The Wallabies may have gone down to the British & Irish Lions, but it was a night to savour for Wallaby #991 on his debut; Nick Champion de Crespigny.
After a strong season over in the west, Champion de Crespigny looked promising defensively on his debut, topping Australia's tackle count with 17 without a single miss against the Lions.
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Speaking to reporters after the match, the 29-year-old admitted, after hoping to become a Wallaby since he was nine, that the reality of playing for his country far exceeded his wildest expectations.
"It was a very special week," Champion de Crespigny said post-match.
"I felt I'd been prepared really well. Definitely some nerves coming in tonight…Running out there, seeing my friends and family, all of this crowd and the Lions supporters, it was a great experience.
"It's a pinnacle of rugby. It was incredible. I really enjoyed it, loved every moment.
"I did think it was a higher intensity here at that test level, but I thought we really grew into the game in the second half there and we can take a lot of belief from that."
Much of Champion de Crespigny's family made the journey up to Brisbane, and for him, the chance to see him make his debut proved one of the memories he'll savour most.
"It meant the world," he added.
"They've been there the whole way. They've seen me work from a young boy."
Champion de Crespigny enters into esteemed company - becoming only the 15th Wallaby to make their debut against the Lions. Still, even the loose forward himself knows he'll have his work cut out to hold onto his spot, with Rob Valetini set to be fit as the Wallabies prepare for the second Test in Melbourne.
"Joe's been great and Rob's a world-class player, so it's good to have him back," Champion de Crespigny added.
"I was just really privileged and grateful for Joe to give that faith in me and the support he gave me, that's been very incredible.
"Whatever's best for the team, I'll keep toiling away and working hard."
The Wallabies will need to work hard against the Lions to keep the series alive, with the visitors exposing Joe Schmidt's men in several key areas - but Champion de Crespigny believes the side can turn things around quickly in Melbourne.
"I think they won the little moments there," he said.
"[We] just need to go and review it and come back. When we stuck to our game plan, we have a lot of belief in it and can do some good things.
"For us, we're going to have to go win two games. That doesn't change for us and there's a lot of belief in what we can do and our game plan.
"We just needed to win some of those moments."
