Ireland have just over three long months to stew.
Their 2024 Six Nations campaign, which Ireland start as defending Grand Slam champions, kicks off in 105 days. One hundred and five long days.
At least they don't have to return to the scene of the crime with Stade de France off limits in preparation for the Olympic Games.
The only crime, by the way, is that most of the Irish players who lost the quarter-final to New Zealand didn’t reach their own high standards.
Instead the championship will kick off in Marseille’s Velodrome under the Friday night lights on 2 February.
At that point we’ll be nine rounds deep into the BKT United Rugby Championship and the round of 16 knockout pairings for the Investec Champions Cup will be known.
That’s a lot of bridges to cross.
When the final whistle blew in Paris on Saturday night it signalled the end of an era.
It had long been known that Johnny Sexton, aged 38, would call time on his professional career when Ireland’s tournament ended. (That said, he never looked in better shape than he did over the course of the pool stages. It had been four years since he put together a run of five international starts in such a concentrated time-frame. However, a U-turn, and a chance to right a few wrongs with Leinster appears very unlikely.)
Keith Earls announced his retirement from rugby yesterday, the 36-year-old wing won 101 caps since making his debut in 2008.
Flanker Peter O'Mahony, 34, suggested that he will take time to consider his future, another centurion who has given so much for the cause.
Munster team-mate Conor Murray has been an incredible servant over his 108-cap career and is the same age as O’Mahony. Cian Healy, who missed the trip with a calf injury, is 36 years old; Dave Kilcoyne turns 35 in December.
While the first two have called time, there’s nothing to say that the rest will decide to step away but it wouldn’t be a surprise if one or more follow suit.
So there will at least be a Sexton and Earls-sized hole to contend with and Andy Farrell must put together a squad capable of defending their crown, starting off with a match-up against another team who are facing a three-month World Cup hangover.
"We're lucky to have the Six Nations in three months," said Gregory Alldritt after France’s defeat to South Africa.
"It will help us to digest, move on and we'll start a cycle again." Reporters present couldn’t decide if the comments were genuine or not.
Farrell said post-match that their immediate job is to get a smile back on their faces over the next few days but he and fellow coaches Paul O’Connell, Mike Catt, Simon Easterby and John Fogarty will soon get down to business. The opening round of the URC takes place this week, in case you missed it.
"It is the end for this team because people are going to be leaving but the competition that this team has built over the years will continue because of how it has been driven, certainly over the last couple of years," said Farrell.
"The talent that we've got in Ireland will continue to come through and will continue to challenge, I've no doubt about that."
There’ll be injuries, out of form players and bolters but who's in the mix for the start of a new chapter?
Front row
Andrew Porter painted the wrong pictures for Wayne Barnes on Saturday but he remains the first-choice loosehead. Healy and Kilcoyne can do a job if called upon but Jeremy Loughman, prominent in Munster's URC title run, may move up the order.
If the pecking order remains the same at hooker, Dan Sheehan will be backed up by Rónan Kelleher and Rob Herring, while Tom Stewart will be itching to get back in the frame after a late burst for the World Cup squad this time around.
It will be interesting to see how long Tadhg Furlong takes to see competitive action. The Lions prop was far from his best and he looks like he could do with a chance to fully rehab from what was a troublesome calf injury. Finlay Bealham has come on in leaps and bounds.
The Connacht man started the first three games of the Grand Slam campaign. Tom O’Toole is another who came in and did a job last season. Roman Salanoa was part of the wider squad last year but is out injured until the new year so will have a lot of ground to make up.
Second row
James Ryan, at 27 and when fully fit, is Ireland’s best lock and there will be an interesting contest between a number of players to see who packs down beside the Leinster man.
Iain Henderson and Tadhg Beirne usually jostle for that spot but the faith Farrell has shown in Joe McCarthy may see the 22-year-old elevated. Ryan Baird, 24, is another young gun who’ll feel his time is now and he’s a serious back row option as well. A good run with Leinster will propel Ross Molony back into the mix, while Kieran Treadwell has been a Farrell type of player as well.
Back row
The back row is likely to be built around Caelan Doris, the Mayo man was at the heart of Ireland’s magnificent winning run. Depending on how O'Mahony decides to proceed, Farrell could put Doris at blindside to get Jack Conan into the team, even if it’s acknowledged that his best position is number 8.
He may have gone under the radar slightly and got caught out against New Zealand, but Josh van der Flier was one of Ireland’s best performers in the tournament. The 2022 World Rugby player of the year remains the team’s best openside.
Cian Prendergast, who just missed out on World Cup selection, Nick Timoney and John Hodnett, will be in the wider-squad mix, as will Gavin Coombes, who has not made the breakthrough expected of him.
Scrum-half
So central to Ireland’s game plan, Jamison Gibson-Park's service will likely see him remain as the first choice scrum-half. Murray might want to go another year so he can finish his Ireland career on a high and Craig Casey has stated his ambition to move up in the queue. Nathan Doak, who went on the Emerging Ireland tour, is worth a look for the future. Caolin Blade will want to have a say too.
Out-half
It’s the one position that we know will be occupied by a new man. Crowley and Byrne were the two deputies under Sexton with the Munster player favoured when it came to the crunch in France. Jack Carty’s time may have passed, while Under-20s star Sam Prendergast is pushing for more game time at Leinster. Joey Carbery has much to do to get back in contention.
Centre
Bundee Aki, Garry Ringrose and Robbie Henshaw remain Ireland’s best midfield options, while Stuart McCloskey can fit in without the team losing much impact. Ciarán Frawley (also an out-half option) and Jamie Osborne are highly rated and if they can get more European minutes at Leinster they will want to break up Farrell’s preferred quartet of centres. Munster’s Antoine Frisch may have been ringmarked for consideration, while Crowley can offer a different dimension from 12 if needed. James Hume will hope to push on after an injury in New Zealand set him back last year.
Wing
Mack Hansen and James Lowe are vital to the cause and it’s hard to see Farrell leaving either out when fit. With Earls gone, Jimmy O’Brien looks like next man in. If Jacob Stockdale can show the form he did in patches last season, he’ll come back into the frame. Shane Daly was on the Emerging Ireland tour. After successful recovery from knee and hand injuries, Andrew Conway will surely push for selection. If Robert Baloucoune can get a run of game under his belt, he may be considered. Jordan Larmour, who like Carbery was on the New Zealand tour in 2022, has had an alarming fall down the ranks.
Full-back
Such is Hugo Keenan’s ability to consistently turn up fit and his mastery of full-back play in general, it’s not fully clear who his back-up is. O’Brien could easily fit in. Mike Lowry would relish another shot after doing nothing wrong in a solitary Six Nations outing and an appearance for the 'A’ team in New Zealand. Hansen has all the attributes to slot in if necessary, too.
Possible Ireland team to play France: Hugo Keenan; Mack Hansen, Garry Ringrose, Bundee Aki, James Lowe; Jack Crowley, Jamison Gibson-Park; Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan, Tadhg Furlong, James Ryan, Tadhg Beirne; Jack Conan, Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris.
Replacements: Rónan Kelleher, Finlay Bealham, Jeremy Loughman, Joe McCarthy, Ryan Baird, Craig Casey, Ross Byrne, Jimmy O'Brien.
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