Call it a new era, a new chapter or whatever you prefer but Ireland are just four days away from a first campaign without Johnny Sexton since 2009.
When fit, the former Leinster and Lions out-half has been at the heart of Ireland's Six Nations success over the past decade, a stint that included four championship and two Grand Slams.
He brought as much to the equation off the field as he did on it and now someone has to step up to fill the gap in a team that was badly wounded by World Cup heartache just over three months ago.
Andy Farrell has been dismissive of four-year-cycle talk and insists that his Ireland side are evolving.
They open the defence of their title against France on Friday night in Marseille.
So much good was achieved prior to the defeat at the hands of New Zealand, not least a Grand Slam, that Ireland can build on strong foundations, the head coach reckons.
All that said, Farrell admits there’s a Johnny Sexton-sized hole in his squad.
"There will be a void, obviously," he said, speaking shortly before the squad assembled in Carton House last Monday
"I've got my first meeting at 4.30 and after that people start filling it straight away and making sure that they fully understand what we're about.
"That it's their team and it's not just the coaches trying to tell them what to do. It's their team.
"Of course, with the experience that they’ve got they understand what that looks like.
"But some responsibilities might be a little bit different as in trying to take that gap and going, 'you know what? I'm going to put myself out there’, whether it be a certain position or the social committee or the leadership committee or whatever.
"We want to see people stepping up all the time so hopefully we get back up and running in that regard pretty quickly."
Jack Crowley of Munster is favourite to take the 10 shirt for Friday night's clash with France.
Speaking about taking over the mantle from Sexton, the 24-year-old, who has nine caps, said: "[I've] been trying to learn so much from Johnny over the last two years, as much as I could and absorb as much as I could.
"He went through the tough patches and that’s what made him such a great leader and such a great player, through those tough experiences so for me it probably took a bit to understand but that’s what I need to do as well.
"I need to grow and understand myself and my game and how I can impact this group and I don’t think I can just fabricate it, it has to be genuine."
Another void in the squad is the absence of Mack Hansen (above). The Australian native has been nothing short of a revelation in green since making his debut in 2022.
Consistently one of the standout performers, the 25-year-old "breath of fresh air" has scored nine tries in 21 appearances.
He suffered a dislocated shoulder during Connacht’s URC win over Munster on New Year’s Day and was ruled out of contention on the same day that Leinster revealed utility back Jimmy O’Brien would also miss the tournament due to a neck injury.
The Western province have used Hansen at full-back for a handful of games before his injury and, alongside O’Brien would have been seen as a potential back-up for Hugo Keenan, the lock-in first choice 15.
"Mack has been around for a while and played a lot of games for us and grown massively within that but it's someone else's opportunity," said Farrell, who opted against recalling the in-form Simon Zebo as cover.
"Hugo Keenan deserves all the caps that he's got and he's a world-class full-back.
"He has played a lot of games as well - I'm just using him as an example. If he went down injured, it's somebody else's opportunity. You've got to expect that because there's nothing surer than people are going to get injured.
"Something's going to happen this week or next week in training.
"Have a look at the game last year, going to Wales and three or four players dropping out at the last minute.
"That's what happens the whole time. So, I'm genuinely excited about who's gonna fill that spot and see how they want to compete.
"Because I have no doubt that Mack won't want to give his place up. He'll be nervous enough watching from the sidelines if somebody's gonna take that chance or not.
"We hope as a team that somebody grabs that chance because it makes us fight harder with one another and that makes us get better and keep growing."
The 48-year-old (above), taking charge of his fifth Six Nations campaign, was named as World Rugby’s coach of the year last season, a spell that took in the championship and a first-ever Test series win in New Zealand as well as the number one spot in the world rankings.
World Rugby player of the year nominee Bundee Aki picked up the award on his behalf as the coach wasn’t made aware of the honour until late in the day.
"I feel wonderful," said the former dual code international when asked how he is doing.
"I didn't take any time off. Just because I didn't turn up for the World Rugby awards... I knew nothing about it. How am I supposed to turn up? I had other things on.
"They told me that morning. What was I supposed to do?
"I'm feeling great, honestly. If you can't get excited about what's coming up, you shouldn't be in this job.
"Honestly, the disappointment or all the work that went in, it's so irrelevant. It's called life, isn't it? You get on, move on, try and evolve, and get excited about what's next."
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