Declan Kidney could be the target for a fair amount of scowling from his players, this week, after the maths teacher-turned-coach declared that Ireland’s huge 42-10 win over union minnows, Italy, was not good enough. “You can’t let yourself get carried away with the scoreboard”, Kidney explained.

The fixture, played on Saturday, was important for a number of reasons; it was Ireland’s first win in the Six Nations, the largest victory margin so far in the competition, and the green team’s first victory in four at Lansdowne Road. People following the Six Nations betting odds should bear this in mind.

Ireland scored five tries in Dublin, to hand the Azzurri their third defeat in a row in the Six Nations. Efforts from Keith Earls, Andrew Trimble, Tom Court, and a brace from Tommy Bowe made the difference on a clement February day. Jonny Sexton added the extras – and a couple of penalties, to boot.

However, while Ireland celebrated, Kidney pondered team sheets. The former Munster and Newport Gwent Dragons coach claims that Italy were flattered by the scoreline: “We can’t run away thinking we’re great just because we stole a couple of tries in the last few minutes”, Kidney said.

Kidney was ostensibly trying to keep his players’ collective feet on the ground ahead of Ireland’s crucial clash with France, which was rearranged earlier this month to compensate for poor weather in Paris. The Irish coach referred to the coming weekend’s fixture as a “singularly huge challenge”. Those betting on rugby need to remember this.

“We were a bit better [against Italy] than against Wales”, Kidney conceded, adding that Ireland had taken their chances going forward. The coach appeared to intimate that, against a more experienced team, such as France or Wales, Ireland may have struggled to gain – and keep – the advantage.

France are strong favourites to win on March 4, coming in at 1/3 in the bookmakers’ window. Their opponents, Ireland, stand on 3/1 for the win.