Schmidt applauds Irish fighting spirit

Vern Cotter's Scots went behind early on, but twice took the lead against the world's number two ranked side, before Ireland put the smile back on the faces of the Lansdowne Road crowd.

Both coaches proclaimed themselves happy with the workout, with Schmidt happy to earn a win and come through unscathed on the injury front.

Cotter admitted there was a mixed bag to review on his side – as well as a potentially serious injury to prop Ryan Grant, who had an X-ray on his injured leg.

Three second half tries were a bonus for Schmidt who admitted post-match that his men endured a tougher game than last week's victory against Wales in Cardiff.

“One of the real positives is that was a Test match, and we were tested on a number of levels,” said the Ireland coach.

“Our scrum went well, that was a positive, but we were tested on the scoreboard, we fell behind a few times, and had to show composure and spirit to get back in front.

“They tested our defence, ran good lines, and we fell off tackles, and lacked something in our defensive line.

“It was a mixed bag overall, but the real positive is we can report a clean bill of health – everyone got through pretty well.”

Ian Madigan, at flyhalf, and wing Luke Fitzgerald impressed, and Schmidt admitted he was delighted with Madigan's all-round showing.

“I think he demonstrated he could play the position, his line kicking was spot on, kicking off tee was super, his pass delivery was very positive, and there were two crucial involvements in the third try and a crucial kick in the delivery of the fourth try, capped off by Fitzgerald,” he said.

“Luke also looked really strong in the air, strong on the ground, with very good acceleration and footwork, but you have that expectation of him. He stayed focused and made what is difficult to do look easy.

“We've had 29 players start a game in the last two matches, and given two new caps, so to do that and get two wins is great for the confidence of the group, but anyone watching knows there's more work to do.”

For Cotter, it was a case of taking the positives from defeat – and working out the creases in their game.

“There were some good things, some things we can work on, but we definitely need to be more accurate,” he said.

“I think there are things we can fix quickly. And we need to.

“We need more composure at the start of games. We were perhaps a little nervous.

“We turned over too much ball, especially in the first half. We let them score a couple of tries a little bit too early.

“I would have taken three tries before the game, but it's important to improve and that's our focus now."

AFP