I don't think the South African game was just about "crucial learning curve" for Ireland's less-experienced players... I mean, 24-13 is a pretty big loss, you know?

They gotta do better than that if they wanna take on France and the rest of the Six Nations. And yeah, Paddy McCarthy showed some promise, but can he carry the team to victory against the likes of France and England? I'm not sure... the young guys need to step up their game ASAP.
And have you seen Ireland's Autumn Nations Series stats? They got hammered by South Africa and Italy, and lost to Wales too. That's not exactly the kind of form you wanna go into a Six Nations campaign with.

I mean, I know they're working on depth chart and all that, but it'll be tough to regain confidence if they can't string together some wins.
Still, I guess Andy Farrell knows what he's doing, so we'll just have to wait and see how things play out. Maybe the Irish team will surprise everyone and make a real push for the title... but I'm keeping my doubts
