Ireland captain Brian O'Driscoll preferred to concentrate on his team's performance rather than his own after today's win over Italy.
O'Driscoll, at 24 the youngest Irishman on the field, set a national record of 18 tries, beating Brendan Mullin's previous record.
"Obviously I'm delighted. First and foremost, though, a win was important today," he said "We weren't flawless by any means but this result gives us a good platform for the rest of the competition. It'll be good to face France at home."
In the end Ireland ran in five tries after a nervous beginning in which O'Driscoll's side struggled to come to terms with Italy's early, aggressive challenges.
The visitors' backline repeatedly fumbled passes and they needed the precise kicking of fullback Geordan Murphy to haul themselves out of their own half. "It's been a difficult two weeks," said Ireland coach Eddie O'Sullivan, referring to his team's voyage between Murrayfield last Sunday and Rome's Stadio Flaminio.
"We were suffering a little with fatigue and maybe a bit of anxiety too.
"Today was a very physical game. It wasn't as fast as the game against Scotland, but the collisions were bigger.
"This is a big Italian side. It was very fired up and it forced us to defend for the first 10 minutes."
O'Sullivan paid tribute to his opponents' determination, rewarded with a 55th-minute try by winger Denis Dallan.
"In physical terms they were right with us today. On their day they can beat anyone. I think the opinions expressed by the press in Italy are very harsh," he said.
"They've got some good players, plenty of strings to their bow. All the teams and coaches who face Italy give them the respect they deserve."
Italy coach John Kirwan, meanwhile, was left to rue missed chances.
"One of the positives in that we were putting them under pressure whenever we had the ball. We nearly scored three times," he said. "But we needed more patience on the field today."