Theoretically, Ireland have an opportunity to consolidate what happened against Scotland two weeks ago, bring it forward another step with a view towards performing well against France and hopefully finishing with a home win against Wales.

Reflecting on the Scottish match, you'd have to say they were poor but Ireland did well to beat them by such a margin. What was promising was the ability of the Irish team to capitalise on the weakness of the Scots - which hasn't been the case for some time. Ireland were better able to score tries and take the opportunities that were presented.

What has shone through has been the extra yard or two that O'Driscoll and the full back are having as a result of the quicker ball from the outhalf. While it is not immediately perceptible, Stringer's presence has made a difference to Ireland's play.

With regard to his partner, I imagine there was a lot of debate about the number 10 simply because Humphreys had an outstanding game when he came on. While the selectors have picked O'Gara again, he's coming up against a really established performer in Dominguez and that will be a big challenge for him.

However, O'Gara has proven himself over the past 12 months and I believe that he'll be fine in that position. The Irish management see him being able to do two things. One, he brings the back line up into defence very well and that was evident against the Scots. Two, he has a nice ability to run into space and create things, particularly off loose ball.

Without looking too far forward it's likely that O'Gara will be around for longer than Humphreys and at the end of the day that could have been a factor in selection.

The pack, particularly in the area of mobility, were good last time. It was great to see O'Kelly getting around the pitch and scoring a try. Dawson has had two very good matches now and the responsibility is now on him to perform in every game. The pack had a good mix of energy, enthusiasm and experience.

There is no reason to believe that Ireland will not impose themselves in the same manner on the Italians, which means they will win a certain proportion of ball. That would allow the creation of the sort of openings they need to perform well.

The reality, though, is that Ireland have only won once in the last four outings against Italy. While we might expect to win against what we perceive as a weaker side at Lansdowne Road, the Italians will be well prepared and they won't have any hang-ups about playing against us.

In Dominguez they've a great playmaker and a great kicker. No doubt, any mistakes Ireland make will be punished. In Brad Johnstone, Italy also have an excellent coach and he will maximise anything they've got in the same way as he did for Fiji for a number of years.

The Irish team have to be absolutely disciplined, not only in terms of not giving away penalties but also in the area of unforced errors, on which Italy will capitalise.

There is also a pressure there now to win two games in succession and the expectation is that Ireland can, and should, perform. But the side will not find Italy as easy as the Scots to play against. The unknown factor in the last game concerning the number of new caps has now gone and what the team have to do is replicate the enthusiasm and drive to ensure the sort of game they played in the second half of the Scottish match becomes their normal game.

The big pressure at this stage is to deal with the fact that people expect Ireland to win. I think they are sufficiently confident and well prepared to meet the challenge.

Brendan Mullin (In an interview with Johnny Watterson)