Kearney and Horan living childhood dreams

Ireland v Scotland reaction:ROBERT KEARNEY and Marcus Horan realised childhood ambitions on Saturday in scoring a try apiece during Ireland's victory.

Weaned on Gaelic games they both dreamed of not alone playing in Croke Park but scoring. There wouldn't have been a rugby context to those wishes at the time but it didn't encroach on the satisfaction they felt on Saturday night.

Horan was self-deprecating about his try 36 seconds into the second half, quick to highlight the contribution of Ronan O'Gara. The outhalf's pinpoint crosskick demanded only that Horan catch the ball. Ireland's loosehead prop laughed: "I think when Rog (Ronan O'Gara) looked at me, he thought twice about kicking it.

"He put it right in the bread basket. I lost it a bit in the lights but thank God I caught it. If I didn't take it I would have been in serious trouble with him never mind the rest of the crowd.

"It was bit of an ambition to score in Croke Park and now I have done it. It's great, something I'll always have."

Horan smiled at the gentle ribbing when quizzed as to exactly what he was doing languishing so close to the touchline. "We chased up the kick-off and Bernard Jackman dived on the ball. I just rucked over him and the ball went wide in the other direction. We just stayed there and kept our width, an integral part of the game plan (laughter); I swear. I looked in and Rog spotted us out there. It's all him really - it (the ball) landed in the bread basket. That's all I can remember."

He did point out that he'd probably have to buy Tommy Bowe a pint later that night having deprived him of a hat-trick of tries. Horan continued: "We put a lot of pressure on them and weren't always getting the results. Then for him (O'Gara) to pull something out like that was fantastic. We had them stretched but by keeping our width, we were in a position to exploit that opportunity.

"He (O'Gara) was outstanding again and it's great to have a guy like that on your team. I think we are all improving. The last few games that has been a step up in performance levels and we are all enjoying it.

"There's a good buzz around the place. We can't be overly complimentary (to ourselves) as we made mistakes. We need to brush up if we are going to beat a team like Wales or England. It is important for us to retain that focus and address the errors we made.

"We lost a few battles at the breakdown as we did against the French. We have to fix that and get it right for the next game."

Kearney was similarly self-effacing about his first-half try, pointing out that he had a facile finish and that creating the opportunity was down to others.

"There is very little I had to do; the three lads inside me did all the work and Brian (O'Driscoll) threw out a peach of a pass.

"I didn't know if he knew I was out there. It was a super ball and left me with a run-in. It all happened so quickly. I knew that if he saw me he'd throw out the pass."

Did you shout?

"Yeah, but I don't think he heard me. There was no celebration. I said during the week I haven't scored too many this season. You just try and get in the right position. It was nice to get the try and put that mark in my copybook. It was my first try for Ireland and to get it in Croke Park was fantastic. It was a great feeling and hopefully there is more to come. I felt comfortable and confident out on the field and that's a testament to the players around me."

Kearney is looking more assured with each game, his sweeping of Scottish kicks underlining work ethic and composure. He accepted the compliment but preferred to focus on the team's improvement from the opening game, against Italy.

"I think there has been really good progress from the Italian game; we didn't hit the ground running, certainly not in the way we wanted. The second half against France we lifted it up another gear and today we showed how clinical we could be.

"The backline alone scored four tries which hasn't happened for a long time. It's encouraging and we are going in the direction we want to be."

However, he's taking nothing for granted, highlighting the competition for places in the back three that includes the injured Girvan Dempsey and Shane Horgan, who came on as a replacement, albeit in the centre.

Inevitably conversation drifted to the Welsh game at Croke Park on Saturday week, against opponents Horan acknowledges are familiar from regular Magners League battles.

He also confirmed the Irish team had not forgotten their defeat in Cardiff in 2005. "We owe them a big one as they won their Grand Slam when we were looking for a Triple Crown there a couple of years ago: that kind of hurt.

"It would be great to turn one back on them. They're flying high but we're looking forward to it."