Felipe Contepomi should be in Buenos Aires today enjoying the last day of a week off before going into camp to prepare for the Tests later this month against France and England.
Instead he finds himself at Twickenham facing Bristol's west country rivals Gloucester in the Zurich Championship final having scored all his side's 32 points in the semi-final against Northampton last weekend.
Perversely Bristol's reward came in winning the semi-final because it secured them entry into next season's Heineken Cup. The prize today holds nowhere near the same value.
"It has been a strange week, preparing for the final against Gloucester, thinking about the World Cup football match between Argentina and England and trying to get a flight to Buenos Aires to join up with the national team," said Contepomi, who has one more season to run on a three-year contract with Bristol.
"It will be demanding to go into a summer of Test match rugby without a rest but you have to deal with the physical issue through mental strength. The final is Bristol's biggest game for a long time and I am happy to be a part of it.
"This club has come a long way in the time I have been here. The arrival of Peter Thorburn on the coaching staff had an impact; we started to play as we trained and we have gained in confidence."
Contepomi, along with his Argentina half-back partner Agustin Pichot, dictates Bristol's play and it has evolved this season from a game with little in the way of creativity to one which relies more on pace.
"When I joined Bristol, Agustin told me that the club was building for the future," said Contepomi. "I was sold on the vision they had and this weekend's final has to be the start for us. I have interrupted my medical studies to be a professional rugby player and the prospect of playing for Bristol beyond next season is an attractive one."
Bristol's resurgence has not been enough to make them favourites, following Gloucester's strong finish to the season. Earlier this week Dean Ryan tried to end speculation linking him with a move to Kingsholm next season to work with his close friend Nigel Melville.
"There is nothing in it," he said. "An enormous amount of work has been put into Bristol in the last couple of years and we are now at the stage when the players are as ambitious as the management.
"Gloucester are a much more rounded side since Nigel Melville took over, still strong at forward but with strength across the team, and the final should be an excellent match because it features two sides who have hit form."
The Bristol captain Jason Little left Gloucester a year ago to make the short move to the Memorial Stadium. "They have developed enormously as a team since I left," he said, implicitly criticising the man he reportedly fell out with at Kingsholm, Philippe Saint- André, whom Melville replaced. "They play a 15-man style now and they have some exciting, attacking players. They have been the form team in the second half of the season. It will be difficult for us but our aim is to make sure we are in the Heineken Cup for many years to come; the hard work is only just beginning for us."
Gloucester have beaten Bristol three times this season but Melville is not complacent. "This is totally different to all the games we have played this year. We cannot take anything for granted, even if we are playing well," he said.
Bristol: Best; Williams, Rees, Little, Christophers; Contepomi, Pichot; Crompton, McCarthy, White, Archer, Brown, Short, Lipman, Sturnham.
Gloucester: Paul; O'Leary, Fanolua, Todd, Beim; Mercier, Gomarsall; Collazo, Azam, Vickery, Fidler, Pearce, Boer, Forrester, Paramore.
