Player Ratings: Ireland vs England

Player Ratings: Ireland vs England

England ended Ireland's 12 game unbeaten run in emphatic fashion at Aviva Stadium on Saturday securing a bonus point victory.

We have ranked every starting player and a few standout substitutes from the clash: 

Ireland

1. Cian Healy - 6

Powered over the line for a try in the first and was strong in the scrums. Made all 7 of his attempted tackles and carried the ball 9 times. 


2. Rory Best - 6

Relatively solid at set pieces and was good in the rucks. Missed his jumper on one occasion and made 8 tackles.


3. Tadhg Furlong - 6.5

Battled hard up front making 7 tackles and had a tidy day at the office in the front row. He fought hard to earn ever extra yard he possibly could. 

4. Devin Toner - 6.5

Was a solid lineout option, as per usual, made his tackles and carried the ball 4 times before he left the field before the hour mark. 

5. James Ryan - 7

Industrious and at times destructive. Applied the pressure on the England lineout and weighed in with some hefty tackles. 

 

6. Peter O'Mahony - 6

Never seems to have a bad game in the green jersey. Got stuck into the English pack but wasn't as effective as he usually is at the breakdown. 

7. Josh van der Flier - 8

Made a mamoth 17 tackles without missing a single one! Came up with a clean steal and disrupted England's attack with his work at the breakdown. 

8. CJ Stander - 8

Emptied his tunk at Aviva Stadium making 17 tackles, one turnover and 9 carries in just over an hour before he earned himself a well deserved breather. 

Stander got stuck in physically and was one of the best Irish forwards on the night.

9. Conor Murray - 6

His passes were crisp as too was his kicking but the Irish halfback was unable to inspire a comeback. Looked right at home on the test stage despite missing the November Internationals.

10. Jonathan Sexton - 5

A somewhat off night for the World Rugby Player of the Year in 2018. His kicking from the tee was accurate as ever but a few of his up and unders were slightly overcooked. Another rare error saw him kick out on the full in the second half and he threw a poor pass that Henry Slade picked off to score his second.

11. Jacob Stockdale - 6

Stockdale's work on attack saves his rating somewhat as he finished the game with the most running metres and beat 4 defenders but the youngster was caught out of position on occasion.

He also slipped up to allow Elliot Daly to score a try much like the one in the France-Wales game on Friday. 

12. Bundee Aki - 5.5

A few handling erros and failing to get Ireland on the front foot on attack hampers Aki's rating. The Irish centre was relatively solid defensively.

13. Garry Ringrose - 6.5

Made a massive hit at a crucial time for Ireland early in the second half when England looked dangerous. Had one or two handling errors when Ireland looked to strike.

Ringrose beat more defenders than any other player in the match (6) and made 33 running metres.

14. Keith Earls - 6

Picked up few knocks in the first half from the likes of Tom Curry and Maro Itoje and was substituted at the break. While on the pitch he was excellent in the air and in defence but didn't get much to work with on attack. 

 

15. Robbie Henshaw - 7

Came to Ireland's rescue in the first half with some great cover work under immense pressure. Look comfortable at fullback and could be a genuine option at fullback for Joe Schmidt's side. He also had an excellent leap in the air near the touchline to keep the ball in. 

England 

1. Mako Vunipola - 9

Got around the park brilliantly in the first half both on attack and on defence. 


He went on to finish the match with a mammoth 25 tackles and 11 carries. He held his own in the scrums time and was named man of the match for his efforts.

2. Jamie George - 7

Pinpoint with his lineout throws and  was solid in the scrum. He missed just 1 of his 13 attempted tackles - that was his first missed tackle since the second test against South Africa last year. A strong performance from the England front rower. 

3. Kyle Sinckler - 7

Got stuck in exactly as you'd expect. He was solid against a tough customer in Cian Healy and made all of his attempted tackles. Overall a strong performance from the tighthead. 

4. Maro Itoje - 6.5

Can count himself lucky that he didn't get sent to the bin for a tackle on Keith Earls in the first half. He went on to make 9 tackles, a turnover and 6 carries before he limped off 10 minutes after half time. 

5. George Kruis - 7

Was a great option in the lineouts and weighed in with 11 tackles. Was taken off in the 50th minute.

Courtney Lawes - 8

Made a great tackle on Ringrose that earned his side a crucial penalty. Made numerous thumping hits in the latter stages of the match and could be in line for a start next week.

6. Mark Wilson -  8

Another workman like performance from the Newcastle flanker. He did all the hard graft making over 20 tackles and won three turnovers for his side. 

7. Tom Curry - 8

His poor tackle that saw him get sent to the bin aside, Curry had a great game for England stiffling numerous Irish attacks. He was another English forward that relished the physical battle hit double digits in the tackle count. 

He also got up to charge down a Sexton kick. 

8. Billy Vunipola - 7.5

Vunipola carried well for England throughout the game. His tackling was superb and he was a threat at the breakdown.

9. Ben Youngs - 8

There were some question marks around Youngs' game but the English halfback answered his critics with a superb performance at the Aviva Stadium. His box kicks were well executed and his passing was on point.

10. Owen Farrell - 8.5 

Farrell controlled the game brilliantly with his kicks putting Ireland under pressure. He scored 12 points off the tee and made 10 tackles. His decision making and temperment was key to England's success as too was his leadership. 

11. Jack Nowell - 8

The English winger was all over the pitch for 73 minutes. He drifted in field making some testing runs and got stuck into the breakdown both on attack and defence. He was strong on defence and made 56 running metres on attack. 

12. Manu Tuilagi - 8.5

Numerous massive carries and tackles. Tuilagi provided the front football that England needed in the absence of Ben Te'o and looked right at home in the starting line up in what was his first start since 2014.

13. Henry Slade - 8.5

Whether it was on attack or defence, Henry Slade was brilliant. He made some crucial tackles when Ireland looked dangerous. He run superb support lines on attack and was rewarded for his effort thanks to a chip kick by Jonny May.

His defensive work was also rewarded in the closing stages when he picked off Johnny Sexton's pass.

14. Jonny May - 7.5

May brilliantly finished off the first try of the match and went on to have a superb game. He was safe under the high ball and contested well in that area too. He did well to set up Henry Slade for his try and racked up 41 running metres.

15. Elliot Daly - 7

Had a hand in the opening try of the game for Jonny May when he showed off his hands to get his fellow outside back in space. He followed that up with a pressure kick that Jacob Stockdale spilt resulting in a try.  

Spilt one or two high balls that he really should have taken but otherwise a solid performance in the 15 jersey. 

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