Let's give credit where credit is due

As the players assembled in the home dressing-room over an hour before kick-off, Peter Stringer stood up from his seat, looked down at his jersey, chuckled and sat down again. Then he stood up and chuckled again. Then he did it once more.

Surprisingly, Keith Wood recalls that instant as one of the highlights of the day. For him it showed the exuberance of youth, the hint of fearlessness with which the young blood had infused the team. And it just made him chuckle as well.

There were other cherished memories from the day that was in it. For many within the Irish set-up it was the reception accorded the so-called gentle giant John Hayes when he was substituted. For Wood there was Shane Horgan's face nearby as the final whistle went.

Tellingly, for Donal Lenihan, it was also Horgan scoring on his debut after witnessing first-hand the trauma visited upon Horgan in the 48 hours before the match. Horgan's travail only helped to further strengthen the squad's spirit, which has somehow remained intact despite the flak from outside.

For all of them, there are so many tangibles to take from the game. Aside from contributing to Ireland's highest ever points total in the championship's history, of the 19 capped players who contributed to the win, it was, for all of them, a first ever-win over Scotland; for eight of them it was a first ever championship win at Lansdowne Road, and for six of them it was the first of any hue.

While for Wood himself it was his 10th Irish try (he's within seven of Brendan Mullin's record), and the second, hopefully, of many for Brian O'Driscoll, for David Humphreys there was a first try in 23 Tests and for Malcolm O'Kelly a first try in 21 Tests.

For the five new caps, there were no monkeys on their backs and now they only know what it's like to win. Whether or not they go on to have careers any way comparable with Mullin, Michael Bradley, Willie Anderson and Philip Matthews, there are at least shades of Mick Doyle's new crop of '84 who announced their arrival against Mark Ella's Wallabies.

Ireland can now look ahead to the Italian game with both a win and a good performance under their belts. In the short-term the benefits of Saturday are increased in that it removes the threat which had hung over Warren Gatland's head up until 4.00 that day. It wouldn't have been healthy to have a change of coach in mid-championship and at short notice. In the longer-term, too, a newish, younger and remodelled team can now move on with that rare commodity in Irish teams - self-belief. Given three of Saturday's five new caps had originally been included in an enlarged senior squad prior to the English game, the decision to keep some of the new caps back for a home debut against Scotland rather than a more imposing one at Twickenham has been rewarded.

Credit, too, to the management, and especially Gatland, for the homework done on the Scots. Gregor Townsend was clearly targeted, with an emphasis on filling the channel inside the inventive Scottish out-half where he offloads reverse passes to target runners. So well primed was the Irish defence that Wood nearly made a clean intercept and could rib Townsend later that he would have but for the pass being so shoddily low.

Bad and all as Scotland were, to some degree they were made to look that way. Yet in some of the post-match analysis and comment, credit and praise for what was a fine performance in difficult circumstances seemed grudging. And when it was applied to the management, Eddie O'Sullivan was the main beneficiary with Gatland and Donal Lenihan being denied nearly all credit, as part of an agenda which wants O'Sullivan as head coach yesterday. You couldn't even call it a hidden agenda.

Even the decisive and masterful substitution of Ronan O'Gara with David Humphreys was presented as an O'Sullivan call, as if the head coach alongside him in the West Stand was a tailor's dummy. Presumably Gatland's vocal cords still work during games and the tactical substitution was given his imprimatur. That substitution was a joint decision by the management.

O'Sullivan's contribution has obviously extended to the selection process and has clearly been a positive one, as evident in the pre-interval move practiced in training which saw Shane Horgan ghost in between the Scottish centres onto Ronan O'Gara's sweetly delivered miss-pass into space. As a a technically well-regarded coach, hopefully there'll be more where that came from.

However, if Gatland, as head coach, should carry most of the can for the wickedness of Twickenham, then why is a similar criterion not applied to Lansdowne Road on Saturday? Frankly, this debate isn't even healthy, and if allowed to fester can only succeed in driving a wedge between the two men and, by extension, within the playing squad.

As with the players, no less than the assistant coach, both the coach and the manager deserve a bit of slack after Saturday. It would be fair to say that they've taken some convincing about, say, Horgan, O'Gara and Peter Stringer, and the latter's inclusion owes as much to Declan Kidney's faith in the player.

But it was they who invested in Hayes when at times few others would have, and it was they who invested in Kieron Dawson before the World Cup to widespread raising of eyebrows. That faith in Dawson as the best authentic Irish openside of Test standard, possibly since Nigel Carr in the mid-80s, has been rewarded, for on Saturday Dawson looked just that - again.

Question marks remain and much sterner tests lie ahead, for Hayes' scrummaging and the pack's durability over 80 minutes. Then there is the question of the midfield defence, the best outside three combination and concern about Ireland's inability, heretofore, to play to their potential when strong favourites (as they will be on Saturday week) and to string two performances in a row together.

If, or when, this Ireland team crack that, then they'll have taken another step forward.