ROTORUA, New Zealand -- Three years ago Maro Itoje was in New Zealand, captaining England's Under-20 side to their Junior World Championship win over South Africa. Now, as he sat in Te Matariki Community Centre here in Rotorua, he is doing his best to avoid reading anything into his British & Irish Lions selection against the Maori All Blacks and potential first Test prospects.
The rise and rise of Itoje seems to be exponential. Having won two Champions Cup and Aviva Premiership titles with Saracens as well as scooping a number of personal accolades including World Rugby's breakthrough player of the year, it is remarkable that he has only been playing international rugby for 15 months.
But perhaps one of his main achievements has been to conquer his pre-match anxiety. He has learned to embrace challenges now, rather than worry about them.
"I think I'm much more stable in terms of my emotions in going into games [than three years ago]," Itoje said. "When I first started playing senior rugby I was very anxious, nervous before games. Now I'm more controlled and more relaxed.
"My knowledge of the game has increased and I have a greater appreciation of what it takes to win games from an individual perspective in terms of my own preparation and a collective."
Back on June 15, 2014, Itoje and England's Under 20's beat Ireland 42-15, and then edged past South Africa 21-20 in the final.
He gave his first interview at that time, to ESPN. He spoke openly about his love of poetry, his studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies and his excitement of what's to come. He's more guarded these days -- he is fed up with questions about poetry -- but still thoughtful, and honest with answers rooted in his scholarly background.
When asked about the Lions' squad mentality, and the emphasis on this being a 41-man party -- now 40 -- and now a Test team and the rest, he turned to 17th-century author John Donne.
"No man is an island and a tree doesn't make a forest," Itoje said. "The focus is always on the team. We're not here to get individual honours, we want to achieve something as a collective. To achieve something as a collective you have to be a team man."
That team mentality is something that's been inherent within Itoje, despite interest in his own unique skillset and hype around his potential from a young age.
But his interests away from the field and ability on the turf do single him out as a truly special individual. He would have taken particular interest in the cultural and historical side of the Maori welcome they received in Waitangi and will know full well the pride behind the team they will face on Saturday in Rotorua.
He has never played the All Blacks -- that may change a week on Saturday -- but he has faced the haka before.
"The haka means a lot to them," Itoje said. "You don't need to step into New Zealand to understand how much it means to them. We had a Maori welcome within days of arriving and you can sense how much it meant to the warriors who were there and the local people. They gained a lot of energy from that. We'll be respectful of the challenge, accept the challenge and crack on."
Itoje was just 19 when he last toured New Zealand. He was still the coming man then but is now a marked individual, someone who the All Blacks will be paying close attention to. They will be preparing to face him on June 24, but despite being named in the team for Saturday's game -- a 15 which will bear a close resemblance to the starting line-up for the Maori -- he is taking nothing for granted.
"In my short career I've learned not to read the coach's mind as earlier on it stung me a couple of times," Itoje said.
"I'm just focusing on the weekend. I want to put my best foot forward, play well and hopefully the team goes well and puts us in a good position."