Eight ball carries - just one behind game-leader Kevin Maggs - exhibited Leamy's undoubted power in attack.

But whether it will be enough to coax Eddie O'Sullivan into fielding him against the Pumas, ahead of Wasps star Johnny O'Connor, is unclear.

"Yesterday's game was all about getting me on the international ladder - that was always the idea," said Leamy, who broke his Ireland duck behind the entire Munster front five.

"I want to be involved in the internationals. Hopefully I will be there, or thereabouts. The calibre of back rows around is phenomenal at the moment. To get an opportunity to get out there and show what I have to offer was great."

Injuries to his provincial colleagues David Wallace and Alan Quinlan meant Leamy was the natural choice yesterday, with O'Connor rested.

Although showing flashes of his considerable brutish talent, the former Under-21 international was let down with three unforced errors - the first of which, a high tackle on Eagles' fly-half Mike Hercus - their only scorer - gave the Sale Shark an early shot at the posts.

Leamy conceded: "It took me a little bit to get settled, but once I did I started to get going and get a bit of ball. I was happy enough with the way things went.

"The ball was very slippery but I played my natural game. I was difficult at the breakdown. They were piling in on us - it was tough going in that area."

Seven tries - one of them to the other debutant Tommy Bowe - none conceded, five line breaks and just one missed tackle.

Not a bad afternoon's work for Ireland, but given the standard of the opposition - who spent only five minutes in Irish territory in the second half - perhaps more could have been expected from the world's sixth-ranked side.

O'Sullivan was not reading too much into it.

"It took us a while to get into the game, playing as we did, into a strong wind and rain in the first half. Once we got field position and kept them under pressure the scores were going to come," he said.

"The guys who haven't been playing Test rugby for a while, quite a few of those got a good hit out. A good example was David Humphreys. At the start of the game he looked a bit rusty, which you'd expect, but as the game went on he grew in stature and by the end he was really controlling the game.

"It was one of the issues about the game that the US are mostly amateur players and they would struggle over 80 minutes of professional rugby.

"We knew for the first 40 they were going to throw everything but the kitchen sink at us and they would do the same for the second 40 - but there weren't many kitchen sinks left after half time."

A number of Ireland's fringe players pressed their claims, with man-of-the-match Eric Miller putting in a doughty performance, capped by the opening try on 24 minutes.

An early second half brace from Geordan Murphy displayed his evident form, and as the Americans tired, late efforts from the Munster contingent of Frankie Sheahan, Marcus Horan and Peter Stringer saw Ireland chalk up a sixth win from nine outings in 2004.

France coach Bernard Laporte commented yesterday, following their 24-14 humbling at the hands of Argentina, that the Pumas "beat the best we have to offer and that proves they are a major rugby nation now."

Another changing of the guard should see Ireland back to their best in six days' time.