Ireland v Scotland: Top Five Players

Ireland finished third in the inaugural Autumn Nations Cup, following a 31-16 victory over Scotland at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.

Keith Earls scored two tries to move past Tommy Bowe to second in the all-time Ireland list - while Leinster prop Cian Healy notched another.

We picked out our five best performers from the game.

Keith Earls - Ireland

It wasn't just the two five pointers that stood out for Earls. He defended well and chased Ireland's kicks well while being solid under the high ball.

His finishing instincts served him well as he reacted well to dive on the loose ball and score after Sexton's cross kick.

His second was classic winger's play as he sped down the flank to dot down out wide.

Caelon Doris - Ireland

Another strong performance from the Irish no.8 as he continues to cement his place in the starting XV.

He made 13 strong carries into traffic as he made just 16 metres but those carries gave Ireland the front football they required.

He also controlled the ball well at the pack of the scrum, that did go backwards at times, while making four passes and six carries. 

Jonathan Sexton - Ireland

Ireland looked far more structured under the strict guidance of their captain.

Sexton mixed up the attack well while his cross-kick for Earls' first try was an excellent bit of deception that finally broke the Scotland defence.

That proved to be a massive moment in the game as Ireland went on to dominate from there. 

Duhan van der Merwe - Scotland

Refused to go down lightly ever time he touched the ball.

He had some excellent carries down the flank and chased kicks extremely well.  

When the ball didn't come his way, he went searching for work and was rewarded as he reacted quickly to catch the Irish defence napping and score an excellent try.

Jonny Gray - Scotland

A very Jonny Gray like performance. The second-rower was the top tackler in the game, as he often is, making all of his attempted tackles (19) while pressuring the Irish lineout.

He carried well too and was excellent for a full 80 minutes.