Hugo Keenan's meteoric rise was capped by his displays in Ireland's November clean sweep - but as the full-back points out, no silverware was handed out at the end of that series.
The Leinster man who has so quickly and adeptly stepped into Rob Kearney's no 15 jersey wants to earn a more tangible reward by the end of this Six Nations campaign.
"That’s probably the standard that we’ve set and it’s about building upon that," said Keenan of Ireland's impressive last block of fixtures. "We didn’t win anything in November.
"We’ve got an opportunity over the next six, eight, whatever number of weeks it is to get a bit of silverware.
"We’re obviously focusing game by game but we’ve got that goal at the end of it as a team and something to drive us towards.
“It’s good foundations but we’ve a lot to improve on and we’ve been working on those things over the last week."
The cool and collected 25-year-old has galloped through the past 18 months, winning his first cap against Italy in the autumn of 2020 and hasn't missed a game since - his 16th start came against Argentina in Ireland's last game.
“You get to know international rugby pretty quickly once you’re into it," he explained.
"It is that step up, it’s more physical, mistakes are punished, you can’t really get away with anything.
"So I think it was pretty much straight away you realise it and it’s about embracing that and just trying to, once you get a few caps, get more used to it and comfortable with it.
"It’s a testing challenge and it always will be, but I suppose that’s the beauty of international rugby. It will always be tough."
Keenan says that there has been a mental aspect from bridging the gap to Test level.
"What might have helped me was the fact there were no crowds at the start so it took that whole pressure off me," he admitted.
"It was probably easier to slowly adapt and ease my way into international rugby.
"Hopefully with a full crowd this weekend it’s going to be a bit more pressurised, that mental side of the game will be tested and trying to get the crowd behind your back and get the energy going.
"It’s got its different challenge from playing in an empty stadium but one you want to be involved in and look forward to and what you work for, to be involved in these games.
"We know Wales are going to be such a tough challenge. They obviously won it last year and whenever they put on that red jersey they just seem to go up a level.
"It will be a serious challenge but we’re looking forward to it."
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