Marcus Horan believes he and his Ireland team-mates should not get carried away following their success in the scrum against France.
Munster prop says it's important "not to fall in love with ourselves"
Marcus Horan is keeping his feet planted firmly on the ground after the strong display Ireland's front row gave in their RBS Six Nations meeting with France in Paris 11 days ago.
The visitors may have lost 26-21 but their ability in the scrum - for so long a target of criticism - was certainly to the fore, with spectators faced with the unusual sight of the French pack being pulverised five metres from their own line.
Two successive collapsed scrums, albeit with France's rookie substitute prop Julien Brugnaut contributing, led to a penalty try.
The performance built on Ireland's World Cup display in which, faced with pool rivals Argentina, France and Georgia - all known for their aggression at the set-piece - the scrum was generally considered a success amidst an otherwise disappointing campaign.
For Horan and fellow Munster prop Hayes, such recent displays have been personal triumphs that have helped blunt disparaging comments aimed at themselves.
But, according to Horan, he and his team-mates should not let their newfound reputation get in the way of the job in hand.
"We were in a very tough group in the World Cup with regards to scrummaging and I believe that has stood us in good stead for the Six Nations," he said.
"We did really well in the scrum in the World Cup. I don't think there has been an issue with our scrum over the years - that's just come from individual criticism in the press.
"Guys have their reasons for it but we've always worked hard. Now it's important not to fall in love with ourselves because of what happened against France.
"There was another pushover try on the cards in that game, too, and we fluffed that. So we have to be critical on what happened."
Progress
Horan, who is preparing for Saturday's Six Nations clash against Scotland, maintains a change in emphasis during training has also contributed to progress at the scrum.
"Over the past 12 months we've seen the benefits of live scrummaging in practice, rather than just hitting the machine," he added.
"You can't beat live scrummaging and coming up against some of the best scrummagers in the world. That will stand us in good stead now."
