A mere month before the world shut down because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Lions confirmed that they were actively negotiating with Kwagga Smith to lure him back.
The Springbok stalwart, however, committed to his Japanese club in a move that ultimately saw his international career soar.
Disappointed if not despondent, the Lions played the waiting game and settled on the next best thing: identifying and recruiting a player with the potential to become just as influential.
And then JC Pretorius, even though the Lions' management rightly point out that it's still early days, delivered a performance against the Pumas this past weekend that suggested he could live up to his billing.
Even in terms of background and appearance, the 25-year-old loose forward is uncannily similar to his more illustrious compatriot.
Both men hail from Mpumalanga, where they attended HTS Middelburg. While Smith juggled his sevens and fifteens commitments initially, they both forged their reputations at Neil Powell's successful Blitzboks setup.
At 1.86m and 92kg, Pretorius is mere centimetres taller than Smith (1.80m, 95kg), but the respective physiques are essentially the same.
READ | Strong defensive effort, moments of attacking brilliance help Lions to win over Pumas
Despite being signed in late December already, Pretorius' introduction has been gradual.
Predominantly this has been because, unlike Smith, Pretorius has been a sevens specialist since 2019. The last time he was included in a fifteen-man squad was when he was part of Pote Human's broader Bulls Super Rugby group.
The patience is steadily paying off.
On Saturday, Pretorius drew on all his Blitzboks experience against the Currie Cup's previous log leaders.
He made 55 running metres from nine
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