how an Irish Queenslander ended up in a red jersey

After touring the US and Canada with Ireland, Court needed a break from the physical and mental aspects of rugby and had barely followed the tour.

Now he was in the thick of it. After saying goodbye to his family, he took a taxi to Brisbane to meet up with his new teammates, who were fresh from beating the Wallabies 23–21. Court had to borrow size-15 boots, leftover kit and visit a pharmacy to buy a boil-up mouthguard ahead of representing arguably one of the world’s most celebrated rugby teams.

“I hadn’t followed it [the tour] too much and realistically with the amount of injuries, I wouldn’t say they were down to slim pickings, but it was pretty much between me and what was a third-choice loose head from England at that point,” Court said.

“They had five or six injuries and obviously they didn’t want to risk getting more, so it was obviously fortuitous for me but probably a freak occurrence. You probably will never have that many injuries in a specific position again.”

Court had established himself in the Ireland squad as a prop who could cover both tighthead and loosehead. He had forged strong relationships with Irish representatives on the tour like Brian O’Driscoll and Paul O’Connell, but still initially struggled with a team room filled with some of the best players in the world who he knew only from facing them in the Six Nations.

“It was like that Ellen DeGeneres selfie from years ago which had all these Oscar winners and superstars, it just felt a bit like that, like I’ve walked in and all the best players in the northern hemisphere are sitting there looking at you,” Court said.

“It probably was only a couple of seconds but it felt like minutes to me with everyone staring at you and it just felt very surreal. Now admittedly straight after that, I’ve never felt more welcomed and the boys just took you straight in.”

Two Tests were remaining for the Lions after the Rebels game, and Gatland did his best to tell Court there was an opportunity if he performed well enough, but the former Irish prop knew his limitations for the Lions. He came on as a replacement in Melbourne, helping the visitors to a comprehensive 35-0 win.

“It’s the greatest moment and the greatest 30 minutes of my career. You still remember your place, you don’t ever get too far ahead of yourself and go I could be playing in the Test…

“Running out there for the Lions was just very surreal. I still don’t know if it will ever sink in, there were mixed reviews back home [in Ireland] about whether I should have been in or shouldn’t have been in and everything like that.

“But I always tell people that if it’s so easy, just go and play for the Lions then. Everything just fell into place for me, but it was never a smooth ride to that point.”

After the second Test with the Wallabies levelling the series, Gatland wanted Court to stay with the squad in the lead-up to the final decisive Test, but the prop didn’t want to outstay his welcome and ruin what had already been the highlight of his career.