Dan Sheehan says Ireland must reflect honestly and develop the right mentality to compete with world rugby's top sides after a 40-21 loss to New Zealand in Auckland brought a frustrating season to a close.
The defeat, Ireland's first of the Nations Championship, ended a six-game winning streak that had been built since a heavy Six Nations opening loss to France in February. It compounded a difficult run against elite opponents that also included defeats to New Zealand and South Africa last November.
Sheehan, captaining in the absence of the injured Caelan Doris, was particularly stung given Ireland had targeted ending New Zealand's 32-year unbeaten record at Eden Park. "A bit frustrated because we were really pumped up coming into this game, the opportunity to play on Eden Park was one that I don't know if we will ever get back," he said.
The tour itself included wins over Australia and Japan, but Sheehan was clear-eyed about the bigger picture. "It's probably not the season that we really wanted. We saw improvements at times but if we want to be serious about going on and really pushing world rugby standards, we need to be better."
He was equally clear that injuries to key personnel were not a valid excuse. "The calibre of player we have is unbelievable, the amount of experience we have, we just need to get it out of each other."
Ireland's next Nations Championship tests come in Dublin in November, where they host Argentina, Fiji and South Africa — the last of those a direct reprise of last November's defeat.