Colin Charvis admitted to being "extremely flattered" by the ringing endorsement he received last week from legendary New Zealand forward Colin Meads.
Despite Wales’ record 62-5 defeat to England at Twickenham, Meads was impressed by Charvis’ work-rate and attitude.
The man rated as the greatest All Black said: "Colin Charvis is a very good player and he seems to always stand up and be counted when Wales need him.
"He just quietly goes about his business without making too much fuss. Charvis is probably as good as any back row forward in the world and he was superb there at Twickenham."
Charvis, not one who enjoys reading the newspapers any longer, was unaware of the comments until Friday, the day he was selected in Wales’ World Cup squad.
And they left him humbled.
"To receive a comment like that is extremely flattering. It is not very often a legend will describe you in such fashion. It will take that one with great humility," said Charvis.
"I am surprised to hear such a flattering comment. The players around me know I play one way and I don’t think there is a great deal of difference in the standards in each game.
"I am 34 years old and I train as hard as I did at 24. Even if this is my last year of rugby, if I can be the best ever in my last game then so be it."
And yet, last summer Charvis had been on the verge of retirement after being released by Newcastle.
Surely he could never have imagined then that barely a year later he would be back in the Wales World Cup squad?
"The credit there has got to go to Newport. They gave me an opportunity to continue my career," said Charvis.
"At one point it was a case of thinking I would hang my boots up as a professional. The same thing happened in 2003 when I was clubless after the World Cup.
"That was probably the main thing in my mind at the time but then Michael Owen got injured and the Dragons needed a player to step in.
"Initially I was only going to be there for a few months and then they kept me on for a year. I thoroughly enjoyed last year, so much so that I signed for another year.
"I kept working hard and managed to get in the Six Nations squad, although I didn’t swing a bat in the tournament, and then went on tour."
