With Brian O'Driscoll sat right beside him on Off The Ball's Roadshow in Drogheda, the iconic No 13's successor at international level admitted that there was huge pressure stepping into the role.
Jared Payne joined us at the TLT Theatre to talk about his ascension into the green shirt as well as his on-pitch relationship with fellow Ireland centre and relative newcomer Robbie Henshaw.
But he also had glowing words for our guest presenter Brian.
"No one's going to do what Brian's done. There's never going to be another Brian. He's unbelievable, one of a kind. Once you realise that, you just go out and do your job," said Payne, in a chat you can listen to in full here:
Brian O'Driscoll, Jared Payne and Ger Gilroy on stage in Drogheda
Payne also talked us through his try against Scotland which was crucial in helping us win the Six Nations on points difference, while Brian had plenty of praise for the man filling the 13 shirt these days.
"I know this guy had a huge number of questions to deal with about the vacant 13 jersey and it was answered by five performances in the Six Nations. So huge kudos to that and you make the jersey your own," he said.
First guests of the evening, @BrianODriscoll and Jared Payne #otbdrogheda #otb #Irishrugby #ntfm pic.twitter.com/tMc6hxcirp
— Newstalk Sport (@NewstalkSport) April 1, 2015
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