Ireland were put to the sword by Wales in the final round of this year’s Six Nations and here are the player ratings.
1. Cian Healy (2) – With the team as a whole failing to impress Healy gave away a couple of cheap penalties and will need to compose himself better in such high intensity games.
2. Rory Best (5) – In his final Six Nations performance Best put in a solid display at line-out time and showed great awareness with a short line-out at one point. Unfortunate to see an Irish legend have to bow out on such a low.
3. Tadhg Furlong (4) – Never really got going, had a bad day at the office but everyone knows the talent he has and is certain to start during the World Cup.
4. Tadhg Beirne (3) – He had the chance to impress with Iain Henderson missing through injury and did anything but. He was nowhere near his usual high-intensity standards and will be fighting to secure a ticket to Japan.
5. James Ryan (6) – The one shining light for Ireland as he made the hard yards and continued to rally on even when Ireland were scoreless in with the clock in red. Never seems to have a bad day at the office.
6. Peter O’Mahony (4) – When his team needed him in Cardiff he was nowhere to be seen. A strange performance from all but the No 6 showed none of his usual leadership and lacked his normal intensity.
7. Sean O’Brien (2) – You would be forgiven if you didn’t notice he was on the pitch. He was taken off after 52 minutes for Jack Conan and will struggle to get back into the team especially with his move to London Irish in the Summer.
8. CJ Stander (5) – Carried the ball well but was lacking power, possibly due the performance he put in against the French last week. Below par but fought until the end.
9. Conor Murray (2) – He has struggled for form all tournament and did nothing to impress his critics with this display. The rain didn’t help but the other scrum-halves will see a small window of opportunity for the No 9 jersey if this continues.
10. Johnny Sexton (4) – Frustrated all day as Wales closed him down almost every time he touched the ball. Had a moment if brilliance with a cross-field kick for Jacob Stockdale but that was cancelled out by a kick-off straight out of play. Doesn’t look himself and accepted being replaced by Jack Carty unlike in Rome.
11. Jacob Stockdale (6) – Although he didn’t score a try he made a lot of metres when he had the ball in hand. Looked as though he was in on a couple of occasions only to be denied by a solid Welsh defence. Will hope for better days from the rest of the teams so that he gets more chances.
12. Bundee Aki (2) – He is in big trouble when Robbie Henshaw returns. He provided the team with little to nothing and will need some massive performances for Connacht to be in with a chance of contesting for the inside centre position come Japan.
13. Garry Ringrose (4) – Had a couple of promising moments but was given nothing to feed off by his comrades. It was hard to see after his incredible display last weekend but has a Champions Cup quarter-final to look forward to with Leinster and is only improving.
14. Keith Earls (3) – Never got going and looked a shadow of his normal energetic self. Hasn’t had too poor a tournament but will want to forget today.
15. Rob Kearney (2) – Can’t remember him getting the ball more than once and although not entirely his fault it was still a terrible showing. One of his worst in green and with Larmour’s try after coming on, he will be under pressure to keep hold of the full-back jersey.
Replacements (6) – Some of them made you wonder what could have been if they were on from the start. Jack Carty showed some great imagination with his kicks and Jordan Larmour attacked with intent and was rewarded with his try. Jack Conan impressed once more from the bench and has put himself in contention for a starting berth at No 8. Overall, a decent performance from the subs on a poor day for the country.
Management (1) – In Schmidt’s final Six Nations match as head coach it was one of their worst displays ever. It wasn’t helped by the conditions with the roof open, a decision, made by the Irish and one can only wonder what if it had been closed. Schmidt will bounce back but it is not the way he would have wanted to end his 6 Nations tenure in charge. A big few months await.
