It was noteworthy at the time that when the Ireland squad flew out to Chicago ahead of their meeting with the All Blacks in early November, they did so 11 days ahead of playing New Zealand at Soldier Field.
While Andy Farrell had plenty of face time with a core of his Irish squad on the Lions tour in Australia, it had been the best part of a year since he had been able to do some hands-on work with his full squad.
The lack of cohesion was evident in Chicago, and there were some improvements a week later against Japan in Dublin, before things finally clicked at the Aviva last weekend, when Ireland rocked the Wallabies 46-19.
This is week five of camp, and Farrell says he always believed their performances would come together.
"If you didn't think that was going to be the case you’re doing something wrong," he said ahead of tomorrow’s crunch meeting with South Africa (5.40pm).
The Springboks haven't won in Dublin since 2012 but they arrive in red-hot form, winning six games in a row, among those being victories away to New Zealand, Argentina and France.
And Farrell knows Ireland can't just arrive at the Aviva this Saturday and expect to hit their peak.
"But that’s not to say playing against the best in the world that that’s going to happen because if you’re not up to speed with how you attack the game then they smell a sign of weakness," he said.
"We’ve seen what they’ve done to New Zealand in New Zealand, they’ve shown what they’ve done to Argentina as well and the scorelines they’ve run away with.
"There was very little criticism around errors... There was always talk about effort level..."@JohnSmit123 recalls his experiences of being coached by Andy Farrell, early in his coaching career. ☘️🇿🇦https://t.co/Tm3u2ZPwdq pic.twitter.com/l3qZsx8wLR
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) November 18, 2025
"Obviously we didn’t get the performance that we wanted [against New Zealand], but the hard work that we put in, in Chicago and in the camp beforehand, we said at the time after the game that it would stand to us.
"Now, I think we’re more up to speed with international rugby, the pressures of it, the accuracy of it, and the speed of it and the fitness levels, but you’ve still got to turn up and apply all that and take your game forward to an outstanding team."
His counterpart, Rassie Erasmus, was in charming form when he spoke to the media earlier on Thursday, declaring the Springboks are "the red meat that you guys want to eat."
The South Africa coach has only won at Lansdowne Road once, and that was as a player back in 1998, with three defeats from three games coaching Munster and the Springboks the most recent of those clashes at the Aviva coming in 2022.
Erasmus (below) did defeat Ireland in the first Test of their 2024 summer series, before Ireland snatched a series draw with a dramatic win in Durban.
And Farrell expects the very best version of the world champions this weekend.
The Englishman said: "I've no doubt they've been looking at this and I suppose the closer they get to the time the more excited they get about it.
"I think they’ve dealt very well with being a team that everyone wants to try and prove their point against the best, because they want to prove a point for themselves and they’ve managed that superbly well.
"They seem to be very comfortable at where they’re sitting at the minute.
"Of course, we'll learn no matter what.
"We'll learn, but we're trying to prove to ourselves the whole time that we're taking steps forward and this will be the litmus test for where we are.
"Certainly, that's going to concentrate the mind in the next couple of months leading up to the Six Nations."
The Ireland head coach appeared frustrated on Thursday after being asked about Sam Prendergast's defensive work, having selected the Leinster out-half to start for this weekend’s final Test of the year.
The debate over who should start in the 10 shirt for Ireland has been running for just over a year now, and Farrell says he understands why the position has been a talking point for so long.
"How can I be sick [of the out-half debate], because it's going to continue," he said.
"This has been going on for 100 years in Irish rugby so it's not going to stop. I get it.
"I think the two players that we keep debating about, I said last week about the other lads (Harry Byrne, Ciarán Frawley], and we've been in contact with the other lads. So it continues the whole time.
"I get the narrative but I think we should continue to see the good in people because we've got some hell of a players and we should continue to do that across the board."
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