtaken the illustrious duo of Steve Fenwick and Ray Gravell. Davies has 36 Wales caps and is poised to start his third successive Test for the Lions; not bad for a supposed understudy.
The Llanelli Scarlet has also been ever-present in Wales's Six Nations successes of 2012 and 2013 and appears to enjoy the big occasion. "It's about delivering under pressure and that's what we want to do on Saturday. We can't fear it, we have to go out and embrace it and do the job … it's do or die on Saturday."
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