Stacey Flood admits Ireland's World Cup qualification failure will hurt more once the finals come around in October.
Flood, who was the side's no 10 in the fateful qualifying series last September in Parma, relieved some of the pain as part of the Ireland 7s side that reached the final of the Seville Series recently - where they lost in the last minute to Austria.
"It was kind of surreal," said Flood. "Looking back, I’m wondering how we lost that final, camping in their 22 for a long time.
"But obviously it’s huge for our team to make a final and sing that anthem - you only get to do it if you make the final.
"It was brilliant to do that and know we can take that next step and make quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals and come away with a medal.
"I feel it (the World Cup) will always be a sore spot because you're missing out on something so big.
"When the World Cup is on this year, it will hurt the most.
"But it's really, really exciting times for this squad now. For 15s and 7s.
"It's starting a new leaf and starting a new chapter. Building towards something bigger now. It's just about looking forward, training and playing hard."
She hopes for a similar feeling in the upcoming Six Nations championship, with Ireland intent on making a statement after the shock of losing to Spain and Scotland in those qualifiers.
"100%, we always go out to win," said the 25-year-old.
"Hopefully with a new start we can push on now and get a few wins on the board, like we did in Seville."
The build-up for the Six Nations will begin in a couple of weeks under new management, with Greg McWilliams the new head coach and Niamh Briggs now on board.
At the start of her career, Flood actually played in an Olympic 7s qualifier with Briggs.
She has a rake of experience and having such good kicking technique as well, it’ll be great to get a few pointers from her," said Flood.
"For her to share her knowledge with me - especially having played at 10 - will be great, so I’m looking forward to that and getting into 15s as well.
"Having her in is really, really good for the team. It’s also really good to see a woman who is coaching come in.
"That’s another star above her head because she knows how women think and it is different.
"She’ll have come from playing with experience and with a sense of how people are feeling.
"It’s great to have that leadership as well, hopefully new leaders within the team grow into that role too."
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Irish rugby stars Hugo Keenan and Stacey Flood have been unveiled as Energia’s new rugby ambassadors and will represent their multiple rugby partnerships from grassroots right through to the international stage. This season Energia is helping fans play their part and learn about how to be more sustainable and environmentally conscious through its Ireland’s Greenest Fan campaign.
