5 things we learned

Scotland now know how to win the tight games

When Scotland lost at the death to Australia in the 2015 World Cup last eight and then to the same opponents in November late on, some questioned their mental strength.

However, a late win against Argentina in the autumn and then this late salvo win after Ireland had roared back into the lead shows that Vern Cotter’s men have bottle. They now just need to add a bit more control.

Stuart Hogg is only going to get better

How good can this guy become? We have always know he was a special talent ever since he burst on to the international scene back in 2012, but he is getting better and better.

The 24-year-old is set to win his 50th cap against France and his two tries against Ireland showed his confidence that we all love. He also seems to really spur on those around him and has a more mature edge to his game.

The centre partnership between Alex Dunbar and Huw Jones is very promising

Before the match there was a lot of talk about which centre partnership Vern Cotter was going to go with, but Dunbar and Jones more than justified their selection.

Dunbar’s first-half try was a clever trainingground move, while when you see the way Jones played against Ireland it is no surprise that the head coach was so keen to get him back. The 23-year-old can make the No 13 jersey his own in 2017.

Ryan Wilson is one of Scotland’s most important men

The back-row man divides opinion amongst the Scottish rugby public, but in the big games and big moments he is now stepping up to the plate. He carries hard and never shirks a tackle, while in the last 10 minutes of this one, when Scotland really needed him, the Glasgow Warrior was leading from the front.

With the starting back-row trio still not set in stone, his name looks set to continue to be on Vern Cotter’s team sheet.

Allan Dell and Zander Fagerson still ‘a work in progress’

Starting props Allan Dell and Zander Fagerson were really up against it in the early stages. They were not helped by hooker Fraser Brown going off a couple of times with an injury, but the scrum was going backwards.

The promising thing was that they never shirked from their task and replacement Gordon Reid did a good job when he came on.

With Alasdair Dickinson and WP Nel looking likely to be out for a while, Dell and Fagerson will be keen to keep learning fast.