Connal McInerney still can't shake the 5am wake-ups.
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The ACT Brumbies hooker just can't get back to sleep, "so that's been a bit of a pain" - but it is all worth it for the long term gain of securing a permanent spot in the club's match day squad.
It comes with the territory of a sleepless night into a flight halfway around the world to fill the void in a crucial Super Rugby showdown in Argentina.
McInerney knew the call was coming when he saw Brumbies veteran Josh Mann-Rea go down with a serious knee injury in Cape Town last week.
Now he is looking to stake his claim for a permanent place in the Brumbies side behind Folau Fainga'a as the club sets its sights on signing a new hooker.
The 24-year-old had intended to sit up for just a few hours to see the Brumbies' clash, one that would go down as one of the club's finest wins in years.
But the third-string hooker soon opened a bag, walked to his wardrobe and began hastily filling it with everything bar the one thing he needed most.
McInerney's passport was at Brumbies headquarters, so while he packed his bags and waited for flights to be booked, he put in a call to player development manager Robin Duff about sourcing his passport.
Hours later, he was on a trip around the world to link up with the Brumbies for their clash with the Argentina Jaguares in Buenos Aires on Sunday.
"I watched the game so I had a pretty good idea, and then [team manager Bill Swain] sent me a message about half an hour after the game. I had already started packing, getting ready to go," McInerney said.
"That was it, just a Whatsapp message back to me. It was very frantic, I was probably pushing it a bit late. I had to get Robin to meet me at the airport with my passport so it was all pretty rushed.
"She had to go into Brumbies [headquarters] and get it because I had left it at training. It wasn't ideal, but she is a legend so she is always doing those little things for us.
"I'm obviously devastated for Bongo, we haven't heard all the results yet but we're obviously devastated for him. It happens, and I'm not sure [what comes next for him].
"It's just another opportunity really, another good opportunity to stake my claim [for a spot].
"Any chance I get, I'm pretty desperate to take it. I'm used to flying in as an emergency, the exact same thing happened last year."
Except this time around there is one slight difference - the Brumbies are not licking their wounds, they are high on confidence.