Brian O'Driscoll feels the issues that cropped up during Ireland's opening Six Nations defeat to Scotland are fixable.
Joe Schmidt's side started poorly in Murrayfield as the Scots earned early tries.
While an Irish fight back saw the lead taken in the second half, late penalties saw Scotland secure victory by a 27-22 margin.
Up next are Italy followed by fixtures against France, Wales and England in the battle for the championship.
Former Ireland captain O'Driscoll was speaking on Off The Ball and feels some of the issues that arose at Murrayfield can be ironed out ahead of the upcoming Italy game and beyond.
"I do think that it's very fixable. I don't think we're a million miles away," he said.
Ireland’s Tadhg Furlong. Image: ©INPHO/Billy Stickland
"I think we lacked a bit of accuracy in that first half. We got bullied and that's always upsetting for any team to get out-muscled, it's not easy to take.
"But we really weren't a million miles away. Even the lineouts that we lost, I don't think there's finger pointing going on. I think the Scottish lineout did brilliantly. Richie Gray had a phenomenal lineout game, even just getting a little finger nick because they didn't look as though they were bad throws or that the lifters missed the jump. It was just really good defensive play."
O'Driscoll also made an observation about one of Tadgh Furlong's excellent qualities.
"He's become our best first receiver as a forward," he said of the Leinster tighthead prop.
He also felt that Scotland were able to match Ireland physically in the contact area especially in the first 20 minutes of the opening half.
O'Driscoll also added that some of the new combinations that were present in the opening game will also start to develop with more game time together.
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