When it comes to stepping up this British & Irish Lions series, it can be argued that no player has been dropped into the deep end more than Tom Lynagh.
The 22-year-old was a last-minute addition following the neck injury to the Wallabies’ incumbent playmaker Noah Lolesio, whom Joe Schmidt had invested the past twelve months in to be the starting ten for the Wallabies.
Get your tickets to see the Wallabies tackle the British & Irish Lions in Sydney on Saturday.
Despite showing glimpses of promise in Brisbane, the thriller in Melbourne saw the five-capped Wallaby leave with his stocks improved, helping orchestrate arguably the best half hour the men in gold have played under Schmidt.
The transition to being the starting playmaker was unexpected for the Queensland Red, with his first Wallaby caps coming off the bench as a finisher.
“I didn't quite expect it, to be honest, but it's been great,” Lynagh told reporters on Tuesday.
“Honestly, the boys around me in the team have been great. It felt like a seamless transition.
“They've given me a lot of confidence and so has Joe. So it was all about going out there and just doing my role as a 10, trying to win the game for the boys.
“You get a lot more time on the field, so you can dictate the game a lot more. When you come off the bench, you've got to understand what role you've got to play and how the game is at that point. [Starting] you have a lot more control in dictating the game.
“When everything is starting to click and you're seeing all the growth come together and that sort of goes forward. It's great when you get those periods of ten minutes.
“You score three tries, but we let them in with two quick tries straight after that [and] all that hard work you've done is all gone after that. Hopefully we can piece together more than ten minutes next time and make it a full 80.”
Lynagh has also had to adapt to a new halves combination, with Schmidt opting for Jake Gordon in the starting role over his Reds halves partner, Tate McDermott.
“I've enjoyed playing with Jake,” Lynagh said and smiled."It's a change to the style of Tate, but I enjoy playing with both of them.
"I thought Jake had a great game on Saturday and I've enjoyed playing next to him.”
Lynagh will have aspirations to try and nail down the position following the conclusion of the series, with Lolesio out for an extended period and also heading overseas to Japan.
However, the young playmaker is the first to admit keeping the jersey is only as good as his next performance - with the Wallabies determined to end the series with a win.
“Yeah, definitely,” Lynagh said when asked about his long term prospects on the Wallaby ten jersey.
“I mean, the jersey's only yours for the week if you're selected. You've just got to go out there and do your job and do your role and put a performance in.
“I take things one week at a time and I'm sure the rest of the group do the same too. So, take care of this game on the weekend and then we'll go from there.
“It would mean a lot for all of us and everyone that's supported us throughout the series so far. We put in a good performance last week and hopefully we can try and do the same and get the result in the end.
“We know there's a lot of people supporting us and a lot of people coming out to the game, so we'd just like to try and give them something back.”
