Bernard Jackman believes Ireland's defence is now "feared" across the game, after a dominant start to the Guonness Six Nations on both sides of the ball.
Andy Farrell's side have cruised through their first three games, picking up three bonus-point wins in a row, and scoring an average of 35 points per game against France, Italy and Wales.
But despite their 15-try haul in just three games, the real star has been their defence.
When Wales did eventually force their way over for a penalty try early in the second half of Saturday's 31-7 win at the Aviva Stadium, it marked the first points Ireland had conceded since another penalty try against France in their opening game of the tournament in Marseille.
Around 151 minutes of play separated those two scores, during which time Ireland held Italy scoreless, their first time "nilling" an opponent in this championship since 1987.
With just three tries and a penalty given up so far, Ireland's defence are handing out a measly eight points per game.
And having seen how the defence operates up close, Jackman says it's putting "fear" into the opposition.
"It's an incredibly impressive defence," he told the RTÉ Rugby podcast.
"I was pitchside, and even if Wales got a decent half carry or were on the front foot, within seconds Ireland are perfectly in shape again and it's so hard for Wales to break down.
"Wales looked lost a bit, but I think that was down to the fact that they just couldn't find any weak entry points.
"Together, they've actually created something that's feared. The opposition now fear our defence as much as our attack. I don't think that was the case before.
"I think our defence statistically was good, but there was no fear in it, and I think that’s a very strong place for them to be in."
While Ireland's defence has been almost impregnable, Wales did threaten to score on multiple occasions, with a penalty count of 13, and a yellow card for Tadhg Beirne, seeing the visitors get several opportunities in the Irish 22.
And Jonny Holland, who joined Jackman on the podcast, believes a more advanced side could make them pay on another day.
"When you're doing that [defending aggressively], you can still have your discipline," the former Munster out-half said.
"You can't got to Twickenham and get a yellow card or give away that many entries [to the 22]. England are eventually going to gel.
"They’re going to gel, and don't let it be when Ireland go to Twickenham, to let them spoil our party.
"We’ve done it to them plenty in the past and that’ll be a highly frustrating one if they get our number because of discipline or yellow cards, or a little bit of looseness around the breakdown."
Jackman, however, believes Ireland aren't far off getting the balance of aggression to discipline right, adding that their defence is now strong enough to be able to take more risks at the breakdown.
"From a defensive point of view, Ireland looked very comfortable, but of course Easterby [defence coach Simon Easterby] will be looking at all of those penalties in detail and seeing what we can do better," Jackman added.
"Against a better opposition we’ll have to be careful giving them those soft outs.
"Obviously there's a couple there that we need to be a bit smarter on, but there’s that accepted risk around pushing the boundaries, and the fact that you will maybe give away a few more [penalties], but the net effect over the course of a game, in terms of turnovers won or ruck speed affected from a defensive point of view would actually be worth it.
"I think it's a more aggressive Irish defence, a defence that’s taking more risks than it was in the World Cup."
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