When the Australian mixed opens oztag coach rang Zac Green to sound him out about this year's Tag World Cup, he initially thought he was going to have to turn the opportunity down.
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He and a few mates had already made plans to head over to Europe in July and then onto Canada for the ski season.
Thinking the tournament was being played in Australia, Green thought he wouldn't be able to get back.
But then he learnt that it was taking place in Ireland, which tied in perfectly with his plans.
And so in August he will take a brief break from his planned 12-month adventure to pull on the green and gold for the first time.
"We were pretty lucky that it tied in, so it's worked out well," Green said.
"It's going to be unreal."
The trip is something that he and his mates have been talking about for some time.
"It's been on the [bucket] list for a while, and we finally decided to do it," he said.
The Tamworth born and raised 22-year-old has been skiing "pretty much since I could walk".
"We used to go [skiing] every year as a family holiday," he said.
"Something I've always wanted to do is go over there (Canada) and try it out for a season."
They don't have any tours or specific plans for while they're in Europe. They're just planning to do it themselves and "take our time".
"We've got nearly three months in Europe so we'll just pot around at our own speed and see it all and take it all in," Green said.
It will mean he will have a ready-made support crew for the World Cup, which will be played in Limerick from August 2-5.
Playing oztag since he was in about kindergarten, he can't wait for the chance to represent his country.
The sides were selected following the Senior Australian Championships at Coffs Harbour.
"I thought I played pretty well. In saying that I didn't really expect to get picked," Green said.
On the countdown to July, his immediate focus is this weekend's NSW Senior State Championships, where he will play with the Tamworth mixed opens side.
Training since before Christmas, he said the side is shaping up pretty well.
"It should be pretty good, we're hoping to have a fair crack," he said.
