Whether it be their failure to score a third try just before half-time when leading 13-0, a lost line-out at the end, or the officials' failure to take action over an alleged bite on Aoife Wafer, Ireland's World Cup quarter-final exit at the hands of France was littered with 'what ifs?' for the beaten side.
Looking to beat France for the first time since 2017 - and reach the last four of the global showpiece for the first time since 2014 - Ireland will feel they had the game in their grasp at Sandy Park only to let it slip in a second half during which they conceded 18 unanswered points.
Yet, when the dust settles, a side who did not even qualify for the last edition of the tournament and were whitewashed in the Six Nations as recently as 2023, will surely view the past four weeks as further progress.
"I'm really proud of the group and where they've come from in the two years," said head coach Scott Bemand in the immediate aftermath of the defeat in Exeter.
"You think a year ago that the group might have felt the occasion more, but I could see it in the eyes of the players when they stepped off the bus... our group don't get daunted by that any more. They get excited by it."