Ronan O'Gara/Six Nations Diary: It was what we expected and more. Italy were a difficult side to contain. We decided to play uphill and into the wind - which died slightly in the second-half - in the opening period, and we couldn't get any possession. There was nobody in the dressing-room who was surprised at the ferocity of the encounter.

There are areas to work on, for me and the team, but I think we're just happy to have got out of there with a victory.

The dressing-room was very calm afterwards. There was no element of joy; standards have risen too high for that. Fellas found it a strange game, and I would agree with that. Italy were difficult at home but I just felt that we were under pressure at times and ultimately we grafted out a good win.

Myself, I missed touch too often. Whether I was over-ambitious about going for the length I'm not too sure, but I don't think that was it.

You really have to kick through that ball. They were going towards the touchline before hooking in a bit. That's gone now and I've just got to put trust back into an area that is usually a strong part of my game.

That was the poor side of my game here but I thought the other elements were good. The goal-kicking mightn't have seemed too important at the time but now when I look back on it, they were big enough, pressure kicks, and the defence was good.

It was disappointing as a team that we conceded a try late on, because one of our goals going into the weekend was not to allow them across the line.

In saying that, I think it's a good starting point except for the injuries, which obviously are the main talking points now.

Brian (O'Driscoll) and Darce (Gordon D'Arcy) were sensational last year in the Six Nations. Brian is world-class, probably the best player in the world in any position at the minute, and he was immense out there in this game.

It's probably a bit early to say, but I presume the two of them will have scans today and the extent of the damage will be further revealed.

My room-mate Donncha (O'Callaghan) suffered a dislocation of his finger after coming on and breaking his heart to make an impression, although the injury may not be as bad as it sounds. These things happen.

Italy actually tried to move the ball and played with a fair bit of width. They weren't limited in what they did, they tried to get around us, they tried to go through us, they varied it quite well.

Off set-piece I thought our back-line attack was good. There were times in the second half when maybe we tried to force the 50-50s a little bit, and we didn't secure ball in the tackle or on the ground, so there are areas of improvement in all of our games; my line-kicking being a case in point. But as a starting point I think fellas are happy to get that game under their belts.

We made our strikes tell, which was probably the difference between the teams. Possession-wise, it was probably an even split but that's where outstanding players come into the equation. Brian set Geordan (Murphy) up beautifully for the first try. It was a great bit of opportunism from Shaggy (Shane Horgan) for Strings' (Peter Stringer's) try, and Denis (Hickie) showed a great turn of pace. That's what you need away from home.

It was disappointing that we didn't score another one in the first half. We played a strike move that was either going to be a score or a knock-on. It was just a tiny bit off the money and that's the price you pay, but at least it's encouraging that we're attacking the right hole.

In that regard we did well in our back play, and there were rewards there for us, but it was a tough game up front.

Now the focus is on Scotland, only hours after the game.

When I was getting into my black tie after the game, I went to put on my shoes, which were new shoes bought by Frankie (Sheahan) during the week as I was doing kicking practice that day. The left fitted perfectly, size nine and a half. It took me 20 minutes to get into the right one, which was a size eight. Typical Frankie to find a deal in the old bargain basket!

But Murrayfield is only six days away. You wake up on Monday morning and you're looking at who's injured and getting your act together for Scotland.

I watched their game against France on Saturday, although not in depth. They were very unlucky not to win. It looked like a bad call by the touch-judge. That's what big games come down to. They'll be even more determined now after that effort. They will be tough at Murrayfield. They have a lot to play for, they're looking for their first win.

We're happy enough with our start but with the standards fellas have set within the camp we've got to strive to improve in every game.

(In an interview with Gerry Thornley)