After some optimism about a potentially rejuvenated Ireland team ahead of the Six Nations, the tournament has quickly developed into a disaster for Andy Farrell's side.
Defeats in their opening games against Wales and France leave them with little to play for the coming weeks. It is also the first time that Ireland have lost their first two games in the tournament since 1998.
What's more, the team's style of play has hardly taken the required steps forward. They still struggle to show any real sort of inventiveness in attack.
That will certainly be the main area of concern, especially when they have been under a new coaching ticket for well over a year.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland earlier today, former Ireland international Paddy Wallace said that the team have shown very little evolution under Andy Farrell.
There was a lot of talk after the World Cup that Ireland needed to develop their style of play. They were found wanting against a really exciting Japanese team. That evolution hasn't really occurred yet.
I think given the Covid restraints on Andy being able to put his stamp on the team, he hasn't really had a great deal of time with the squad and it's a couple of weeks here and a couple of weeks there, it's very hard to see that evolution.
At the moment, you can see it in the stats of yesterday's game. The offload count 11-3 in France's favour really sums it up because Ireland had more possession, France had to make more tackles.
Ireland had an extra 40 carries and from those 40 carries, they're still almost 10 short on the offload count. That would be the worry, their ability to promote the ball and play with a bit more flair and get on the front foot is a wee bit lacking in comparison to the French, certainly yesterday...
Signs of progress? It's very difficult to judge given the bare bones almost of that Irish team going out against a team that I picked to win the championship - the French who seem to have really got their act together.
Ireland will now soldier on for the remainder of the Six Nations, where they are in real danger of putting in a historically bad showing. The game against Italy aside, they still face two difficult tests in a trip to Scotland and the visit of England.
The last time Ireland failed to beat any of England, France, Scotland, or Wales came in 1998, with that record very much under threat this year.
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