Wallabies centre Len Ikitau always knew lock Darcy Swain would join him back in the national set-up as the good mates reminisce about their Super Rugby battles.
The friendship and rise of Ikitau and Swain together is one of the more endearing storylines in Australian Rugby.
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The two went step by step together as they guided the ACT Brumbies to success following their move from Queensland.
Their Wallabies numbers are even side-by-side [Swain 943, Ikitau 944] as they debuted a week apart in 2021 against France.
However, Swain would depart the Brumbies in 2024 for the Western Force, a move that left Ikitau in tears as he spoke about their friendship.
Now, the two are reunited in Wallabies camp in preparation for Sunday's opening Test of 2025 against Fiji.
"To be honest, watching the Super Rugby season, I always thought that he was going to be in the squad. I knew that he was playing well enough to be in the squad," Ikitau told reporters.
"I was honestly stoked to see him back in the squad where he belongs."
"Just very grateful to be here. Yeah, it's been a while, feels like ages," Swain remarked.
"For anyone, you want to play for your country...it's good to see Len and the rest of the Brumbies boys."
Swain earned his recall after an excellent season with the Force, which included a drought-breaking 45-42 win over the Brumbies in Round 2 at GIO Stadium.
The Brumbies went over to Perth in Round 13 and got revenge, with Ikitau scoring in the 33-14 win.
Naturally, both were quick to throw friendly jibes at each other about the results.
"We won the first one and then we obviously didn't win the second one. A lot of travel, you know, going back and forth every week. No excuses," Swain joked.
"Was it your last win?…He was logged into Hudl [the performance analysis software] so he was looking at our lineouts," Ikitau exclaimed
"It was just a rumour going on around, because we stole a few line-outs off it. They reckoned I was in the Hudl, but I wasn't, just know their calls," Swain retorted as Ikitau kept pressing the case with a beaming smile.
But the one thing the pair could agree on was how alien the situation felt for two guys who had played together all their lives to be now on opposite sides of the field.
"It just didn't really feel real, to be honest, running out there in a different jersey," Swain said.
"You get into the game and instincts take over, and you just try and do everything you can to win."
"It was weird playing Darcy, just tackling him and giving him a little bit of a niggle in the ruck," Ikitau added.
"At the end of the day, it's Rugby and you have to tackle the person in front of you."
