Ireland's rugby rehabilitation continued today, with a comprehensive five-tries-to-one demolition of Scotland at Croke Park.

There was a dazzling performance by the backs, with full-back Geordan Murphy putting in a man-of-the-match performance. Bearing in mind that he wasn't even in the matchday 22 on Tuesday, this was a two-fingered display for Eddie O'Sullivan's benefit. Murphy is and out-and-out full-back, and you can be sure that if he was qualified to play for any other Six Nation team, the team sheet coming out of the coach's printer on a Monday would have the name "G Murphy" pre-printed on the No 15 spot.

Andrew Trimble played one of his best games in an Ireland shirt so far. Rob Kearney got his first international try, while Tommy Bowe bagged two. The Munster forwards showed that they were no slouches either, with David Wallace and Marcus Horan claiming a score apiece.

There are still some areas of concern. Ireland got off to a very slow start and allowed Scotland a lot of possession early on. Caledonian ineptness ensured that this possession did not translate to points on the board, but you would think that if this had been England or Wales in Croke Park today, we would have been playing catch-up after 20 minutes or so. The line-out was poor. This is a dilemma for O'Sullivan. Jackman is effective around the park, but his throwing is not up to scratch. Rory Best simply isn't international standard. Jerry Flannery is the best hooker in Ireland at the moment, and hopefully he will be available for our last two matches. However, even if he is fit, it's no guarantee that O'Sullivan will pick him.

Elsewhere, Wales had a slow start against a feisty Italian side, but once Tom Shanklin ran in a try from an intercepted pass, they just ran riot from then on. England had a magnificent win against France in Paris this evening, demonstrating once again that Ireland's extended run of losses to Les Bleus remains unexplained.