Maro Itoje was destined to play for England from an early age, according to his former coach Andy Holloway.
The Saracens star is currently with the British and Irish Lions in New Zealand and put in a stellar display on Saturday as the tourists levelled the series with a 24-21 victory in Wellington.
It was the latest chapter in a meteoric rise for Itoje, who at just 22 years old has already won two Six Nations titles, two Aviva Premiership titles and two European Rugby Champions Cups.
Itoje made his Saracens debut at just 19 years of age after starring for Old Albanian RFC and his former head coach Holloway is not surprised by his rapid rise to one of the brightest young stars in world rugby.
"You could immediately see the transition from age-group rugby to men's rugby was seamless for him. He was able to transfer everything he was good at," said Holloway, who coached Itoje in 2013/14.
"There were little bits in terms of his skillset that were rougher around the edges than maybe they are now but the impact he made in that team at that time was massive.
"All of the players and the coaches that were involved at that time thought he would play for England at some point pretty soon."
Despite the steady stream of plaudits coming his way, Holloway believes Itoje still has plenty of untapped potential and he expects him to keep working hard in order to improve.
"He has got that mindset to always want to get better. He has got that inner drive to always want to improve," Holloway continued.
"That comes out in how he plays in terms of the repeat effort you see from him over and over again. He is relentless in how he tries to play the game."