Wallaby skipper George Gregan faces an energy sapping round-trip in a matter of days so he can play against Ireland tomorrow, witness the birth of his second child in Australia and then return in time to lead the side at Twickenham against England on Saturday week.
The scrum-half will captain the Wallabies in a Test match against Ireland at Lansdowne Road tomorrow afternoon and immediately afterwards will board a plane for Australia where his wife, Erica, is expecting their second child on Monday.
And, after a brief stop, he will be making the 21-hour return journey to London where he intends to help the world champions strike an early psychological blow ahead of next year's World Cup
"I'm aiming to get into Australia on Monday. The baby is due then. I'll be back in London on Wednesday morning," the 29-year-old ACT star explained.
However, he refused to say what he would do if the birth was delayed for any reason.
In the meantime, the world's most-capped scrum-half with 79 Test appearances - said he was not expecting jetlag to be a problem.
"I don't think I'll get a chance to adjust to the time zones so I should be all right," Gregan told reporters at Australia's hotel in Portmarnock on Friday.
And Gregan was adamant that he remained fully focused on the Ireland game.
"The first thing I'm looking to do is get through tomorrow. That's the main thing because Ireland's going to be very tough and passionate.
"It's important we don't get too far ahead of ourselves. Ireland have developed well over the last few years. They are obviously missing their wonderful captain and leader (hooker Keith Wood is out with a neck injury)."
But Gregan added that new captain Brian O'Driscoll would rise to the occasion.
"He'll step up and do very well in that role and it's important we do well against a team we will be playing in the World Cup."