Ireland Player Ratings v Wales

Ireland Player Ratings v Wales
Wales' hopes of back-to-back Grand Slams were ended as they became Ireland's latest Six Nations victims in Dublin.
 
 

Ireland handed Wales a first Six Nations defeat in nine matches as they ran in four tries for an impressive 24-14 bonus-point victory in Dublin on Saturday.



 

Here is how we rated the Irish:

Jordan Larmour - 7.5


 
Excellent run for the opening try stepping past two defenders and beating four in total, turning nothing into something. 
 
 
An assured performance from Jordan Larmour who is proving to be a very safe set of hands in the Ireland 15 jersey following Rob Kearney's drop in form.
 
 
 

Andrew Conway - 9
 
 
Clattered Parkes early on, was sublime in the air, scored a try and put in mammoth clearance before half time.
 

Conway has now scored nine tries in just 11 starts on the wing for Ireland and ten in all 20 tests.
 
 
 
 
 
Robbie Henshaw -6.5
 
 
Ran a few excellent lines early on and offloaded well. Seemed to thrive in the 13 jersey and he attacked any bit of space.
 
 
Got over the gain line regardedly and linked up well with Aki.
 
 
 
Bundee Aki - 6.5
 
Huge carry from a scrum led to the try for Tadgh Furlong. 
 
 
Solid defensively and made 35 running metres from his 13 carries.
 
 
 
Jacob Stockdale -7
 
 
A clever kick forced an early scrum just 5m out from Wales' line but his side failed to capitalise.
 
 
Made over 80 running metres and was influential in the first half while having a quiet second.
 
 
 
Jonathan Sexton - 7
 
 
Solid game from the Irish captain. He shanked his first kick but showed attacking intent with his field kicking from the off.
 
 
 
Distributed the ball well and got his backline moving. He also mixed his game up well making him difficult to defend.
 
 
 
Conor Murray - 8
 
 

Crisp passing throughout and his box-kicks were largely accurate.


Produced a stunning pass to release Jacob Stockdale for his break up the field in the first half and hardly put a foot wrong.

 
 

WATCH: Alun Wyn Jones' offload

Cian Healy - 6
 
 
Struggled in scrum early on but found his feet later and was solid.
 
 
Got stuck into the rucks but a far-less influential performance as last week.
 
 
 
Rob Herring - 7
 
Hit his jumpers at the lineout, help Furlong over the line for his try, made 10 tackles and 6 carries in a solid performance that should see him retain the starting jumper.
 
 
Tadhg Furlong - 7.5
 
 
Was shown up in the first scrum of the game but recovered to have really strong performance.
 

A massive shift in defence resulted in 11 tackles while his attacking game continued to prove vital for Ireland as he scored a crucial try, his 4th since the begining of 2019 - more than any other test prop.

Iain Henderson - 6 
 
 
Got through his work on the ground and in the lineout. Made 9 tackles and 7 carries. Did conceded a penalty for a high tackle which put Ireland under pressure but otherwise it was another solid and reliable performance without being too flashy.
 
 
 
James Ryan - 7
 
Lost the ball in the Irish line-out early but made up for it with his insane work rate.
 
 
15 tackles without missing added to his 14 carries and two defenders beaten. Plus he won 4 lineouts.
 
 
Hardly ever has a bad or quite game.
 
 
Peter O’Mahony - 7.5
 
 
Massive on defence making 13 tackles, some of which leading to a turnover for one of his teammates.
 
 
Won two turnovers for himself and a lineout steal - the only Irishman to do so - which ultimately led to Josh van der Flier’s try.
 

Also helped Tadhg Furlong over for his try.

 
 
 
Josh van der Flier - 7 
 
 
Busy as ever getting into rucks and making hits on defence. His work ethic was rewarded with a try when he crashed over the line after a huge maul effort from Ireland.
 
 
He chased Stockdale's early kick to win the scrum.
 
 
 
CJ Stander - 9
 
 
Made an excellent early turnover that earned Ireland a penalty. They came close to scoring before Wales stopped the drive.
 
 
Excellent at the breakdown again in the 20th minute and that just continued for the rest of the game.
 
 
Carried strongly was massive on defence and was comfortable one of the best on the pitch for a second week running.
 
 




 
 
 
Keith Earls – 7 

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