While Andy Farrell and Ireland may have bounced back from their sobering defeat to New Zealand with a three-point win over Felipe Contepomi's Argentina, there is little doubt that for Irish fans a lingering sense of uncertainty about Ireland's performances still looms large.
That uncertainty has now been the subject of much thought by those watching on, with everything from a lack of hunger to Ireland's injury crisis receiving credit for Ireland's underwhelming performances.
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Yet despite only losing to New Zealand, there is a growing sense that Ireland are slipping further away from France, New Zealand and South Africa - something former Munster star Jean De Villiers has attributed to Andy Farrell's similarities with Eddie Jones.
The position Ireland now find themselves in, is one of stark contrast to the last four years when Ireland have been one of, if not the most consistently impressive sides in World Rugby, heading into the World Cup atop the world rankings and regaining that same position less than a year after their crushing defeat to New Zealand in the World Cup quarter-final.
Much of that consistency, however, has been delivered by a core group of Irish players who had set the 2023 Rugby World Cup as their shot to peak. With the ageing profile of Andy Farrell's side now being cast into the light for the first time by both the front-row injury crisis and the struggle to settle on Johnny Sexton's replacement, questions remain about just how much development Ireland need.
23 February 2020; Ireland head coach Andy Farrell and England head coach Eddie Jones shake hands prior to the Guinness Six Nations Rugby Championship match between England and Ireland at Twickenham Stadium in London, England. Photo by Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile Photo by Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile
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Jean De Villiers likens Andy Farrell to Eddie Jones
While both Sam Prendergast and Thomas Clarkson have already made their debuts this season, South African legend and former Munster star Jean De Villiers claimed that Andy Farrell is at risk of repeating Eddie Jones' mistakes.
Like Farrell, Jones delivered undeniable success in English rugby during the early days of his tenure but ultimately struggled to keep that going with an ageing squad and a lack of tactical adaptability.
Speaking on popular South African podcast, Boks Office, De Villiers claimed that 'end of an era' Ireland were heading down a similar path.
We’re kind of witnessing an end of an era with Ireland with those guys retiring. We’re seeing now with Farrell and we saw the same with Eddie Jones, the inability to introduce young players to that squad, whereas Rassie on the other side, we’ve had 50 players that have played for the Boks this year, which is just incredible.
So much of their talent pool is in Dublin with Leinster and when the internationals are gone, those guys get exposure, but you almost want them playing in the big games when the internationals are back and they’re not doing that.
While at a glance Ireland may seem to be heavily focused on their mainstay of experienced players, both Sam Prendergast and Thomas Clarkson have made international debuts this year, while Ulster's Cormac Izuchukwu and Leinster's Gus McCarthy are both expected to make their debuts before the end of this Autumn Series.
Couple those debuts with 23-year-old Jamie Osborne who has been nominated for World Rugby's Breakthrough Player of the Year, and Cian Prendergast who is just a year older and expected to make another Irish appearance before the end of the series and claims of a youth deficit in Ireland hold less weight.
Those debutants also only represent a fraction of the young Irish stars who embarked on a winning Emerging Ireland tour of South Africa this year, an attempt by Farrell and the IRFU to give the next generation of Irish rugby players exposure to an elite level or rugby.
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