Amid the buzz of a new campaign with new caps and new contracts came a reminder from Greg McWilliams.
When it comes to professionalism in the women's game, Ireland are still "last in the door" among their Six Nations rivals.
After several difficult years, there's an air of excitement around the women's team again. The World Cup qualification disaster of 2021 saw Ireland forced to build from the bottom; a coaching change was matched by several high-profile retirements, and the passing of this team onto a younger generation.
Their fourth place finish in last years Six Nations had plenty of peaks and valleys, while the summer tour of Japan allowed the coaching ticket, which by now included veteran Kiwi John McKee, give international exposure to several uncapped players, many of whom continue in the side to face Wales on Saturday.
In November, the first batch of fully professional Irish XV's players got down to work at Irish Rugby's high performance centre in Abbotstown, and while McWilliams (below) is in no doubt that his side have progressed significantly as rugby players in recent months, the reality is that their opponents have too.
"Remember, we're still last in the door," he said.
"We think things are going really well, but every team at the moment is. Every team at the moment has their players who are fitter, more intelligent, they're technical skills around the game will be sharper, their tactical understanding will be sharper."
Professional players, as well as full-time coaching staff will hopefully improve the long-term chances of Ireland getting back towards the higher end of the women's game, but the short-term challenge is overcoming their inexperience as a squad.
Of the starting team named for Saturday's TikTok Six Nations opener in Cardiff, more than half of the XV have 10 or fewer caps, with only captain Nichola Fryday, and tighthead Linda Djougang being above the 20-cap mark.
Gaining experience will be the silver lining in the absence of the household Sevens stars. With the Sevens team looking to secure an early Olympic qualification spot in their final two World Series events in the next six weeks, the likes of Beibhinn Parsons, Stacey Flood, Eve Higgins, Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe (below) and Lucy Mulhall will all be unavailable for the duration of the Six Nations, where previously they would have been in and out of the squad.
Four of those players started last season's opener against the Welsh at the RDS, while Parsons featured off the bench. Of Saturday's backline, only Nicole Cronin remains from 12 months ago.
"We want them [the Sevens] to go to an Olympic Games, we want them to be competitive, we want them to win an Olympic medal. And we also want to win Six Nations championships, and we want to compete in the top end at World Cups.
"The best way to do that is improve our depth of players. By us not having those players who would have played last year, gives the opportunity to give people the chance to be in the match arena, and to see how they cope. You’ve got to improve your depth of players," the head coach added.
What Ireland lack in experience, they make up for in familiarity, with a large chunk of the squad having trained consistently together in recent months, while also getting gametime experience in the Celtic Challenge as part of the Combined Provinces.
There were two comfortable wins against a Wales Development XV in that inaugural championship, but that game wont be a barometer for today in Cardiff, with the senior squad predominantly based with English clubs.
Familiarity is key, and seven of the Welsh starting lineup, including captain Hannah Jones, come from Gloucester-Hartpury, who sit second in the Premier 15s, with a further two on the bench.
Wales finished third in last season's championship, following up their win against Ireland with another victory against Scotland, but saw their campaign end on a sour note with defeat to Italy in Round 5.
Ioan Cunningham's side were in the very early stages of the own professional programme when they came to Dublin 12 months ago, and while Ireland looked a far more skillful team, particularly in the opening half, they were overpowered by the visitors after break.
To counter that, McWilliams has gone with a 6:2 split on the bench, and while it's light on caps, it does contain a seasoned campaigned like Hannah O'Connor, as well as Jo Brown who has ample Premier 15s experience.
At the World Cup Wales performed about as well as can be expected; beating Scotland and losing to Australia and New Zealand in the pools, before defeat to the eventual champion Black Ferns in the quarter-final.
Like Ireland, Wales have also lost some important players to the Sevens circuit in Jasmine Joyce and Kayleigh Powell, while influential back row Alisha Butchers will miss the tournament due to injury.
This championship once again looks like being England's to lose, particularly with a home game against France in Round 4.
As such, Ireland's realistic hopes will be of a third-place finish, and while that may seem like a deflating target, the prize is a big one. Finish in the top half of the championship, and Greg McWilliams side will secure themselves a place in the top tier of the new WXV competition later this season, giving them more games against the likes of England, New Zealand and France.
On paper, Ireland, Wales and Italy all look capable of beating each other on a given day, with Scotland probably a rung below.
With England and France the visitors to Cork this season, it leaves Ireland looking to win away from home against Wales, Italy and Scotland to guarantee that top-three spot.
The opener against Wales is one that McWilliams and his coaching team have had nailed down in the diary since the end of their summer Test series in Japan.
And if they can play with the freedom that they did in the first Test in the far east, it might be enough to see them make a winning start.
Verdict: Ireland
Wales: Courtney Keight; Lisa Neumann, Hannah Jones (capt), Kerin Lake, Carys Williams-Morris; Elinor Snowsill, Keira Bevan; Gwenllian Pyrs, Kelsey Jones, Sisilia Tuipulotu; Abbie Fleming, Gwen Crabb; Georgia Evans, Alex Callender, Bethan Lewis
Replacements: Kat Evans, Caryl Thomas, Cerys Hale, Kate Williams, Sioned Harries, Ffion Lewis, Lleucu George, Hannah Bluck
Ireland: Méabh Deely; Aoife Doyle, Aoife Dalton, Enya Breen, Natasja Behan; Nicole Cronin, Molly Scuffil-McCabe; Sadhbh McGrath, Neve Jones, Linda Djougang; Nichola Fryday (capt), Sam Monaghan; Dorothy Wall, Meave Óg O'Leary, Brittany Hogan
Replacements: Deirbhile Nic a Bhaird, Niamh O'Dowd, Christy Haney, Jo Brown, Grace Moore, Hannah O'Connor, Dannah O'Brien, Vicky Irwin
Referee: Amber McLachlan (Australia)
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Watch Wales v Ireland in the TikTok Women's Six Nations on Saturday from 2.15pm live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, follow a live blog on RTÉ.ie/Sport and the RTÉ News app and listen to live commentary on RTÉ Radio 1's Saturday Sport
Watch Munster v Glasgow (5.15pm) and Ulster v Vodacom Bulls (7.35pm) in the BKT United Rugby Championship on Saturday live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player
