Straight after being told he would be named as Australia's 84th captain for Sunday's Rugby World Cup clash against Uruguay, the 31-year-old dashed from Bath to London to be at the bedside of his wife as she gave birth to their second child.
"He's going to start learning about the 'benefits' of no sleep, isn't he?" Australia coach Michael Cheika joked after naming his side on Friday.
"He will be playing off the back of no sleep, but I'm sure he's got a lot of good feelings at the moment and I'm sure that good feeling will flow through for the rest of his life."
Mumm returned to the New South Wales Waratahs as an emergency replacement for the suspended Will Skelton in May after three years at English club Exeter Chiefs.
The decision to return to Australia and pursue another shot at test rugby looked like a long shot but paid huge dividends when he was a surprise inclusion in Cheika's squad for the Rugby Championship.
He earned his first cap in nearly five years in Australia's victory over Argentina in the second match of the tournament and made his first start since August 2010 in the win over the All Blacks in Sydney two weeks later.
Mumm's performances earned him a spot in the 31-man Rugby World Cup squad and on Wednesday he made his tournament debut off the bench against Fiji.
"In life some people settle for the good life and some people want to go and have a great one," Cheika added.
"And he decided he wants to try and have a great one."
Mumm's grand-father Bill was an All Black and he was born in New Zealand before being raised on the other side of the Tasman Sea.
As well as captaining Exeter, he also led his school and the Australian schoolboys side.
"He's got the leadership experience and he has that cool, composed sense about him," Cheika said.
"But he can also fire up when he needs to."
(Reporting by Nick Mulvenney, editing by Ed Osmond)
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