We have already seen it with South Africa at this tournament as injuries to long-established stars of a team are forced out through injury, allowing younger men to infuse the team with new energy and start to build reputations of their own.

For all that every Irish rugby supporter would have been horrified by the injuries they suffered at the weekend, you wonder whether the new responsibility Iain Henderson, in particular, will have to take on could mean there is an upside to what has happened.

He is a very different player from Paul O’Connell, the departed captain, but is another very hard man who could be another Irish great, while Ian Madigan, who replaced Jonny Sexton, Europe’s best stand-off of the past few years, also brings a different, more attacking dimension to Ireland’s play.