Some people want to get real on the Welsh rugby front.

Now I'm the first to admit that Wales expressed themselves brilliantly in the latter stages of the World Cup, and they played some magical rugby against New Zealand and England.

In fact it was so good that I swung right behind the Welsh camp for their approach and their attitude, not least the part played by coach Steve Hansen, while others claimed the huge pendulum swing was by accident.

Clearly the Welsh public thought something special was on the horizon because the atmosphere and sheer fervour in Cardiff and at the Millennium Stadium for the Scotland match on Saturday was of the kind not witnessed for years.

You could almost cut the atmosphere with a knife, and the reception the team got as they took the field was pretty special. The old hairs stood up on the back of the neck again, and that hasn't happened for a while.

And the players didn't disappoint either, carrying on where they left off in Australia with some sparkling rugby, scoring three delightful tries and being robbed of another even more spectacular effort by a borderline refereeing decision.

But two factors must be taken into consideration before people get too carried away and headlines like Wales being back to the seventies can be taken seriously.

Firstly, the standard of the opposition on Saturday must be taken into account, and secondly the lack of real power and ball-winning capacity up front to enable the backs to function.

Scotland are just about on the floor at the moment, hit by retirements, lack of form, lack of depth and with a complete new broom in the coaching and back-up staff.

Listening to Matt Williams after the game was a carbon copy of Steve Hansen a year ago, a dose of reality as to exactly where his team and his adopted country are in world rugby.

Up against such a situation Wales really should have put Scotland away, and they threatened to do just that for an hour.

But then they went off the boil, and it wasn't just because the Scots showed up Welsh deficiencies in the pack.

Possession dried up and the absence of key front five forwards Robin McBryde and Robert Sidoli was keenly felt, the former for his throwing in and general robust attitude and the latter for his line-out skills and overall mobility.

That is a deficiency Ireland will exploit on Sunday in Dublin far more than Scotland did, for the Irish forwards have even more presence than Scotland.

Paul O'Connell, Doncha O'Callaghan and Simon Easterby represent a three-pronged line-out menace which will be hard for Wales to combat. And then there is the expected return of Brian O'Driscoll and the brilliance he brings to any side.

So it would be quite wrong to get carried away, and talk of a repetition of the seventies is ludicrous.

Wales are undoubtedly a threat, as would be any side which scored three tries to one against the eventual World Cup winners.

They have come a long way in a comparatively short time. But as ever with Wales there is no happy medium, Welsh rugby is either through the floor or up in the clouds.

It's very much the latter at the moment, but despite all the progress that has been made, we'll find out where Wales stand in Dublin on Sunday, not to mention Twickenham next month.

If Wales are at least making waves and demanding respect on the international stage, then so are Newport Gwent Dragons on the domestic front.

They reached another peak last Friday with the way they dispatched Llanelli Scarlets to cement second place in the Celtic League.

The match was a terrific advert for regional rugby and despite initial reservations it showed how far Welsh rugby has come at that level, too. The sheer intensity and physicality of the match was remarkable as both sides went at it hammer and tongs, no quarter asked or given.

The Scarlets wanted to win, there's no doubt about that, while the Dragons went for it as well and all manner of players are really giving it a go.

Some of them are supposed unsung members of the squad. I'd have no hesitation in putting lock Peter Sidoli in for Wales now, for example, while if there is a better scrum half around this season than Gareth Baber I haven't seen him. The same applies to Jamie Ringer at blindside flanker.

With locks and number eights dropping like flies, Shawn van Rensberg has stepped into the breach to prove a highly committed, strong ball carrier while the best of Bobby Skinstad is yet to come.

Second in the league with Scarlets chief Gareth Jenkins predicting they could win the title represents a massive turnaround for the Dragons, who were forced into administration in the autumn.

As on the national front there are problems, though, and it would be quite wrong to pretend everything is rosy.

Gaps in the squad need to be filled and problem areas will be addressed in the near future.