It was met with a fair degree of scepticism at the time, but last year's Emerging Ireland tour of South Africa is ageing better than expected.
It put an enormous strain on some of the provinces, Munster and Connacht badly hit in terms of playing numbers at the time, but it's starting to bear its fruit.
When Munster's Emerging contingent returned to provide the backbone of a string win against the Bulls in October, head coach Graham Rowntree was quick to mention how his players had come home from Bloemfontein looking and acting like new people.
It's provided the springboard for Jack Crowley to become an Ireland international, while his other Muster teammates Diarmuid Barron and Calvin Nash have spoken of how Simon Easterby's tour empowered them.
For Shane Daly, the Emerging Ireland trip was about getting back into the Test picture. The versatile back won two Test caps earlier in the World Cup cycle, but a lack of gametime with Munster - and the emergence of Mack Hansen and Mike Lowry - saw him fall down a few rungs on the ladder.
"I think for me, I was maybe out of the Irish scene for the guts of 12 months before that [Emerging Ireland]," he said.
"It really put me into the spotlight, in front of the Irish coaches again and to be able to get back in. Obviously small things had changed over time that I needed to catch up on, and I came in as an older player in the Emerging Ireland set-up, which was different for me because my whole career I have always been one of the younger people in the squad."
And the 26-year-old says the biggest challenge he faced was to come out of his shell as a leader in the group.
"I think that really gave me a different experience as I was in the leadership group over there and it taught me to kind of step up and be a leader and I think that's something I hadn’t too much experience with.
"I’d normally kind of try and lead on the pitch with how I would work and things like that but this was different, I actually had to step up and speak and things like that which I would normally do in the background rather than too vocally so I learnt a lot from it and I have taken a lot into the season from it as well. It was a class experience.
"The way the game has gone, I'm not a young fella any more. You always think you are, but you look round now and there are lads playing with you who are five or six years younger than you nearly. So, that’s definitely part of my game that I’m looking to grow, part of my personality I’m looking to grow.
"I think it is something I have always done on the pitch but off the pitch as well that’s where it becomes a bit more challenging and it’s something I’m looking to push this season."
Munster's form is on the up after Sunday's smash-and-grab win against Ulster, as they welcome the Emirates Lions to Musgrave Park tomorrow night.
Daly has played a major part this season, playing every game aside from the three he missed while on Emerging Ireland duty, scoring two tries, one of which got the ball rolling in their 28-14 win against a South Africa Select XV at Páirc Uí Chaoimh.
And he says that result kickstarted their season.
"When we got back from Emerging Ireland we were a good bit down the table, our backs were kind of against the wall in here.
"There were new coaches and that was always going to come under the spotlight as well. So, as a group, we came together in that time. The Bulls game was a massive win for us and then the game I suppose that sparked everything this year was that South African fixture.
"I think that just gave us so much belief in our game-plan, it just we felt we played them off the park that day. That was an incredibly strong side and I think that was the moment really where we felt it switched it for us and we felt if we can beat them, we beat any team.
"We don't look at this year as a development or transition year, we really want to win this year and I think we are moving in the right direction, definitely."
The Corkman also believes the new style of play under Rowntree, Prendergast and Leamy is bringing out more in him as a player.
"The biggest thing for me obviously is more consistent game-time and I think that, coupled with how we are playing, that is something that has suited me a lot more than previous gameplans might have.
"Different gameplans suit different players and I think the way we are trying to play now is kind of utility backs, guys who can actually combine kicking and running and having the different skills and I think sevens is a big part of that for me as well, those type of skills.
"Those kind of things have benefitted me massively and I'm very thankful to all the coaches I’ve had along the way to get me to this point but the way we are playing now has been a big step forward for me."
