Before turning his attention to finding Eddie O'Sullivan's successor, IRFU chief executive Philip Browne paid tribute to "Ireland's most successful coach" this morning.
O'Sullivan tendered his resignation late last night, bringing down the curtain on an increasingly turbulent six-and-a-half year reign.
In a brief statement released by the IRFU, Browne stressed the need to "emphasise the high regard the IRFU has for him (O'Sullivan) and the achievements he attained during his reign in office".
"His record as Ireland's most successful coach is his proud legacy and all of us in Irish rugby are grateful to him for the many memorable moments and achievements our senior Irish players and squads attained," added Browne.
The immediate future of O'Sullivan's backroom team will be addressed during the forthcoming Six Nations review, although it is already known that the team's highly-rated strength-and-conditioning coach Mike McGurn is sought by the All Blacks and skills coach Bryan McLoughlin intends returning to his teaching job.
In the meantime, the process of recruiting a new head coach starts now. Inevitably, Heineken Cup winning Munster coach Declan Kidney is among the early favourites while Connacht's Michael Bradley is seen as another viable option should the union seek to appoint a home-grown coach.
However, there remains a train of thought that IRFU may look to bring in an experienced foreign coach with names like Jake White, Pat Howard and John Mitchell coming to the fore.
Philip Browne statement released by IRFU
"The Irish Rugby Football Union respects the decision by Eddie O'Sullivan to resign as head coach to the senior Ireland rugby team. In accepting his wish to step down, I want to emphasise the high regard the Union has for him and the achievements he attained during his reign in office.
"His record as Ireland's most successful coach is his proud legacy and all of us in Irish rugby are grateful to him for the many memorable moments and achievements our senior Irish players and squads attained to during his coaching tenure.
""I want to congratulate and thank him for that contribution to Irish rugby and to wish him every success in his future career.
"The matter of other management personnel will be dealt with as part of the Six Nations review. The IRFU will now address the vacant position of head coach."
