That they managed to shake off their failure to get past the quarter-finals once again last year was perhaps not such a surprise, but the way they so seamlessly and effortlessly transitioned into life without Sexton is.

Sexton was their everything for a century. He was their captain. He was their tactical general. He was their beating heart – the man whose relentless desire to win and be better drove everything around him.

For over 15 years he was Ireland’s most influential figure and yet they bid him farewell that evening in Paris, released a few youngsters at Number 10 in February and continued to win the Six Nations Before drawing a two-Test series in South Africa.

It just hasn’t been a big deal for them to move on and, if anything, their rugby in 2024 has had a clearer attacking edge than last year. The fact that Ireland have managed to retain all their attacking complexity and continue to win without Sexton is a tribute to the strength of their entire rugby system.

This is probably proof that they are the best organized rugby nation in the world – that they have a way of doing things so ingrained and so easy to understand that they can lose the best number 10 they have ever had and four months later playing attack. equally effective rugby.

Asked how he thought Ireland had transitioned to playing without Sexton, All Blacks assistant coach Jason Holland said: “I think really good.

“They have a few 10-year-olds stepping up. They’ve obviously been around for a long time, inside and out, but they’ve become embedded in the way Ireland plays and they understand winning football and Ireland plays winning football.

“I think they made the transition very well. There are some pretty senior guys in and around 10 to 12 and 13 and Jamison (Gibson-Park) at 9 has been around for a while. The transition seems pretty smooth from what I’ve seen.

“I think they are still evolving with their coaching staff. They always have something new.

“You always have to prepare for something a little bit new in what they do, but the bulk of what they do around their form of attack and the way they defend is very similar; but they are obviously trying to improve. Their attack is lively, the hard lines are difficult for teams to defend.

And that’s why there’s a much bigger story at stake in Dublin, as the All Blacks have also lost their number 10 who started in the World Cup quarter-finals, but aren’t finding it as easy to make the transition to life without Richie Mo’unga.

There was a time, not so long ago, when the All Blacks had enough depth at almost every position to have confidence in their succession planning.

And that included the front five, like in 2013, when they lost Dan Carter, Aaron Cruden and Beauden Barrett to injury at the same time and threw Colin Slade and Tom Taylor into action without missing a beat.

But in 2024, unlike Ireland, they had no ready-made youngster like Jack Crowley to throw into the breach and questions must be asked about what happened to New Zealand’s famous production line and whether, as a rugby nation, Ireland are ahead.

As Ireland looked to the next generation, the All Blacks worked with the Damian McKenzie, 29, and Beauden Barrett, 33.

So far, neither has proven to be a breakout success. Both have their qualities and both have had their moments this year, but at the moment no one would bet on either being the All Blacks number 10 at the next World Cup.

And so far neither have really been able to deliver exactly what the coaching group was looking for and again, unlike Ireland, the All Blacks haven’t been able to build and evolve their attacking game compared to last year.

New Zealand’s problems in consolidating the levels achieved at the World Cup are not limited to finding a new number 10.

They have brought in an essentially new group of coaches and management and perhaps some of the difficulties in finding their offensive flow this year have more to do with that than the respective qualities of the No. 10s.

There are clearly emerging talents and signs that the system is not broken like Wallace Sititi arrived in the test arena junior ranks and enjoyed huge success.

But it is an obviously imperfect system because it has not been able to produce a few young 10s who seem ready to pass the test level.