Bundee Aki's defensive lapses evident in win over Italy

It was another highly competitive week of Six Nations rugby and Ireland can take a lot away from how the weekend played out.

One of the most important aspects of the weekend was that Ireland's second choice out-half got 78 minutes of rugby under his belt in a hostile away venue in a pressurised situation.

That’s what the atmosphere will be like in France during the World Cup and Ross Byrne experiencing it without the help of Johnny Sexton was a crucial part of developing this team before the competition starts in September.

Deputising for Sexton brings its own pressure because of the standards that he has set and the expectations that now come with being an Irish out-half in attack.

Byrne isn’t Sexton, nor will he get to the same standard, but he has his own calm way of playing the game and getting that experience from the start will stand to Ireland in the next few months.

Admittedly, Italy aren’t France, but they have been playing extraordinarily well, better than we have seen in a long time. We shouldn’t underestimate how much of a challenge that was for Andy Farrell and his team.

Italy attacked in a much similar way to Scotland with fast, sometimes loose, and chaotic running lines in attack.

The Italian starter plays from set-pieces challenged Ireland’s connections in defence and beat them a number of times too, evident by the huge missed tackle statistics by the end of the game.

This is the perfect preparation for Scotland away. A similarly passionate and raucous away venue, with a mercurial out-half dictating the speed of play.

Murrayfield will be a cauldron of chaos with Finn Russell at the helm, baying for Irish blood. If you wanted preparation just one game out from what looks to be the biggest Irish challenge en route