Dorothy Wall says Ireland won't be in the Six Nations simply to make up the numbers, with Scott Bemand's side targeting a top-three finish in 2024.
Ireland get their campaign under way on Saturday, when they take on France in Le Mans (live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player).
If, as expected, France and England take the top two spots, then third place in the championship would see Ireland secure qualification for next year's Rugby World Cup, a target that's already the stated aim of the new head coach.
For that to happen, it will require a considerable improvement from Ireland, who fell to a historic low in 2023, losing all five games and picking up the wooden spoon.
There have been major changes in the months since that campaign, with head coach Greg McWilliams replaced by Bemand, who spent nine years as part of a hugely successful England set-up, while former Ireland underage international Declan Danaher has also come on board as defence coach.
Captain Nichola Fryday has retired, with that role now shared by Sam Monaghan and Edel McMahon.
In the last two season Ireland have struggled badly in the Six Nations, winning just two of their last 10 games, with a swathe of retirements leaving an inexperienced team in at the deep end of international rugby.
But Wall says the time for "development" is over.
"We are going out to compete so it is not really a development tournament by any standard," Wall said at an event for Aer Lingus.
"I suppose there is pressure in international rugby, if you have won a Six Nations or lost a Six Nations, there is pressure either way, if it is to stay on top or get closer to the top.
"I think pressure is an integral thing to this position and you have to embrace it going forward. We definitely want to compete and pressure is part of that.
"Our target is to qualify for the World Cup in 2025. That's the overall squad target.
"Scott's kind of made me realise that there's a lot more dimensions to rugby than I even was aware of. It's constantly expanding our rugby IQ, and asking questions and emphasising certain parts of the game that maybe we weren't aware that were so important.
"It's definitely a more rounded overall knowledge that he's bringing to the game and it's been really important and it's been eye opening for a lot of us.
"We're just continuously trying to take on board that information and bring it to training and then execute into matches."
While this Ireland squad is still relatively inexperienced, the inclusion of Sevens internationals Beibhinn Parsons and Eve Higgins immediately makes the Irish backline look more dangerous, while their WXV3 title win back in October means some confidence has been restored.
And while two of those wins - against Colombia and Kazakhstan - came against sub-standard opposition, Wall says it was important to experience that winning feeling, particularly for some younger members of the squad, for whom defeat had become the norm.
"It was definitely a tough Six Nations for us last year, and with the changes that came in and being able to win all the games in WXV was definitely a boost that our squad needed," she said.
"It sets some foundations going forward.
"We obviously know the Six Nations is a different challenge, but we're continuing to grow and trying to be better and our culture is a huge part of that. Our team bond and the work we're doing there is essential to our journey.
"We needed to remember what it felt like to win. Against Spain, we kind of had to grind that out, because they were the hardest of the three teams to play against.
"It was a month away, the whole squad together. We learned a lot, we trained really hard, it was like 42 degrees over there. People passing out, ice baths everywhere, you are just trying to survive the conditions.
"It was really tough, but so rewarding as well, it was a great trip for us. We are under no illusions the Six Nations is a very different beast to WXV."
To illustrate the level of inexperience in the Ireland squad, 23-year-old Wall is a relative veteran in the current group, with 23 caps to her name.
Having played the majority of her rugby in the back row, the Tipperary native appears to have found a new home at lock, having moved into the second row for Munster during last year's Interprovincial championship, and continuing in that position for both the WXV and the Celtic Challenge Series with the Clovers.
"I cover second row and back row comfortably enough," she says of the move.
"I kind of wanted to upskill myself in that way I guess, and if I can cover a few more positions it works to my benefit as well, so that was in the back of my mind in terms of upskilling myself in lineout and being more of an option there, and increasing my IQ in that area and learning off people as much as I could.
"I was calling the lineouts for the Clovers and that was definitely a big learning curve for me and I got a lot from it. I just think it's important to keep improving in certain areas and I know I can do a job at either.
"You do the same things around the park, it's just setpiece you need to get to grips to, and have good exposure to that in the last few months. I'd say I'm pretty comfortable there."
Watch France v Ireland in the Guinness Women's Six Nations on Saturday from 1.45pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app and listen to commentary on Saturday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1
