Harlequins star Oscar Beard was so shocked to receive a call from England boss Steve Borthwick that he forgot to answer his phone.
The young centre landed his first call-up to the senior squad ahead of the Six Nations after a succession of impressive performances at The Stoop. Just days after receiving the news of his life things quickly turned south though as a head knock threatened to derail his international ambitions.
Beard knew he was on the radar of Borthwick having had several meetings with the England head coach, but was humble enough to know a host of outside backs would also be having similar conversations. It was the 22-year-old who got the nod though, but less than a week later he lasted just 16 minutes before he got knocked out in a game with Ulster.
Harlequins battered their Irish opponents in the Investec Champions Cup, but Beard's recollection of events is grainy at best. He knew, having met with Borthwick the day before the squad announcement, that he was in with a shout, but he went from a high to a low as his England hopes hung in the balance.
Beard told Mirror Sport: "It was a bit of a whirlwind, got the news from Steve which I was over the moon with and then played the Ulster game and got knocked out so I don't remember any of that."
The centre does remember being stunned that the England boss was actually calling him though. "He said he'd give us a call the next day about whether you weren't or were in," recalled the Quins man.
"So I got a call the next day and I had a gist because I knew what time he'd call and I looked at it and thought 'Oh my God, he's actually calling me'. And then I actually missed it and I was like 'you idiot' - do I call him back?' Then he called me back and I shouted to my mum and sister and I was like 'right no one talk to me!' and he told me I was in, which was unreal."
Beard's concussion against Ulster certainly knocked him off track. He ended up travelling with England to Girona for their pre-Six Nations camp as he conducted his return to play protocols with the national side. Weeks later though he met the man who did his initial head injury assessment - which helped put the pieces together.
"I was all over the place, very concussed and having your emotions all over the place is a symptom," he said. "Luckily the medical staff were awesome and I recovered really well. Funny thing is I went to watch Rosslyn Park the other day and this doctor came up to me and I said nice to meet you and he told me he was actually the independent doctor for the Ulster game and did my HIA - I didn't even remember it so he put the pieces back together. Apparently all I was saying was 'have I played well and is it true I've been picked for England?'"
Beard's England call-up was justification for his displays at club level with Quins, who will be keen to put Saturday's heavy defeat at Saracens behind them, continuing to be competitive. They sit in fifth, narrowly outside the play-off places. Their young centre has continued to be influential and enjoyed one of the season's highlight moments in the 'Big Game' at Twickenham in December.
Gloucester were dispatched 32-26 but their fly-half Santiago Carreras was bearing down on the try line before Beard's last ditch tackle sent the 80,000 crowd into raptures in what was the player's first outing at the home of rugby.
He said on the occasion: "It was such a blur - the whole day I was like this is the coolest thing in the world, I'd dreamt of playing at Twickenham. When that moment happened we were trying to be dominant in defence. I know he's rapid, but I know I'm not slow, so I just put my head down and just dived at him. All I remember was noise, I'd never experienced that, I remember Nick (David, the Quins winger) came over and grabbed me, so pumped, and I was like you've hit really hard there! I'd have been more frustrated looking back if I'd been like I know he's going to score and just let it happen."
Beard admits getting the call from England was something of a watershed moment. A player who, by his own admission is quite shy until he gets to know you, has begun finding his voice. The call from Borthwick was further proof of his quality with the Quins man claiming "it emphasised how close I am which I wasn't fully aware of".
Since those experiences in the England set-up the centre was returned to his club with a fresh perspective. A conversation with the team's ops manager eventually led to Beard presenting in front of his team-mates, detailing how he felt the south west outfit had the pieces to go all the way this season.
He said: "We had a true meeting which is sort of our identity, what we want to achieve, reflecting on our journey, what it was like when we won the Premiership. So I gave my feelings on it all and I genuinely believe if we get it right we can win. I ended up getting quite passionate about it and I'm normally quite laid back and when everyone saw how serious I was it was really cool, a lot of the lads said it was a great thing for me to do."
Beard made his debut in 2021, the year that Harlequins produced a stunning run to win the Premiership for the second time. Then he was a junior member looking to make his way, now he's an established player keen to be front and centre of another domestic triumph.