One lunchtime in Manly, Jonny Wilkinson, as is his wont, stayed on following a training session after everybody else bar kicking coach Dave Alred and Brian O'Driscoll, to practice his punting.
"Somebody tell Jonny where the switch for the floodlights is," quipped one wag. Then again, it does get dark around five in the Aussie winter.
Stories of Wilkinson's perfectionist devotion and being almost physically removed or cajoled from training are legion. Keith Wood says of Wilkinson: "He's incredibly centred," and holds his hand vertically in front of him as if to emphasise the observation. "He knows what he wants and everything else will fall by the wayside."
Such a cold-eyed focus is appropriate for the unerring goalkicker that he is. Freakishly, at only 21, Wilkinson has already beaten Rob Andrew's English points scoring record of 396 by amassing 407 points in just 27 Tests. As Neil Jenkins admits, given a healthy body Wilkinson will beat the Welshman's world record (which stands at 1,029) and go on to set a landmark which may never be beaten.
Wilkinson also has a sledgehammer tackle, and his studied punting seems to land on a six pence. What's more, he has the head of a 27-year-old on his young shoulders, invariably calling the right shots as he learns all the while how to run games. He can transfix a defence with his feet and has superb hands. To really, really nitpick, he could perhaps do with another half yard.
Destiny called him really. Wilkinson began playing with a local club in Frimley, Hampshire, at four and says he always wanted to play rugby and for England. He first appeared at Twickenham in an under-11s schools match which was a curtain raiser to Bath beating Gloucester in the English Cup final in 1990. Playing for the Lions, he says seriously (and you believe him), became a real ambition from watching them in 1989, when he'd just turned 10.
Soon after he started playing at his school, Lord Wandsworth College, and progressed through to play for England under-16s, 18s and 21s. Steve Bates, a once-capped scrumhalf, was his coach at school who gave up teaching to link up with Rob Andrew at Newcastle in 1996, so Wilkinson followed the same route the length of England.
At the Lions' open hour with the media in midweek, I was surprised to discover no one else occupying any of the seats at the table marked "number 10" and was half in dread of meeting an earnest young man, if nice and talkative without ever saying anything earth-shattering.
He has a reputation for being a model professional. Different strokes for different folks, he says, explaining that, tiring though it is, he needs to devote his energies during the week toward playing well or else he won't be able to.
Wilkinson attributes his devotion and single-mindedness to his background and his parents. His dad, Phil, an independent financial advisor, doubles as Wilkinson's manager.
"I've been given a lot of opportunities in life others haven't and I fully appreciate that," he says. "Because of that I don't want to let any of it slip through my fingers. That's why I do so much during the week. I don't want to feel at the end of the game if we've lost, or if I haven't played well, that I could have done more during the week. I don't want that feeling. You're responsible for your own performance and therefore it's up to you to get it right."
There's a hint of self-mocking humour at the expense of his lifestyle when you ask what he does away from rugby.
"I suppose if you call me a model professional that means I have to play golf. I do that as well. I play a few sports really if I get the chance, things like tennis and basketball. Away from the active side, I go out with the boys a couple of times a week for a meal and have a chat, or go to people's houses or cinemas, things like that. Nothing out of the ordinary.
"I'm not one of those with an amazing hobby. I find the amount of time which rugby leaves me, any other time I need it to wind down, just to allow me to wake up the next day and feel like I want to get out there again."
You wonder what it is that gives him the most pleasure, a near perfect game, winning, honours, the glory? "The togetherness you get before and after games, the nerves before and the relief and the exhilaration you get afterwards, I think you'd struggle to find a substitute for that. I think I'd have to find another competitive hobby if I gave up rugby."
To be given the easiest start to the tour was a management masterstroke. Wilkinson did miss his first kick on tour. It probably still rankles. But he's since landed 13 out of 13. His superb, controlled performance against the Queensland Reds in his first outing for almost two months confirms he's no automaton. Then again, this is the man who, after a two-month absence, then climbed out of his sick bed to guide England to a 27-22 win in Bloemfontein last summer by kicking eight penalties and a drop goal.
Granted, he struggled defensively last week when briefly switched to inside centre against the Waratahs, but it's no coincidence that the Lions have been at their best when he's been at outhalf.
In the long term, Wilkinson's biggest enemy could be himself, ultimately burning out physically or mentally. Surely he can't remain so devoted forever? But that's then, this is now, and this remarkable young man could well be the Lions' main man.
