From not getting to the 2021 World Cup, to missing out on the 2025 semi-final by a score, Ireland have made some progress.
They came so close in yesterday's 18-13 defeat to France, they could almost touch it.
It would have set up a semi-final against an England outfit on a seemingly inexorable date with destiny.
But it would also have guaranteed two more weeks at the tournament and a shot at the podium at Twickenham on 27 September.
"We were 100% targeting London so I'm just disappointed for everyone," said centre Aoife Dalton after the game.
Just over two years ago the team were reeling after a wooden spoon Six Nations campaign.
"From where we were back in Dubai two years ago, it's just chalk and cheese," the 22-year-old said of her side’s journey.
"I'm heartbroken that we won't be together for the next few weeks.
"The girls, it just feels like we are so close. It's raw now."
It’s a bittersweet feeling that they will have to live with for the next while.
They gave their all, overcame injuries to star players and a captain, and still came up short.
All, this time, was just not good enough to end an eight-game losing streak against the French.
The higher you reach, the tighter the margins become.
After establishing a 13-0 lead from a near flawless first half, Scott Bemand’s side still led 13-8 when they went looking for more, pressing hard in the French 22.
Twelve minutes left. Turning point. Turnover. Game over.
The France team that goes coast-to-coast in a flash showed up.
🇫🇷 15-13 🇮🇪
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) September 14, 2025
Joanna Grisez has put France ahead for the first time - can Ireland get back on track?
📺https://t.co/VgKAMJ3KiK
📱https://t.co/5qlo8jlV8C #RTESport pic.twitter.com/AOYENqTuKw
An incredible 35-phase passage at the end of a wind-assisted first half that came up short came back to haunt Ireland.
"It hurts," said an emotional Eve Higgins. "We definitely had opportunities to win that game.
"At the end of the first-half, not getting points on the board..."
Bemand could see in real time where they fell short.
"They kept managing to get pressure on our first pass," he said.
"There’s a bit of smarts that as we grow, get more experiences, start to understand how we can keep taking inches.
"It was a significant moment. We do rue the end of that first half."
Analyst Lindsay Peat understood the deflation of her former team-mates but was also able to give a sober assessment.
She said: "Our evolution has to be tactically... we had no Plan B today.
"Plan A worked to perfection in the first half... when we got into phase after phase, we didn't have a Plan B."
🇫🇷 15-13 🇮🇪
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) September 14, 2025
Joanna Grisez has put France ahead for the first time - can Ireland get back on track?
📺https://t.co/VgKAMJ3KiK
📱https://t.co/5qlo8jlV8C #RTESport pic.twitter.com/AOYENqTuKw
They’ll kick themselves when they see the stats: 66% territory, 65% possession.
France conceded 17 penalties and had three players in the bin.
A citing officer late on Sunday decided that they have a case to answer about an alleged bite on Aoife Wafer.
It will be no comfort for Ireland should a committee deem France should have been permanently reduced to 14 shortly into the second half.
Les Bleues had to make 273 tackles to Ireland’s 105.
Dalton was aware that regret is on the way.
"All week we believed that we really had the capabilities to go out and do it so it's just really disappointing from that side considering how close the game was," she said when asked if the French were there for the taking.
Much was made of how Ireland were closing the gap on France over the last three years in particular.
The losing margins went from 50 points to 21 to 12.
Yesterday, there was just five in it.
"I think our green wave is growing but also the number of players we have competing is growing, and I think the gap is shortening throughout all," said Stacey Flood, who scored Ireland’s second try.
"Even last week, a few scores at the end of that [New Zealand] game make it a different game.
"And I think the more we grow rugby in Ireland, the more girls that are competing, we'll keep closing those gaps.
"And you can see the uptake in numbers and what it is doing for the country. And I think more young girls playing, even young boys playing, will get the snowball even more and that’s what we're about.
"We didn't get the performance we wanted or the result we wanted today, but we've inspired so many young girls to go take up a rugby ball, and that's exactly what our team want to do.
"So that means, in four years' time, there's more people competing for a green jersey. We're definitely going to close the gap even more."
There's solace in knowing that they died with their boots on, while regret will linger when the bodies recover.
'Not scoring in the second half - we needed to put points on the board'
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) September 14, 2025
Eve Higgins speaks to us after that gutting defeat to France
📺https://t.co/VgKAMJ3KiK
📱https://t.co/5qlo8jlV8C #RTESport pic.twitter.com/X9PXZbNjDo
But Flood's comments were echoed by Higgins.
Eight years ago, the home World Cup was supposed to be a building block but it was made of sand.
This time, they believe, the legacy will be a firm foundation for the next green wave to come.
"I'm hearing back home about the impact this has had, I’ve heard multiple stories of young girls starting to play rugby because they are watching us on TV," she said.
"Yeah, this is going to be huge for us."
