Watching Wales last Saturday was just a such a different vibe to what's come before in the last year.
To be 18-10 up against Ireland early in the second-half was brilliant. If Ellis Mee scores that try late on, it could have been a different story altogether. That's how important the small margins are in international rugby.
But, compared to what we've seen for so long, the whole performance was really good. Wales' attacking variety was good, the kicking game was better. The pods were better and the half-backs varied their options.
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It slowed the Irish linespeed down a little. They were able to ask questions of Ireland. Apart from a win, you couldn't have wished for more. I don't think anyone saw that level of improvement coming.
I suppose it showed that a lot of it is down to man management. Matt Sherratt didn't make huge changes as he simply didn't have the time to do it. But he had people playing in the positions they were comfortable with. And those that did come in to the side certainly impressed.
In the end, Ireland had to think their way to victory. Their kicking game was brilliant towards the end, with the try and the 50:22. But it was Wales' performance that forced them into the hole they managed to escape from.
I think you've got to give Ben Thomas a lot of praise as he's been played out of position. Some people had been slagging off his performances, so to step up on the weekend in the way he did was very good for him.
They played a lot around 12 and he showed what he can do as a centre at Test level, rather than being shoehorned into fly-half. Beyond him, Wales' overall approach changed. The forwards tipped on. There was variety all around.
To get that performance on the back of 14 defeats, it didn't really feel like another defeat because we were in the game. We were playing one of the world's best teams. It was a very pleasing performance.
Taulupe Faletau was once again brilliant. The set-piece was solid. I thought Max Llewellyn carried the ball well, but he also straightened up the line for Wales. He squared his shoulders and held defenders.
I still think in the next couple of weeks, they can do more in attack with their depth. At times, they were still a bit deep and they can vary their depth more. But it was a performance you can build on now, attacking-wise.
The thing against Scotland is they've got a very, very good attack themselves. They'll be disappointed that they lost against England. They created enough chances to win. Finn Russell will be smarting too from that missed kick.
So they'll want to bounce back. With the pressure on Gregor Townsend, it's become a must-win game for them. Wales will need to be on their toes defensively and front up.
But they improved their game a hell of a lot in every aspect, including defence. They looked relatively comfortable there, even if Ireland showed just how clinical they can be on the odd occasion.
Ireland have been averaging four tries a game, so the fact they only managed two is perhaps something that has gone under the radar in this Welsh performance. However, given the amount of tries Wales had shipped in the last year, this was a pleasing step in the right direction on that front too.
It just shows what a happy camp can do. Maybe it was a dour, depressing camp in the last year under Warren Gatland. But a breath of fresh air comes in and they play that brand of rugby from the off, enjoying themselves. Even before the Ireland match, I had heard that Sherratt had brought a breath of fresh air in.
Yes, it's about structures and things, but ultimately it's man management. He's putting players in the right positions with confidence. From there, they'll ultimately call the shots and make decisions based on how comfortable they are.
Sherratt has three games with Wales and he clearly wants everyone to enjoy it. It's about putting smiles on people's faces. That's what it's all about. Saturday made it 15 defeats on the bounce, but ultimately people forgot about that because there was a performance. If they'd have played like that earlier in this losing run, we'd have picked up a win somewhere - be it Fiji, Italy or even someone higher up the rankings.
Regardless of that, it was just brilliant to see Wales' players out there on the weekend looking comfortable in what they were trying to do. That was the key for me. The amount of offloads they tried - where did that come from? Blair Murray ran out of defence well from full-back.
The two wings were good. If Mee can play like that all the time and keep improving, he's going to be a right asset for Wales. Tom Rogers was very good as well.
You could see there was an enthusiasm there and the crowd got behind them. They offered something in attack. That's what was most pleasing.
That said, we can't go berserk with this one performance. What we can be now though is optimistic rather than pessimistic. We'll still go into the next two games against Scotland and England as underdogs.
However, before Saturday, we'd have gone into them thinking we'd already lost. Now, we go in thinking there's a chance. These players now believe they can win. That's the big difference after last Saturday.
Jonathan Davies hosts Jonathan at 9pm on Thursdays on S4C. You can watch every Wales game live on S4C throughout the tournament.
