Players' reaction: Jamie Heaslip woke early yesterday morning following a restless night that he good-naturedly blames on the snoring of his room-mate Isaac Boss. Making his senior Ireland debut was the realisation of boyhood dreams, although it's fair to assume the Pacific Islands didn't feature as the opposition of choice.

Ireland coach Eddie O'Sullivan had made wholesale changes following the win over Australia, and the three new caps shared the responsibility of earning a third successive victory.

Of course the prospect of an unstructured game against physically abrasive opponents who were likely to take off from anywhere on the pitch wasn't calculated to soothe nerves.

Heaslip, one of the debutants - alongside Luke Fitzgerald and Stephen Ferris - smiled: "I woke up this morning and didn't really know what I was up to, just floated around. I met my parents in the hotel but I was a bit restless.

"I didn't really worry about the game until we got back from our lineout practice. Then I started to get the old jitters. Everything settled when I got out on the pitch to do the warm-up. I was good to go. The rest is a bit of a blur.

"I try and relax during the anthems, focus on the game. I always manage to catch people I know in the crowd when I'm looking round and it's invariably my dad: don't ask me how but it's uncanny.

"I was really worried about just getting my hands on the ball and getting started. My priority was that if the kick-off came my way, there was no way I was going to drop the ball, especially with the management sitting close by in the West Stand. It's about getting your hands on the ball and getting into contact for the first time in order to settle yourself down.

"It went fine except for that dropped pass at the end. I wouldn't have minded a try on my first cap. It was a step up from any level I've played - very quick. It took me about 20 minutes to really settle into the game.

"Simon (Easterby) did a lot of work and it means that it loosens play up for me as an eight. I got my hands on the ball. I was trailing the guys. Happy enough bar the last minute."

The Islanders pride themselves on their abrasive tackling, and so the Irish were looking to take contact on their own terms. The 22-year-old Leinster number eight admitted: "If you let them line you up they would hit you hard but if you took it to them they were physical but nothing outstanding. They were tough going but you expect that at this level.

"We were saying during the week that we had to concentrate on the basics because there were so many new faces; the basics were going to get us through. We did that and we needed to because they counter-ruck very well and you have to make sure your ball presentation is spot on."

One of Ireland's try scorers, Denis Hickie, articulated the maturity with which the players have reflected on a superb November Test series; no one is getting carried away: "There are a lot of people evaluating the team, calling them the best (Irish) team and all that but these things are fickle.

"This time last year we were almost one of the worst Irish teams, then we were the best when we won the Triple Crown, and then it was back to not being good enough to step up during the summer tour. Now we're back up there again. As sure as day follows night if we don't do well in the Six Nations . . ." The sentence trails off but the sentiment is clear.

"People say that because we have France and England at home you're quids in to go for the Grand Slam. The reality is that you have to win your home games, and beating England and France won't be easy. We have to go to Wales and they are playing confidently. Scotland have never been more confident in the last three or four years. And then you have Italy, who are the most improved side and really hard to beat there, always.

"If you scratch under the surface it's probably the hardest fixture list we've had for a long time."

It's a very healthy attitude with which to approach the Tests that lie ahead in the New Year.