Louis Lynagh, son of a former Wallabies great and once in line to be an England winger, may have helped reboot his international rugby dream with a spectacular performance for Harlequins in the European Champions Cup.
The English club's Australian boss Billy Millard reckoned he would be toasting a quite stunning solo try by Lynagh - one of two from the 23-year-old in their 47-19 win over Ulster - over a glass of red wine on Saturday night.
Lynagh, son of the World Cup-winning maestro Michael Lynagh, skinned four defenders in a blistering run launched from his own 22 at The Stoop in Twickenham after a quick tap and pass from Marcus Smith once he'd taken a mark.
But that first try came as a big surprise for Lynagh, who didn't even think he'd be playing.
Initially overlooked for selection because of his recent indifferent form, he was rushed back on to the Quins' bench just before kick-off after an injury forced Millard to reshuffle the squad.
Lynagh was then surprised to be asked to enter the fray after just over quarter-of-an-hour when Oscar Beard failed a 17th-minute head injury assessment.
He took the chance spectacularly, scoring two of Quins' seven tries as they powered towards a place in the last-16 of Europe's top rugby club tournament.
The first, though, was the most spectacular as Lynagh sped into the gap, smashed through one midfield tackle from Billy Burns, then kicked ahead and outstripped his Ulster pursuers, before getting a kind bounce that enabled him to outmuscle Jacob Stockdale and dive over for one of the the tries of the European season.
"When Marcus caught the high ball and called a mark, I was looking and we saw a little gap, it just opened up and then the rest well, I kind of don't really know what happened.," laughed Lynagh.Â
"Sometimes you try stuff on the rugby field and they pay off - and that was one of those moments.
"The ball bounced my way and I'm glad that I could finish it. I was very tired at the end - but it was really cool to do that and, hopefully, I can have many more moments like that."
Six minutes later, he went over again with real opportunism, pouncing on some fumbling from the visitors' defence to pick up and shoot in for another score against the run of play.
The performance was a great boost for Lynagh, who had been on the fringes of England selection under Eddie Jones only to fall down the pecking order after injury woes last season.
Quins' director of rugby Millard was delighted for him.
"Louis has been around us a long time so he knows exactly what the deal is. He's worked really hard and deserves it. He gave us a real foothold into the game," said the Aussie.
"Louis is outstanding and he showed that - I will sit back and watch his try over a glass of red. It was just that determination to stay in it. He's a big part of it here."
With PA
