Warren Gatland is "not that disappointed" with Wales' heavy Six Nations loss to Ireland as he believes his side can improve in every area they are currently lacking.
Ireland lived up to their billing as pre-tournament favourites by racing into a 24-point lead by half-time at the Principality Stadium on their way to a 34-10 victory.
While Wales improved after the break, with Liam Williams' try providing some hope, Ireland never looked under any real threat and earned a first win in Cardiff since 2013.
It meant defeat for Gatland in his first game back as head coach since replacing Wayne Pivac in December, but he is trying to remain positive.
"Strangely I'm not that disappointed," he told BBC Sport. "That's because a lot of things that were disappointing are things that we can fix.
"We spoke at half-time about discipline and line speed in defence and we brought that in the second half.
"We made a slow start, gave away penalties and Ireland created momentum off that. We created opportunities that we should have taken advantage of.
"We had as many entries into the 22 as them, but they came away with points and we missed about three or four tries where we put ourselves in position to score.
"We will take a lot from this, especially the younger players. We will focus on the positives of the second half and how we put pressure on them to create chances.
"Ireland are a very good side. It shows the step up we need to take."
The world's top-ranked side Ireland made a lightning start to the contest, with Caelan Doris' try after 119 seconds his side's third-quickest in a Six Nations match.
James Ryan and James Lowe also crossed over before half-time, while Johnny Sexton added 12 points as Ireland scored 27 first-half points away at Wales for the first time.
Williams gave home supporters something to cling onto when finding a breakthrough, but he was later yellow carded and Josh van der Flier killed off the contest soon after.
Sexton appeared to be left dazed by Williams' hard hit, with concerns over a possible concussion, but Ireland coach Andy Farrell provided a positive update after the game.
"He came off with a dead leg," Farrell told reporters. "We've done a HIA test on him as well, and that's all clear so he's fine."
Ireland dropped off in the second period, but Van der Flier's try secured a bonus point for the visitors to lay down a marker ahead of France's trip to Italy on Sunday.
They have now scored four-plus tries in each of their last four Six Nations matches, their longest such run in Five or Six Nations history.
Farrell's side are aiming to go one better than last year when finishing second to France, though Hugo Keenan is not looking too far ahead.
"We are only taking things one game at a time. We won't get caught up with anything," he told BBC Sport.
"We came out and started really well today, which was really important having not won here for 10 years.
"We probably slipped off a bit in the second half so there's still plenty to work on but we're delighted to get a bonus point and start the Six Nations with a win.
"These are the occasions you want to be part of, in this stadium against a tough side. They're in transition but are always a serious team, especially here."
Springboks aiming to have 'two best teams in the world', says Esterhuizen
South Africa centre Andre Esterhuizen said that the Springboks are aiming to have "the two best teams in the world" ahead of their Autumn Nations Series clash against England.
The world champions were pushed all the way by Scotland in their narrow victory at Murrayfield on Sunday, though head coach Rassie Erasmus opted to rotate some key starting positions.
South Africa captain Siya Kolisi and flanker Pieter-Steph du Toit started on the bench, with the changes a common theme during Erasmus' seven-year tenure.
Their opening Autumn Nations Series victory also put them back on top of the world rankings after Ireland's first defeat in 19 home games by New Zealand on Friday.
"One of the good things is that everyone is getting game time now," Esterhuizen told the BBC's Rugby Union Weekly podcast.
"It is also about looking forward, you've got to be able to spare all the guys for the next World Cup and build experience into it.
"The aim is to have the two best teams in the world, all in one squad.
"We want to make it second nature for people slotting in, so if someone steps in, they can just slot in and play the same if not better than the other player."
South Africa next face England, who are yet to pick up a win this autumn, at Twickenham on Saturday.
Steve Borthwick's side suffered a narrow two-point defeat by New Zealand, before conceding an injury-time winning try to Australia on Saturday.
England have now lost each of their last four Test matches, their longest such run since losing five straight games in 2018, but Esterhuizen's former Harlequins team-mate Marcus Smith has been impressive for the Red Roses.
"It's a great space, I obviously love to play there," Esterhuizen added. "It will be great to be running at Marcus, not run off him.
"It's going to be a great match, England have played well in the last few games, it's unfortunate that it hasn't been the results that they want. I think it's going to be a big one."
The Springboks have won three of their last four matches against England (L1), including each of their last two. Three of the last five games between England and South Africa have been decided by single-point margins.
Ireland ready to respond after 'honest' New Zealand chat, says Hansen
Mack Hansen has backed Ireland to bounce back from their 23-13 defeat to New Zealand that saw their 19-game home winning streak come to an end.
The loss also saw Ireland tumble from atop the world rankings to third as the All Blacks repeated their World Cup quarter-final success from last year, and also marked New Zealand's first win on Irish soil since 2016.
Ireland had previously won 25 of their 26 home games under Andy Farrell, which was their longest run on home soil, with their latest defeat before last Friday coming against France in 2021 (13-15).
While questions have been asked of a team that have been beaten in three of their past five matches, Hansen was adamant that the mood is not dampened ahead of Friday’s visit of Argentina.
"People are always very eager to jump on you when you’re down. It’s like in South Africa, nobody gave them a hope after the first Test," said Hansen.
“And what happens? They come back and win it. That’s the best thing about this group. The outside noise is outside noise and nobody knows what goes on in here, how hard we work and how resilient we are.
"People can chat away. The people who know us know, unfortunately, it was one of those weeks [against New Zealand], but we’re ready to bounce back.”
Ireland's display was littered with errors against the All Blacks, which included 21 handling mistakes, 30 missed tackles and 13 penalties conceded at the Aviva Stadium.
But eradicating those mistakes could prove difficult when they face Argentina on Friday, who come into the encounter on the back of a 50-18 thrashing of Italy.
Ireland, however, have not lost to the Pumas since the 2015 World Cup quarter-final and have beaten them on the three subsequent occasions they have played in Dublin.
And Hansen is confident his team-mates can respond against Felipe Contepomi's side and continue their impressive run against Argentina.
“There weren’t really hard chats, just honest chats,” added Hansen on Monday's debrief.
"We came to the conclusion that it wasn’t good enough and also that it just wasn’t us.
"So this week we’re looking to right a lot of wrongs and no better place to do it then back in the Aviva in front of a home crowd."
'Brutal' Australia review exactly what England needed, says Sleightholme
Ollie Sleightholme described England's review of their late defeat to Australia as "brutal", but insisted it was exactly what the squad needed.
England had led by 12 points and then trailed by 10 in an end-to-end encounter, but Maro Itoje's 78th-minute try seemed to have settled matters by moving the hosts 37-35 ahead.
However, in the final play of the match, Len Ikitau found space and fed replacement wing Max Jorgensen, who settled the contest.
The result saw the Wallabies defeat England at the Allianz Stadium for the first time since the pool stages of the 2015 Rugby World Cup when they won 33-13, with their tally of 42 points the most they had scored away to the Red Roses.
The result was their second narrow defeat in the Autumn Nations Series after the two-point loss to New Zealand, and their fourth defeat in a row.
Sleightholme came on as a replacement and scored twice in the second half to register his first two international tries, but provided insight into what followed after the loss.
"It has been really good to chew the fat on what happened and really get a grasp of what we need to do and what needs to change," Sleightholme told BBC Sport.
"It was a brutal view and it needs to be. It was a case of getting it all out there and not shying away from any of it.
"At the end of the day we didn't get it done. It is a frustrating review and a frustrating game to look back on.
"We left some opportunities out there and we didn't nullify some of their attacks. There are a few things [to work on] in all areas."
Saturday marked the first time England have lost four Test matches in a row since 2018, when they suffered five straight defeats under Eddie Jones.
It is the fourth game in five matches that Steve Borthwick's side have fallen on the wrong side of the result during the final play.
It followed two close Tests against the All Blacks in July and a 33-31 defeat by France in their final game of this year's Six Nations.
On Saturday, England will face world champions South Africa, who defeated Scotland in their opening match of the autumn series on Sunday.
"We're testing fans' patience, testing our patience," said England's Ben Earl. "It feels like we won the game twice against Australia and then managed to lose it. Frustrating.
"Not the same old problems, different problems, but the same overwhelming feeling of another game that we've let slip. So food for thought."
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