Injuries may have stalled the career of Grant Gilchrist, but the Scotland second-row forward is raring to go against Australia on Saturday.
The 27-year-old has been recalled to the starting line-up by Gregor Townsend as he looks cement his place in the side.
Things looked promising for the Edinburgh forward in 2014 when he was named captain of his country, but two broken arms and a groin problem have hampered his progress.
Ben Toolis started the autumn Tests alongside Jonny Gray - with brother Richie injured - but has been dropped to the bench to make way for Gilchrist following defeat to New Zealand.
Having been named in the team, Gilchrist is confident he is almost back to his best but admits it took longer than expected to reach those heights.
"Over the last two season I've probably been gradually getting back to my best," he said. "I think I'm playing as good as I ever have played right now, regardless of injuries.
"I take the confidence from that and go out and play. I don't think about the past, there's enough going on right now."
He added: "It takes a little while (to get back to your best) and you take it for granted.
"You assume that you have a couple of years where you don't play a lot, but will go back to what you were (before the injury) straight away, and that's something I learnt.
"I maybe put too much pressure on myself early on to be the player I was, rather than concentrating on getting back to match sharpness and making sure I improve every day."
Despite running the All Blacks close last week - they came within metres of snatching a dramatic late win that would not have been underserved - the Scotland camp insist they face a tougher test against Australia this week at BT Murrayfield.
The Wallabies lost to Scotland during the summer, but have since made significant improvements despite a heavy defeat to England on Saturday.
Gilchrist expects a tough match this weekend. He said: "We have spoken all week about it being just as big a challenge as last week.
"They're a much-improved side from the team we beat and played really well against in the summer.
"The task is pretty much what it was last week: we're playing one of the best sides in the world at home, which is something we're relishing but we know where the challenge lies."
Source: PA
