Nothing dramatically changed and no one need go for a long sit down trying to piece together how things currently stand in the international game.
What's been clear since late 2016, but strongly reiterated in the last few months, is that there is no discernible gap in ability between New Zealand, Ireland and England.
All three have played each other since November and all three tests were effectively determined by which team was able to convert the few opportunities they made on the day.
For some reason Wales aren't being credited with being on the same level when they probably are and South Africa, while striving for consistency, have shown they are good enough to beat the best.
There are five teams capable of beating each other and five teams capable, maybe, of winning the World Cup this year.
World Rugby should, understandably, be loving this state of affairs as interest in the World Cup will be at unprecedented levels given the uncertainty about how things might play out.
But between now and the tournament kicking off in September, World Rugby also needs to make up its mind whether it is willing to go to war with test coaches and fix the biggest scourge in the game right now.
England's defensive performance on the weekend was incredible but it was also built on a platform of illegality.
Their defensive line was rarely, if ever, set behind the hind-most body part and while they did bring genuine linespeed, they were also guilty of regularly jumping the gun and rushing at Ireland before the ball had been released from the breakdown.
As a result Ireland's brilliant Johnny Sexton was shut out of the game and the home side couldn't build any flow or momentum with their attack.
Ireland's defence was set up with similar disregard to the offside line and while the game was high quality and thunderous, it was built on a lie and the contest could have had an entirely different outcome if the officials had forced both teams to defend legally.
If England had been penalised early and consistently, Ireland may have not only picked up easy points, they would have had an extra metre in which to work before defenders were in their face and that may have been all they needed to create more try-scoring opportunities.
England were good enough to still conjure tries despite Ireland being offside most of the game, but how many more could they have scored if they too had been granted more time and space?
And what happened in Dublin was hardly an isolated instance of teams pushing the boundaries.
Every major team does it. The All Blacks, Springboks, Wales, France, Scotland and the Wallabies are all just as bad and they do it mostly because they can.
They do it, because officials don't stop them from creeping and going early and so big tests, almost without exception in the last 12 months, have been dominated by defence.
There is no space on the field, no time for the playmakers to work their magic and this would all be fair enough if it was happening legally, but it's not.
It's too easy for teams to decide to smother their opponent and then live off the mistakes that are inevitably made.
Officials have opted out of policing one of the most important aspects of the game and World Rugby, prone to making blanket directives about what they want to see from officials, surely has to see getting players back onside as the highest priority ahead of and obviously at the World Cup.
If a stance is taken to punish offenders, it won't take long for coaching groups to tell their players to back off and for the fear of being penalised to outweigh the desire to push the law.
And it really needs to happen so tests at the World Cup have a little more room to breathe and a better prospect of being won by attacking genius.
