As Hugo Keenan rightly points out, there was no silverware to show for Ireland's Autumn Nations Series form.
Andy Farrell's side may have played some exhilarating rugby in their three Test wins against Japan, New Zealand and Argentina, but there was no trophy raised and no medals handed out at the Aviva Stadium.
It's why he believes the Six Nations is a chance for this Ireland side to take the next step over the next two months, as they look to evolve from challengers to champions, and experience that winning feeling.
Of the 37-man squad announced by Andy Farrell for the opening rounds of the championship, 16 of the group arrived on the Test scene after Ireland's most recent Six Nations title in 2018.
And that figure could realistically be pushed out to 19 with neither Finlay Bealham nor Kieran Treadwell featuring in that campaign, as well as Josh van der Flier suffering a season-ending injury in the opener against France.
Although Ireland's previous four-year cycles wouldn't suggest that Six Nations success is necessarily beneficial for a good World Cup campaign, Keenan says it's the natural next step this side have to take.
"I suppose that's probably the standard that we’ve set and it’s about building upon that," the 25-year-old says.
"We didn’t win anything in November. We’ve got an opportunity over the next six, eight, whatever number of weeks it is to get a bit of silverware.
"We’re obviously focusing game by game but we’ve got that goal at the end of it as a team and something to drive us towards.
"It’s good foundations but we’ve a lot to improve on and we’ve been working on those things over the last week."
The Leinster full-back has established himself as one of the first names on Farrell's teamsheet in the last couple of seasons, starting each of Ireland's last 16 games dating back to his debut against Italy in October 2020.
And while 16 consecutive starts - and five tries - would given the impression of a player who burst onto the scene, his Test career has so far been defined by his fundamentals rather than flair.
Keenan's brought a level of maturity to the team that is very hard to replace, with his handling, decision-making, composure and fitness levels setting him apart, rather than flashes of individual brilliance.
The strange part of it was that his big breakthrough arguably came by accident, with a long list of injuries seeing him get his opportunity to start for Leinster - let alone for Ireland - in August 2020.
But having looked at home in the Leinster team, he was quickly promoted to a green jersey, and since then has been immovable.
"Yeah, you get to know international rugby pretty quickly once you're into it," he adds.
"It is that step up, it’s more physical, mistakes are punished, you can’t really get away with anything so I think it was pretty much straight away you realise it and it’s about embracing that and I suppose just trying to, once you get a few caps, get more used to it and comfortable with it. It’s a testing challenge and it always will be but I suppose that’s the beauty of international rugby. It will always be tough.
"There’s definitely a mental side to it. I suppose what might have helped me was the fact there were no crowds at the start so it took that whole pressure off me I felt.
"It was probably easier to slowly adapt and ease my way into international rugby I think.
"It hasn’t actually been that long ago just maybe a year and three or four months since my debut so I think you get more used to international rugby.
"As I said earlier it is always tough, there is never going to be an easy game in international rugby. So, definitely not resting on my laurels."
Barring injury, you can expect to see Keenan named for his 17th Test cap when the Irish squad is announced tomorrow afternoon, ahead of Ireland's opener against Wales on Saturday afternoon (live on RTÉ2).
"I think it's going to be really exciting there’s a load of good teams in it capable of winning.
"Wales as well are going to be a serious challenge this weekend so we are going to be focusing on them first in or minds. I don’t think we are look past that and I don’t think we can afford to."
Follow all of Ireland's Six Nations games via our live blogs on rte.ie/sport and on the RTÉ News App or listen to live radio coverage on RTÉ Radio 1. Watch live TV coverage of Ireland v Wales (5 February, 2.15pm) and France v Italy (6 March, 3pm) on RTÉ2 and the RTÉ Player.
