Player Ratings - Ireland vs Wales
- 3708
Ireland
- Cian Healy – 7/10
Very solid at scrum time. Carried dynamically throughout, consistently getting over the gain line and stealing vital yards for Ireland. He also got through an impressive amount of work at the breakdown.
- Rory Best – 6/10
Put in a solid shift at the breakdown and in defence. Very accurate at the lineout which provided Ireland with a great attacking platform throughout.
- Andrew Porter – 8/10
Excellent performance from the young tighthead in his first Six Nations start for Ireland. Very solid at scrum time, consistently hit rucks and made his tackles and managed to consistently get over the gain-line when carrying with ball in hand.
- James Ryan – 7/10
Another solid afternoon from the second rower. Made his tackles, hit an impressive number of rucks and made an impressive 11 carries.
- Devin Toner – 6/10
Very physical at the breakdown and an excellent option at the lineout both offensively and defensively. Made an impressive 11 carries and was rock solid in defence.
- Peter O’Mahony – 7/10
Another solid afternoon from the veteran flanker. Solid at the lineout, resolute in defence and carried well at times.
- Dan Leavy – 8/10
Leavy powers over the line to put Ireland in control pic.twitter.com/zH804pFPvG
— ITV Rugby (@ITVRugby) February 24, 2018
Impressive in attack, ran intelligent lines and carried effectively when called upon. Very solid in defence, recording a tackle success rate of 100%. Capped off his performance with an important try.
- CJ Stander – 7/10
Consistently carried dynamically and was a menace at the breakdown. Very solid defensively, making some crushing hits at key moments of the game.
- Conor Murray – 8/10
Brilliant as always. Marshalled the backline very well with accurate passing and some intelligent kicking. Dictated the tempo of the Irish attack and stepped up to slot an important penalty late in the second half.
- Jonathan Sexton – 6/10
Poor performance by his own high standards. Recorded an uncharacteristically low kick success rate of 43%. However, he marshalled the backline very well and threw a simply stunning flat pass to Stockdale to finish in the corner.
- Jacob Stockdale – 7/10
A mixed performance from the young Ulster winger this weekend. Question marks over his defence at times but he posed a constant threat in attack and managed to score two tries.
- Bundee Aki – 6/10
A relatively poor game from the inside centre. Carelessly knocked the ball on a couple of times and got exposed defensively. However, he did manage to bag himself a try.
- Chris Farrell – 9/10
One of the standout performers in the backline. Solid in defence and very hard working at the breakdown. Posed a constant threat in attack and caused the Welsh a lot of problems with ball in hand and was thoroughly deserving of the man of the match award.
- Keith Earls – 8/10
Another one of the stand out performers in the Irish backline. Constantly looked dangerous in attack with his combination of blistering pace and mesmerising footwork. Very hard working at the breakdown and made some excellent last-ditch cover tackles.
- Rob Kearney – 5/10
Poor performance from the Irish full back. Kicked poorly out of hand, failed to make any real impact with ball in hand and was at fault defensively on several occasions.
Looked to carry a few times but couldn't impose himself physically.
Shingler finishes after some tidy hands from Navidi pic.twitter.com/0NulyP78lP
— ITV Rugby (@ITVRugby) February 24, 2018
