Exeter, the last outpost or the latest staging post.
Ireland will be hoping that it's the latter as they plot a shock quarter-final victory over France at Sandy Park on Sunday (1pm, live on RTÉ).
For the moment it’s time to lick their wounds from the six-try rout at the hands of New Zealand.
The scoreline, 40-0, looks bad on paper and indeed, there was little in terms of positives to take from the game but it’s likely it will be quickly put to one side.
While Scott Bemand and his charges talked up their prospects before the game, it’s not hard to conclude that they always had one eye on the showdown with France.
As far back as the sides' Six Nations tie last March, Bemand even alluded to the possibility of this knockout clash coming down the line.
While being kept scoreless to a team that Ireland defeated 12 months ago will hurt as well, there is a bigger picture here.
"We were hoping for a closer contest but the reality is, to use a horse racing analogy, there are two group one horses in this race, New Zealand and England, and Canada who could be a group one horse," former Ireland hooker Bernard Jackman pointed out on RTÉ after the game.
"Then you have teams like South Africa, France and Ireland, who are trying to become group one horses.
"We came up against a team that are at a far better stage of their development, we came up short, we’re wounded but it’s not a fatal blow."
Dorothy Wall, the Ireland forward who was ruled out of the tournament with an Achilles injury, also believes the loss won’t linger.
"New Zealand is in the rear-view mirror now, it doesn’t actually matter.
"It’s all about France and what questions you can ask: where their weaknesses are and where we can capitalise?
"A tactical overview, we lost a lot of ball in physical contact.
"We’re a proud nation and we’re proud of our physicality and how we front up to these 'bigger’ nations so that will be a talking point during the week."
While the mental scars aren’t expected to hamper preparations this week, it’s about getting the bodies right.
Ireland capable of upset against familiar foe France
There are injury concerns surrounding a number of players.
Loosehead Ellena Perry, player of the match against Spain, cried off late with a knee injury but Niamh O’Dowd is one of Ireland’s most in-from forwards, while Siobhán McCarthy continues to impress off the bench.
Stacey Flood suffered a nasty cut to her foot in a collision with Grace Moore.
The full-back, with her passing range and control in the backfield, will be a huge loss if not able to recover in time.
Edel McMahon took a heavy hit before leaving the field at the start of the second half and it’s unclear if the flanker has agitated the knee issue that kept her out of the warm-up games.
Eve Higgins, who was removed after her gumshield triggered the head injury assessment protocol, looks go good to go, while Fiona Tuite and Enya Breen should come back into the mix.
But the most crucial call this week will be on Aoife Wafer (below).
The back row has missed the last six games with injury but was seen to take almost a full part of the warm-up before the Black Ferns match and gives the impression she'll be able to play some part.
There was absolutely no point in rushing her back for that pool tie but Sunday’s game is where the Six Nations player of the tournament would make a difference.
You can bet that the first question asked in tomorrow afternoon’s press conference will be about the health of the Wexford woman.
While Brittany Hogan, McMahon, Moore, Tuite and Claire Boles have been carrying the load admirably, the power, pace and psychological boost the return of the 22-year-old would bring can’t be underestimated.
Ireland have lost their last eight games to Les Bleues, who finished top of Pool D with three wins and 26 tries scored.
However, there’s a feeling, thanks to the last two contests against their Six Nations rivals, that the gap is narrowing.
In the meeting last spring, Ireland were just two points down with eight minutes left, albeit France played 20 minutes with 14 players after Gaby Vernier’s red card.
While they let loose against South Africa, scrum-half Pauline Bourdon Sansus (above) delivering a masterclass as they scored nine tries, the 24-0 win over Italy in round one was scrappy.
"With the position France are in at the moment, you wouldn’t say they are at their strongest at all," added Wall.
"They’ve looked incredibly messy some of the weeks."
Getting to grips with Bourdon Sansus is the equivalent of marking Antoine Dupont out of the game so Bemand and his coaching staff will be working on that this week.
Restricting the ammunition she can supply to the lethal backs Marine Menager and Emilie Boulard will be key to Ireland’s chances.
Ireland believe there is a big performance in them and after last weekend’s free shot, it has to come out against France.
Does Bristol beckon?
Watch Ireland v France in the Women's Rugby World Cup quarter-final on Sunday from 12.30pm on RTÉ1 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app. Listen to live radio commentary on RTÉ Radio.
