info@businessghana.com
Johnny Sexton wasn't wrong.
Speaking after Ireland's convincing 24-14 win over Wales on Saturday, the new captain said it was time to draw a line under the last year.
I agree. The bones of the doomed World Cup campaign have been well and truly picked over, and a new wave of Irish rugby is upon us. Let's hope we can ride that wave for another few weeks at least.
Andy Farrell will have known his players needed to step it up against the Welsh after the stuttering win over Scotland in their opener - and how they did. I was in the Aviva on Saturday and you could feel the delight in the stands as a much-improved performance gave all of us a renewed sense of optimism.
Ireland put their foot down and moved through the gears confidently over the 80 minutes. There was plenty of hard work, and no little flair either, as moments of magic from Andrew Conway and Jordan Larmour had the crowd on their feet.
Man-of-the-match CJ Stander, meanwhile, led from the front with his monumental workrate and game-changing turnovers.
Ireland's Bundee Aki and Iain Henderson helped stop Hadleigh Parkes scoring a try for Wales
The joy with which the fans bounced out of the ground will have contrasted with what will no doubt have been nervous pre-match chats. I was always confident, though, and my message to anyone asking was that Ireland would win by more than a score.
Why the optimism? Well, just look at the club form of the players going into Saturday's encounter, which may help to explain why Wales flattered to deceive after their convincing win over Italy the week before.
The Welsh provinces combined have won 17 out of 40 Pro14 games, with six bonus points. The Irish provinces, on the other hand, have won 28 from 40, picking up 22 bonus points along the way. No comparison, really, with the Irish lads consistently performing better than their Welsh counterparts.
That has to have an impact on the international stage and Saturday afternoon proved that. The Ireland players will have walked into the camp with their chests puffed out, feeding off that club buzz. They've got used to winning most weeks, so why should that change now?
As former player, I know you can't bring your 'A game' every week. But, when the majority of your players have that winning mentality, it makes you a difficult team to beat.
You normally get an extra 10% out of the Welsh lads when they pull on that famous red jersey, but that isn't going to be there week in, week out. Grinding out a Test match victory when his side aren't at their best is something Wayne Pivac and his coaching team must figure out.
In the big games, it's is all about the gain line for me. I was at the Grand Slam game at Twickenham in 2018, and the physicality Ireland brought that day was just on a different level.
Ireland need to break that gain line in attack, and stop their opposition with colossal impact tackles in defence. They were still soaking up a number of tackles against Wales, which is something to be worked on ahead of facing World Cup runners-up England in a few weeks.
Leinster's number eight Max Deegan is tipped to be a future star for Ireland
To win a Grand Slam or a Six Nations will always require that little bit of luck, and Ireland have had that two weeks in a row with Stuart Hogg and Hadleigh Parkes dropping the ball with the try line gaping. However, even if Parkes had scored that try, I still think Ireland would have won the game by seven to 10 points.
Andy Farrell's side looked like they had another gear, while Wales looked like they had given everything and had run out of ideas.
They were without key players going into the game and then lost playmaker Dan Biggar to injury, while Josh Adams was also forced off early. There was lots of endeavour, as ever, from the Welsh lads but there's no doubt the better team won.
As was the case before the Scotland match, there was still a lot of noise for John Cooney to get the nod ahead of Conor Murray at scrum-half. There's no doubt the Ulster number nine deserves a chance, but I don't believe the scoreline would have been much different if Cooney had started.
Conor's box-kicking was on point, the basics were done well, his passing was excellent and his energy around the pitch was brilliant to watch.
However, all of that is easier when your pack is destroying the opposition and you are getting that ball on a plate. Indeed, Conor could have rolled out the picnic blanket, had his tea and sandwiches and then passed the ball if he so wished, such was the quality of Ireland's possession at times.
I can understand the coaching staff going with Conor - he has that experience, has been a winner on Lions tours and has won Grand Slams. However, I have even had Munster supporters telling me that Cooney deserves to start for Ireland.
I think everyone wants to see him given a starting chance and there is no doubt he deserves it. He is certainly good enough. Farrell needs to send a message to the squad that lads playing well for their provinces will get the opportunity with Ireland.
I have always been a fan of CJ Stander and I never thought he should lose his place.
It was more that the back row needed a little bit more dynamism, and someone like Peter O'Mahony doesn't bring you that consistently at international level. He is a very good player who has other attributes in his game - many that I would have given anything for as a player - but he isn't going to give you that gain line that is so important. If only Marcel Coetzee was Irish!
However, Ireland do have young guns in the back row with huge promise, athletes who have proved themselves at club level and are starting to build stellar reputations.
Caelan Doris and Max Deegan will surely get more opportunities during this Six Nations campaign, and this should be something for every Irish fan to get excited about.
If Doris is fit to start against England then CJ might move back to six, like he did for the first game against Scotland. In saying that, it is difficult to change a winning team - especially one that gave Wales such a drumming. Roll on Twickenham.
