It's only five and a half weeks ago that Andy Farrell sat in the Stade de France media room and delivered a scathing assessment of Ireland's Guinness Six Nations opener in Paris.
He gave a cutting analysis of the 36-12 loss to the eventual champions, saying his side lacked the right "intent" and "fight" that was required at the top level.
If that was the public message he was delivering, one can only imagine what was said behind closed doors.
It was a line in the sand performance, and after Ireland’s championship came to an excellent conclusion on Saturday with a 43-21 win against Scotland to win the Triple Crown, the Ireland head coach was asked to bring us back to that night in Paris, and offer a window into his mood.
"I've had media training," he joked, before adding that he simply told his players "the truth" about their performance.
Whatever was said, it worked. Ireland reeled off four wins in a row, including a record away victory against England, and saving their best performance for last as they swatted aside the pressure to win the Triple Crown at home to the Scots.
His questioning of the intent and fight were the lines that jumped out from his post-match comments in Paris, but when the cameras were turned off Farrell spoke in a second huddle with the traveling Irish writers, and it was here he started to set the wheels in motion, to turn crisis into opportunity.
"That has to stand to us down the line," he added after the French defeat. And so it did.
With a World Cup just 18 months down the track, Farrell will be feeling a lot better about the direction of travel for this team than he may have been a few months ago.
It hasn’t necessarily been a breakout campaign for young stars, but it’s been a formative one for inexperienced players, who will be pushing for inclusion at the World Cup next year.
On Saturday, he smirked at the irony of 28-year-old Rob Baloucoune winning the BKT Rising Player award, but in the last few weeks the Ulster wing has won as many Ireland caps as he had in the previous four years.
Tom O’Toole (27, below) has put his hand up as a Test level loosehead prop, showing the versatility that may well have him pencilled into a World Cup squad already.
Nick Timoney (30) played every game and brought ferocity off the bench, and as a result, Josh van der Flier has found some of his best form again.
Stuart McCloskey (33) was Ireland’s player of the tournament, making six try assists and playing every minute, while on the younger side of the squad, Jamie Osborne started every game at full-back, scoring four tries and moving up to 15 Test caps.
In terms of selection, Farrell has undeniably widened the net, with 35 players featuring across the championship, the largest in his seven campaigns as head coach, while 11 of those were getting their first taste of Six Nations rugby.
Strengthening that depth and securing a second place finish and a Triple Crown, while doing it without Andrew Porter, Paddy McCarthy, Jack Boyle, Ryan Baird, Mack Hansen, Robbie Henshaw and Hugo Keenan, makes for a decent championship, all things considered.
"We've talked about it in the changing rooms, people have had to grow in this competition," Farrell said.
"The lads who've had a sniff of it, who've not necessarily played today, it's up to them to keep on competing as well, to show us that they've learned some lessons and everyone is fighting for a seat on the plane.
"You've got to try and understand what it is that we're trying to get to and what it is that we're trying to achieve.
"If you look at it like that, there's five more chances [Test windows] to do that, so they come pretty quick and fast as far as that's concerned."
And the Ireland head coach insists his belief never wavered after the chastening defeats to South Africa and France, which preceded the Triple Crown run.
"We put the pressure on ourselves. That's something internally that we were chasing down as well.
"That's five trophies in five years. I think it's the great side of the 70s from Wales, who have done that last and what a special side that was.
"It's something that we're trying to make sure that we're continuing to do, put pressure on ourselves and deliver when it matters to us. That was why we were able to put that type of performance in.
"Remember, we've been to these days before, the last day, and not really performed at our best, even if we had won. So that's a step in the right direction."
With the Six Nations now over, Farrell is due to sit down with the IRFU and discuss his future beyond 2027.
Out of contract after the World Cup, Farrell has been the subject of rumours linking him with his former club Saracens.
He’s been coaching Ireland for 10 years already, with six of those as head coach.
And the evidence of this championship is that his ability to get a tune out of this squad remains as strong as ever.
"You know that I love this," he replied, when asked if he would like to extend his tenure beyond 2027.
"There's all sorts of stuff that needs to be talked about, I've no doubt.
"I will have a conversation. We've already spoken about having a conversation. That won't be too far away. So, we'll see how that goes."
