Ireland were well beaten in Cardiff today but former Connacht captain Gavin Duffy reckons Joe Schmidt's side will see go further than Wales come the World Cup.
Gavin, who was joined by ex-Munster centre Denis Hurley in the Off The Ball studio to discuss the 23-16 defeat, admitted it was a "deflating" loss as there was "high hopes of a Grand Slam ... but it just goes to show how hard it is to win all five game in this competition".
"As bad as Scotland (Ireland's final opponents) are, under Vern Cotter you'd thing they can only improve," he said. "'Deflating' is the word.
"Wales were incredibly physical and competitive at the breakdown. They just counter-rucked every single breakdown. That just wore Ireland out at the end."
He added: "I still fancy Ireland to go further than Wales in the World Cup."
Denis thought the breakdown was a key area in Wales' victory. He said: "I think we got the battle we were expecting. It's the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff. We were the team to be beaten.
"I'm sure [Wales head coach Warren] Gatland's had plenty of stuff on the walls of their dressing-room. The first 20 minutes you could see they really were hungry for it.
"I thought the breakdown was an area we most have a bit of positive out of ... it was just hugely contested at the breakdown. It was one of those days from the start."
Denis is also against making changes against Scotland the next day. "It's about creating a team [Schmidt] feels is going to be winning games," he said.
But Gavin has other ideas: "I definitely think Sean Cronin deserves a start," said the Mayo man. "Cian Healy coming back will add something ... even Iain Henderson - mix it up a bit."
Listen to the discussion here:
Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!
Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.
