RUGBY Six Nations Championship: Ireland were far too strong for Scotland in all departments. The Scottish coaches Matt Williams and Willie Anderson had clearly done their homework for this game and sent out a well-drilled team. This was particularly obvious in the first 20 minutes, when we didn't touch the ball accept when they gifted possession with four knock-ons and needless penalties.

If they didn't know already, Williams and Anderson will now be acutely aware of the limitations that come with a lack of talent. We would have been in big trouble if they hadn't repeatedly made individual, unforced errors (which you can't coach against).

The challenge facing Eddie O'Sullivan's men in Murrayfield was how to cope with the loss of key players. They rose to that challenge and were not found wanting.

In hindsight, the lacklustre performance against Italy was a blessing, as many players, especially the forwards as a unit, were under pressure to improve. They had to lift their game considerably to meet expectations and they did just that.

However, Scotland allowed us back into the contest, and once our forwards got control of the ball we settled into our own pattern and got the rolling maul going.

The strength of the maul was the major factor in the game. It also emphasised a significant size difference between the packs.

When Malcolm O'Kelly celebrated his 70th cap with Ireland's first try, the Scottish heads began to slump. Not because they had conceded a score, but because of the ease in which Ireland muscled their way over the line. This was hugely disheartening for them as the realisation of what was likely to follow would have set in.

The rolling maul causes mixed emotions: It's not very pretty but highly effective. People complain when they can't defend against it, but say little when it brings them scores. I've been happy to coach teams to use it, but I never felt it was quite a part of rugby football.

There is something illogical in a game when from an early age kids are trained to tackle the ball-carrier and knock him to the ground, but on the other hand cannot tackle a number of opposing players who are rumbling towards the try line bound together. It clearly favours the bigger packs. That wasn't the intention when pulling down a maul was made illegal - it was originally done on safety grounds.

Nevertheless, Ireland were well within the rules to employ the maul with such ruthless precision.

In the euphoria of victory we should not overlook the ease in which the Scots found gaps early on. We looked very vulnerable to their fast rucking style and we failed to come up in defence, which could have been fatal.

There were some positives, though, like seeing the unbridled joy of the players when John Hayes crossed the try line and, shortly after, when my fellow ex-Cistercian pupil Gavin Duffy got his try - the Campese-esque hitch kick forced the cover to check and gave Duffy a clear, 20-yard run in at the corner. The first of what I hope will be many tries in green for the Harlequins three-quarter.

The return of Duffy's flatmate, Johnny O'Connor, to the back row greatly improved Ireland's effectiveness at the breakdown. The whole team, in fact, were much more comfortable in this area than against Italy.

This is not surprising in view of the unreasonably short notice of rule interpretation they were afforded before the game in Rome.

Last year, before the Scottish match, I upset some people by saying we should not get so excited about the Triple Crown because of the weakness of Scotland and Wales. The real achievement last year, in my view, was the win over England in Twickenham.

Yesterday showed just how far we are ahead of Scotland and how this team should set its targets higher than previous generations.

The two lowest hurdles in the Six Nations Championship have been crossed, even if we stumbled at the first. We can look forward to the challenges ahead with hope and expectation.