One of the positives from Rome for Andy Farrell was Tom O'Toole showing he has the right stuff for the international arena.
The Ulster tighthead prop was called into the fray earlier than planned and thrived in a tough battle.
O'Toole came on just before half-time - after Finlay Bealham went down with a twisted knee.
As Bealham had performed well from the start against Wales and France in the absence of Tadhg Furlong, the onus was on O'Toole to make an impact.
The 24-year-old made a good one, winning two scrum penalties in quick succession early in the second half and Ross Byrne gratefully added three points off from the second.
"First off, pretty gutted for Finlay," he said.
"He's been playing exceptionally well the last few weeks. When I saw him take a nasty knock to the knee, I really felt for him.
"It meant I was on early and it was a proper Test match - it was a physical game.
"We knew all week the set-piece area was going to be big so I was reasonably happy with how some of those went.
"It was high tempo. I'm delighted to get a bit of game time in a proper Test match like that.
"As a team we've stuff to work on, but happy to get the win with the lads."
O'Toole spoke of the work he has done for the past three or four years behind the scenes, making gradual improvements with the assistance of Ireland scrum coach John Fogarty and with his Test colleagues Furlong, Bealham and Cian Healy.
At Ulster, he has also benefited from Dan McFarland's input.
"It's something that I'm constantly chipping away at," he remarked.
"I know I'm 24 now, I've had a few years playing at this level and, like most tightheads, it's something I've been working on.
"I'm happy to show a bit of the results of that, getting a couple of pens was good.
"It's reassuring for me that I'm going in the right direction because it's an area of my game that I definitely want to become dominant in.
"As an Irish pack, it's something we want to go after.
"So I'm pleased, but there's plenty of work to do and plenty more for me as an individual.
"It won't be stopping, I'll keep chipping away.
And O'Toole added: "We'll build as a team, recover, and then drive that focus onto Murrayfield which we know is going to be a big challenge.
"It's incredibly exciting for us."
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