Ireland began their Six Nations defence in a emphatic fashion last weekend, hammering France in Marseille in their championship opener.
It was a game that many expected them to lose, with it being expected that the French would be keen to put in a big performance on the back of their disappointment at a home World Cup last autumn. However, it was the visitors that played all of the rugby en route to a 38-17 victory.
Ireland now look like big favourites to win a second consecutive Grand Slam over the coming weeks.
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Ex-Wales star has question about Ireland's Six Nations squad
At the start of a new World Cup cycle, teams often opt to completely rejuvenate their squad.
That is certainly the case for Wales, who have named a very young squad for this year's Six Nations. England also included five uncapped players in the matchday squad for their victory over Italy last weekend.
In contrast, Andy Farrell has largely opted to continue with the pool of players that have brought the team so much success over the last three years or so. That includes a number of squad members that are now heading towards their mid-30s.
Speaking to Planet Rugby, former Wales and Lions prop Adam Jones admitted he was intrigued to see that Ireland were continuing to pursue 'short-term success' during this year's Six Nations.
Ireland are looking for short-term success. They want to retain their title and have resisted change and potential long-term success by focusing on the short term, so their changes reflect this.
On the other hand, Italy are looking to deliver tries and are taking risks in attack, but the upside of that is if it pays off, it could lead to a big upturn further down the road, but there’s also a need to get their core basics of currency- their tight five- right.
Ireland learned a lot from France, and the quality of newbies Jack Crowley and Joe McCarthy showed how the evolution of this team is still on the upslope.
That continuity that their system provides allows real cohesion to be taken into the test arena, and the other sides tend to need a match or two to catch up with the systems Andy Farrell takes from Leinster into the early stages of the competition.
Ireland have introduced some fresh blood into the side for this Six Nations, with Joe McCarthy, Calvin Nash, and Jack Crowley all impressing in Marseille last week. In saying that, decisions such as appointing Peter O'Mahony as captain show that they are keen to stay the course with this group for the time being.
It will be interesting to see if this route of squad development proves to be the correct one for Andy Farrell over the next few years.
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