Firstly, it was crucial for Ireland to beat Scotland. I thought Ireland would win, based simply on the fact that they absolutely had to. If the changes the selectors made had not worked then Irish rugby was in serious trouble.

It was clear that Ireland were nervous for the first 20 minutes and in that phase allowed Scotland to settle into the match. Having conceded early scores and come back, the team then gained confidence and ultimately played very well.

The pack performed and were strong while the scrum was good and seemed to have few problems. What it did very effectively was to negate any ball that the Scottish back row might have won. The greatest threat Scotland had to offer was quick loose ball to Gregor Townsend. Kenny Logan's try in the first half was an example of that.

In this respect Kieron Dawson did a lot of good work in preventing the Scottish getting quick ball. Dawson, in fact, had a great game. Not only was he covering the park but he was making some good hits as well. That's the second big game he has played for Ireland, which is very positive for the team.

Simon Easterby and Anthony Foley were both strong and the combination of the back row was good. Foley performed well, the Scottish really playing into his hands in trying to play him tight. He's very good at that, knocking guys over, and he did a lot of worthwhile work.

Peter Stringer was excellent at scrum-half. His delivery was first class. It was the best delivery from a scrum-half I have seen in a very long time in Ireland and his passing certainly gave the outside backs a lot more room to work with.

Ronan O'Gara had a nervous debut. He was pushing up far too quickly in attack and was missing the passes, which were actually going behind him as he tried to get up. One of the things he did do very well, though, was that he brought up the defence line. That closed the Scots down quite well. Obviously the backs had spent some time since the English game closing up their defence.

David Humphreys, when he came on, was excellent. Again he really benefitted from Stringer's snappy service. Humphreys is a very tough player and mentally tougher than a lot of people give him credit for. He came on and took his chance well. I don't think he put a foot wrong from the time he came off the bench to the final whistle and it will be hard to leave him out of the team for the next match. I don't think O'Gara did enough to convince people that he was the natural first choice.

The outside backs' play was good but I thought there was more shape there when Mullins played full back and Henderson came on at inside and O'Driscoll at outside centre. There was good balance to it, very solid in defence, good outside play and with the ball coming so quickly, Ireland were able to attack off it. Mullins looked quite comfortable at full back and I'd be surprised if they did not look at him there as a more permanent fixture.

On the wing I've always had a lot of time for Dennis Hickey because he has great pace and possesses great finishing ability. We don't have the luxury of leaving guys like him out. I know he was out of form and there were questions about his defence but I would have had him on the team earlier than yesterday.

Shane Horgan also played well on the wing. It was a brave move to pick guys like Horgan out of position, but who were obviously training and playing well. He has a physical presence and is good defensively and he took his try well. Without being outstanding he had a very good debut.

Credit should go to the management for making the changes but also for the way they ran the team. They were quite clever about how they ran the whole thing. You won't get a more shrewd manager in rugby than Donal Lenihan. Sometimes over the last while when things have not been going well it has been hard to see but he is excellent in that job.

Obviously Warren Gatland is relieved that his team won. Clearly he's done a lot of work in the background somewhere and having had to live with considerable pressure since the World Cup last year, will be delighted.

The one point I would make is that the Scottish side were poor and they are going to struggle against other sides. Scotland is a team that has serious problems both in the forwards and the backs. It was epitomised somewhat by Townsend, who was quite brilliant at times and quite awful at other times. They had no shape in the pack and Ireland were able to close them down very well.

Looking forward, the win on Saturday was crucial to have before facing Italy in a fortnight. Ireland now face a side who were well beaten by Wales but who beat Scotland.

Importantly, Ireland should now have every confidence to win and to string two wins together, something, I believe, would be very important for the team. To do so would give the opportunity to form a steady team which has the confidence to play a game similar to the one they played on Saturday.

Italy will not like coming to Dublin and I think Ireland can now beat them. That would allow the side to travel to Paris with two wins behind them and give them the chance to be competitive against the French.

(In an interview with Johnny Watterson)