Robbie Henshaw's potential at full-back should not be judged after just one game, according to Bernard Jackman.
The Leinster centre was chosen ahead of Rob Kearney for Ireland's opening Six Nations game with England but failed to make an impact in the 32-20 loss.
It was just the 25-year-old's second start in that position, after his debut in 2013, and questions had been raised about the selection for such an important tie.
"It was a tough day," said RTE Radio 1 co-commentator Bernard Jackman.
"He was exposed by how good a platform England had. Ben Youngs was getting ball on a plate, Owen Farrell was getting go-forward ball and he was able to manipulate that space in behind Robbie.
"I think it was never going to be decided on one game. He needs three or four games at this level to really judge him on but it was a pretty tough [top-tier] debut for him."
Tough day for Robbie Henshaw but @SatSportRTE analyst @bernardjackman backs @IrishRugby v Scots #rterugby pic.twitter.com/di0wFlO09Q
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) February 3, 2019
Asked whether or not the experiment of moving the erstwhile centre to such a specialist position would be continued, Schmidt said: "You've got to have versatility, you've got to have options.
"I thought Robbie did a pretty good job.
"Keith [Earls] tried to run off his hip [injury] for 20 minutes so he was under a little bit of pressure to cover the space and take responsibility so Robbie had to double job at times.
"I thought the volume of running he did, he was a good as he could have been. You just need fully fit guys who can cover that space effectively.
"I do think Robbie worked incredibly hard."
