Ireland Player Ratings v France

February 14, 2021
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Ultimate Rugby

Ireland have always at least been in the mix after the first two weeks of the Six Nations but following their narrow defeat to France, Andy Farrell's men have now lost their opening two games of the competition for the first time.

Tries from Charles Ollivon and Damian Penaud saw France to victory against an Ireland that was well in it until the final whistle.

Here is how we rated Andy Farrell's men in the 13-15 defeat.

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15. Hugo Keenan - 6

A poor pass wasted a good opportunity in the early knockings and he combined well with Lowe to set up the disallowed score.

Positionally he was good on defence and safe under the high ball but wasn't quite able to tear through the French defence and was turned over in the latter stages of the game.

14. Keith Earls - 6

Didn't see too much ball on attack and spent a lot of the game fielding and chasing kicks - which he did well. Finished his game in the 68th minute with over 40 running metres, mostly on the counter attack, beating three defenders.

13. Garry Ringrose - 6

The French defence cut off a lot of his opportunities with ball in hand as they rushed up on him. Defended reasonable well.

12. Robbie Henshaw - 7

Not quite as effective as last week but his carries to the line were important and effective. Shifted the ball on nicely too while missing just one tackle all game.

11. James Lowe - 5

His canon boot was used well by Ireland and he had just one mishap with his kicks but defensively he was caught out.

He missed a crucial tackle on Dulin which left Ed Byrne defending Dulin and Penaud himself.

Almost scored an excellent try.

10. Billy Burns - 5

A shaky start from the tee as Burns missed one he really shouldn't have. A few of his Garryowen's were over hit and well fielded by the French. He did shift the ball well for Ireland before his game was ended through an HIA.

9. Jamison Gibson-Park - 6.5

Hung up some of his box kicks wonderfully but others were wayward. Had a nice one-two with James Lowe on the touchline in the latter stages of the second half.

His service was slick from the base but was caught out on defence for Ollivon's try.

1. Cian Healy - 7

Scrummaged well and defended even better. Didn't have too many carries but he was mammoth in the rucks.

Top tackler in the game for Ireland with 14 while he won two turnovers too. Had a nasty head knock and left the pitch bloodied but returned and picked up from where he left off.

2. Rob Herring - 5

The set pieces operated well for Ireland with Herring throwing some nice darts to his jumpers.

A few miss tackles with Marchand leaving him in the dust and not enough of an impact on attack.

Replaced in the 54th minute.

3. Andrew Porter - 7

A strong scrummaging performance, a good carrying game and he competed in the rucks.

He put in a massive hit before he made way for Tadhg Furlong in the 53rd minute.

4. Tadhg Beirne - 6.5

While being a pest at the lineout for the French and solid defender, Beirne wasn't quite as impactful on attack when Ireland needed him to be.

Still got through his work well and was hitting rucks hard.

5. Iain Henderson - 7

A nice charge down on Jalibert in the first minute of the game. He carried strongly and was good on defence making two steals and 9 tackles.

The lineout operated well under his stewardship.

6. Rhys Ruddock - 6.5

A great start with a lineout steal in the first minute of the game. Won a good penalty some 15 minutes later and was a regular presence on both sides of the ball as well as at ruck time.

7. Josh van der Flier - 5

A far quieter game compared to last week. Struggled to make much ground on the French defence while missing one of his seven tackles.

Replaced in the 66th minute after a fairly average performance.

8. CJ Stander - 7

Carried powerfully all game long whether it was into two or three defenders or off a kick.

Kept going right to the end with a tireless performance where he made 19 carries.

One of Ireland's best on the day.

Replacements:

Ronan Kelleher - 7

Made an immediate impact with his try. Set piece remained solid once he came on. Threw his weight around well for just under half an hour making all of his tackles and carrying strongly.