'We didn't win anything in November' - Ireland's next target is a trophy, says Keenan

As Hugo Keenan rightly points out, there was no silverware to show for Ireland's Autumn Nations Series form.

Andy Farrell's side may have played some exhilarating rugby in their three Test wins against Japan, New Zealand and Argentina, but there was no trophy raised and no medals handed out at the Aviva Stadium.

It's why he believes the Six Nations is a chance for this Ireland side to take the next step over the next two months, as they look to evolve from challengers to champions, and experience that winning feeling.

Of the 37-man squad announced by Andy Farrell for the opening rounds of the championship, 16 of the group arrived on the Test scene after Ireland's most recent Six Nations title in 2018.

And that figure could realistically be pushed out to 19 with neither Finlay Bealham nor Kieran Treadwell featuring in that campaign, as well as Josh van der Flier suffering a season-ending injury in the opener against France.

Although Ireland's previous four-year cycles wouldn't suggest that Six Nations success is necessarily beneficial for a good World Cup campaign, Keenan says it's the natural next step this side have to take.

"I suppose that's probably the standard that we’ve set and it’s about building upon that," the 25-year-old says.

"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 Leinster full-back has established himself as one of the first names on Farrell's teamsheet in the last couple of