Ireland showed great character against South Africa but have much to work on ahead of the Six Nations opener in February / © AFP
Ireland's final Autumn Nations Series Test the 24-13 loss to South Africa, a "mad" match according to Irish head coach Andy Farrell, gives the hosts much to ponder ahead of the daunting Six Nations opener against France in Paris.
AFP Sports picks out three key takeaways for Ireland and Farrell after defeats to the Springboks and New Zealand, eventually seeing off Japan comfortably and a record win over Australia:
Fly-half debate unresolved
Both Sam Prendergast and Jack Crowley were in the sin bin at the end of what Farrell termed a 'chaotic' first-half, which left the Irish without a specialist fly-half.
Ireland are a long way from resolving who is the undisputed first choice fly-half with Sam Prendergast (R) contesting it with Jack Crowley / © AFP
That rather sums up the overall picture two years out from the Rugby World Cup as neither of them has nailed down the undisputed first choice spot for the pivotal position.
Both Crowley and Prendergast are talented playmakers but have yet to show they can take a game by the scruff of the neck as their two legendary predecessors Ronan O'Gara and Johnny Sexton did so regularly.
Filling such huge boots and meeting the very high expectations of Irish rugby fans would be daunting for anyone.
Whilst Prendergast has a plentiful box of tricks Crowley is more assured in defence -- the Munster man produced two brilliant examples towards the end of the Springbok match.
Prendergast's perceived weakness in defence is a sore point with Farrell, who took exception to what he called "loaded questions" about the Leinster playmaker's technique and body position ahead of Saturday's match.
Discipline is key to success
Saturday's match and the record number of cards -- four yellow and one 20-minute red -- for an Irish side can hopefully for them be put down as an aberration.
However, it does not augur well for when they next come under significant and constant pressure -- two of their cards came close to half-time when the 'Boks were all over them -- inside their 22 and France will have taken note.
The Irish can ill afford to be as undisciplined as they were against the South Africans if they are to remain a rugby force / © AFP
Ill discipline has was a feature during last season's inconsistent Six Nations campaign and in the November Tests.
Farrell acknowledged that his team had been their own worst enemy at times against the Boks.
"A few stupid errors from ourselves playing the ball through the ruck, and I think with three offside penalties," he said.
The positive to take from the chaos is that even down to 12 the Irish did not crack and indeed 'won' the second-half 6-5 as their defence held firm against waves of attacks.
"Going down to 12 men, how the lads came out and showed the bottle for the country, certainly in that first 10 minutes of that second half, it was absolutely amazing," said Farrell.
Stars on the wane
"These two Tests will either show that the Irish are reinvigorated or that this team has run its course," former Ireland fullback Hugo MacNeill told AFP ahead of the 46-19 win over Australia a week ago.
However, what was a record victory for the Irish over the Australians came against a far from vintage Wallabies outfit.
Ireland centre Bundee Aki (R) is one of several Irish stars whose decline has been exposed in the Autumn Nations Series / © AFP
The Springboks, still at the top of their game and the undisputed number one team in the world, exposed not only deficiencies in the Irish side but that several players, who had been among their most reliable performers, may indeed have run their course.
Chief among them is Bundee Aki: the powerful breaks that lit up the 2023 Six Nations and then the World Cup -- leading to him being nominated for world player of the year -- appear now to be beyond his 35-year-old legs.
The 68-times capped New Zealand-born centre, who was a replacement against Australia, made just four metres from seven carries.
Question marks must hover also over British and Irish Lions prop Andrew Porter and his fellow Lion and Leinster teammate Jack Conan.
Porter is dynamic round the pitch but when under pressure in the scrum falls foul of the referees -- he was penalised on several occasions in the 2023 World Cup quarter-final defeat and yellow-carded on Saturday.
At 33, Conan also appears to be showing his age. He was unable to match the dynamism shown by Ryan Baird against the Springboks when the latter limped off and the back row is one area where Farrell has plenty of options.
