It may have been the feelgood story of the first Wallabies team announcement of the year but statistics show Christian Lealiifano's recall to the national squad is based firmly on his Super Rugby form.
Brumbies flyhalf Lealiifano has not played for the Wallabies since 2016, the year he was diagnosed with leukaemia.
His remarkable fightback to full health and return to elite sport is an incredible tale of inspiration.
While Wallabies coach Michael Cheika is among those to marvel at his journey over the past three years, he said his selection had been purely on form.
Statistics from the Super Rugby season show Lealiifano is the leading flyhalf in several categories, including effective tackles and ground gained per run.
He has won a spot in Cheika's 34-man squad to tour South Africa ahead of the first Rugby Championship match of the season against the Springboks in Johannesburg and will compete with Bernard Foley and Matt To'omua for the no.10 jersey and ultimately, a place in the World Cup squad.
"I'm not the expert to speak on what he's been through because only he knows that and his family," Cheika said.
"I had an opportunity maybe a year or so ago, before this season, to speak at length about a lot of things from the last World Cup selection (that he missed out on) to what's happening now and how I see him, from a coaching point of view.
"And what you can't deny is his form in Super Rugby.
"Take out all the other things - and obviously we know what he's achieved in his life - just take all that away and you look at the form and he's been playing good. And he deserves to be there."
While Lealiifano has not played a Test since 2016, when he was named on the bench for all three of the Wallabies' games against England, stats from this season back up Cheika's view.
Rugby Australia's workload management policy means each of the candidates has been involved in a different number of games, with Lealiifano and Quade Cooper not required to be rotated during the season.
Given the Brumbies push to the semi-finals, Lealiifano played 18 games, while Cooper played 16 as the Rebels bowed out before the playoffs and Waratahs playmaker Foley appeared in 14 games.
To'omua played five Super Rugby games for the Rebels after returning from England where he had been playing for Leicester in Premiership Rugby and with Cooper steering the ship at no.10, he was often in the centres, making a direct statistical comparison with the others difficult.
Lealiifano's return to career-best form is backed up by the numbers though, with the 31-year-old making 7.8m per run this season and 83 per cent of his tackles, compared to 5m and 71 per cent for Cooper and 6.6m and 74 per cent for Foley.
To'omua's limited Super Rugby opportunities skew his Super Rugby stats, which show he made 50m from 11 runs this season, at 4.5m per run and completed 87 per cent of his tackles, missing just two of 15 attempted.
His Premiership Rugby numbers show he made 79 per cent of tackles with Leicester and 9.8m per run, although he turned out mainly at fullback for the Tigers this season.
Lealiifano edged Cooper and Foley in linebreaks but both had significantly more tackle busts and Cooper was a clear leader in offloads, creating plenty of opportunities for teammates, especially early in the season as opposition defences adjusted to Melbourne's flat attack.
Foley had the fewest turnovers and handling errors (14 turnovers, 16 handling errors), his line just shading Lealiifano (18, 17) while Cooper's high risk for high reward game did not always pay off, with the former Red making 30 turnovers and 30 handling errors throughout the season.
To'omua had 19 turnovers while playing for Leicester, although finished with a clean Super Rugby sheet. But he was the only one of the four players to earn a yellow card this season.
Lealiifano and Cooper kicked just over five times per game in general play, while Foley finished with more than seven a game, with their average distance ranging between 27-33m per kick.
It's the accuracy that's the key though and Lealiifano's ability in both general play and through penalties to find touch deep inside the opposition 22 allowed the Brumbies to work their lineout maul with great effect this season.
"We tried to look at Super Rugby form, what players can bring and what they've done before," Cheika said of choosing the squad with selectors Scott Johnson and Michael O'Connor.
"Only 31 are going (to the World Cup) and there's a few to come back.
"One thing I think is going to be big this year is building momentum.
"It's no secret we're coming from way back and to come from way back you've got to build momentum and belief in yourself on the way, it's really important."
Combinations could be a key part of that momentum and with 10 Brumbies named in the initial squad, including Lealiifano's halves partner Joe Powell, it's another tick in his column.
Foley has runs on the board when it comes to the World Cup though, boasting an 83 per cent win record after being a key part of the 2015 campaign and winning five of the six games in which he started - the final the only exception.
To'omua also played in 2015, coming off the bench in five of the six games he played but boasting the same win percentage as Foley.
Cooper has a 75 per cent record at the World Cup after taking part in both the 2011 and 2015 campaigns, although he played just one match, against Uruguary, in 2015, with Foley preferred at 10.
Lealiifano's 19 Test caps came between 2013 and 2016 but he was unable to force himself into the World Cup squad during that time.
His quest to write a new chapter for the 2019 tournament starts in South Africa next week.
