Jamie Osborne — 8: His thumping finish added the punctuation to Ireland’s superiority on the day. An assured defensive presence as ever, Osborne was also dominant in the air and made all but one of his tackles. His yellow card was the product of desperate Irish defence and, in truth, was probably worth the risk given the game state at the time.
Robert Baloucoune — 8: The Ulster wing picked up where he left off against Italy, his early half-break contributing to Ireland’s opening try. He was again exceptional defensively, combining with Tommy O’Brien to deny an English try and once more making every one of his tackles — a huge 11 in total. Made three clean breaks and looks like a legitimately high-class Test wing in every aspect.
Garry Ringrose — 7: An early defensive intervention saved a probable English score. This was one of Ringrose’s most astute and most physical efforts on ‘D’, and he facilitated tidily during numerous multi-phase attacks.
Stuart McCloskey — 9: Wow, what a player. He shook off a slightly iffy start to produce one of the all-time great Irish performances by an individual at Twickenham. His wonderful skip pass to Baloucoune eventually yielded Ireland’s opening try, and his perfectly spotted line-break led to the second. Massive in defence once more, making 14 tackles — including his memorable chase-down and hustling into touch of Marcus Smith — and saving two tries, the other being an English pass which he batted back onto the Irish side inside his own 22′ in the first half.
James Lowe — 6: Lost concentration briefly with an early drop but had otherwise started sharply. Went off injured before he had a chance to properly impact the game.
Jack Crowley — 7: This was, broadly speaking, an impressive performance by Crowley which might have otherwise even warranted an 8, but his early woes from the tee can’t be ignored. Still, the Munster 10 played maturely in the sense that he curbed his penchant for trying to do too much, instead neatly facilitating several flowing Irish attacks. He slipped off a few more tackles than would typically be the case but still played hard and made 11 of them. He also kicked well from hand which allowed Ireland to put England under serious aerial pressure. Will deservedly keep his shirt for Wales unless Farrell decides to experiment with Harry Byrne or Ciarán Frawley.
Jamison Gibson-Park — 10: The Leinster scrum-half added to his catalogue of world-class Irish performances with, perhaps, his finest effort of all. He did everything in a try-scoring exemplar, including winning a turnover on the ground after his own excellent kick into space on transition. A titanic performance in every aspect by Ireland’s scrum-half.
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Forwards:
Jeremy Loughman — 6: His carrying is not his strength and Ireland were always going to be under the pump in the scrum, but Loughman dug in where Ireland needed him on either side of the ball.
Dan Sheehan — 8: This was closer to the Sheehan of previous years: excellent in the lineout, sharp in the loose, and beastly in defence. Secured Ireland’s bonus-point with a fine finish. Also made a nice step and break in midfield, as well as teeing up Josh van der Flier’s first-half line-break out of his 22′.
Tadhg Furlong — 8: Pinged in one scrum but otherwise held his own. Gave it absolute socks around the park, particularly at the breakdown where he was ballistic. Also made all 10 of his tackles, several of them huge hits.
Joe McCarthy — 8: An incredible early maul turnover set the tone for McCarthy’s performance and ultimately yielded Ireland’s opening three points. Soft penalty concession moments later for playing the nine, but otherwise this was McCarthy near his belligerent best, particularly at the breakdown.
James Ryan — 7: While not quite as noticeable as he was against Italy, Ryan is bang in form and his goal-line defence in particular was exceptional. Conceded two lineout penalties, the first of which seemed a touch harsh.
Tadhg Beirne — 8: An early lineout steal led to Lowe’s chance down the left. Beirne went nuclear in the second half — he’s credited as having won one turnover — a brilliant jackal on his own line — but his pressure at the breakdown led to at least two further penalties as England scrambled to keep him off their ball. Made 18 tackles.
Josh van der Flier — 8: Justified his recall with his most effective Irish performance in recent memory. Aside from his own line-break, he was integral to Baloucoune’s score and tormented England for his 49 minutes on the field.
Caelan Doris (Captain) — 9: Like many of Ireland’s key Leinster contingent, this was an explosion back to Doris’ finest form. England couldn’t live with him, his second-half line-break up the middle eventually leading to Osborne’s try. Doris led Ireland with 20 tackles — he had one miss on Itoje, but was otherwise exceptional defensively — and made nearly 50 metres from his 11 carries; granted, a chunk of that yardage was earned with the aforementioned line-break, but he edged over the gain-line with virtually every possession and gave Ireland constant go-forward ball. Capped his effort with a late jackal penalty win deep inside his own half.
Replacements:
Ronán Kelleher (Sheehan 55′) — 6: Spent much of his cameo buried at the breakdown as England gained territorial advantage in their pursuit of consolation scores.
Tom O’Toole (Loughman 46′) — 6: Defended and hit rucks like a madman. Appeared to hold his own at scrum-time on live viewing.
Finlay Bealham — 7: Carried hard and won a turnover. Solid on his first few scrums before conceding one penalty near the hour mark.
Nick Timoney (Van der Flier 49′) — 7: Defended his own line tigerishly and showed some lovely handling skills during his brief glimpses in possession.
Cian Prendergast (McCarthy 62′) — 6: Like Kelleher, most of his effort was focused towards the breakdown on both sides of the ball as Ireland began to cruise towards the finish line.
Craig Casey (Gibson-Park 71′) — 6:Had one solid exit kick to touch and another which put England under some pressure inside their own 22′, but a very brief cameo.
Ciarán Frawley (Ringrose 54′) — 6: Again, came into a different kind of game to that of his predecessor but acquitted himself well in midfield with his limited opportunities to contribute to Irish attacks.
Tommy O’Brien (Lowe 18′) — 8: Made a stunning impact off the bench with a dominant aerial display, a well-taken try, and a try-saving intervention with Rob Baloucoune down his wing. What a bounce-back from Paris.
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Our player ratings as Ireland trounce England at Twickenham
Backs:
Jamie Osborne — 8: His thumping finish added the punctuation to Ireland’s superiority on the day. An assured defensive presence as ever, Osborne was also dominant in the air and made all but one of his tackles. His yellow card was the product of desperate Irish defence and, in truth, was probably worth the risk given the game state at the time.
Robert Baloucoune — 8: The Ulster wing picked up where he left off against Italy, his early half-break contributing to Ireland’s opening try. He was again exceptional defensively, combining with Tommy O’Brien to deny an English try and once more making every one of his tackles — a huge 11 in total. Made three clean breaks and looks like a legitimately high-class Test wing in every aspect.
Garry Ringrose — 7: An early defensive intervention saved a probable English score. This was one of Ringrose’s most astute and most physical efforts on ‘D’, and he facilitated tidily during numerous multi-phase attacks.
Stuart McCloskey — 9: Wow, what a player. He shook off a slightly iffy start to produce one of the all-time great Irish performances by an individual at Twickenham. His wonderful skip pass to Baloucoune eventually yielded Ireland’s opening try, and his perfectly spotted line-break led to the second. Massive in defence once more, making 14 tackles — including his memorable chase-down and hustling into touch of Marcus Smith — and saving two tries, the other being an English pass which he batted back onto the Irish side inside his own 22′ in the first half.
James Lowe — 6: Lost concentration briefly with an early drop but had otherwise started sharply. Went off injured before he had a chance to properly impact the game.
Jack Crowley — 7: This was, broadly speaking, an impressive performance by Crowley which might have otherwise even warranted an 8, but his early woes from the tee can’t be ignored. Still, the Munster 10 played maturely in the sense that he curbed his penchant for trying to do too much, instead neatly facilitating several flowing Irish attacks. He slipped off a few more tackles than would typically be the case but still played hard and made 11 of them. He also kicked well from hand which allowed Ireland to put England under serious aerial pressure. Will deservedly keep his shirt for Wales unless Farrell decides to experiment with Harry Byrne or Ciarán Frawley.
Jamison Gibson-Park — 10: The Leinster scrum-half added to his catalogue of world-class Irish performances with, perhaps, his finest effort of all. He did everything in a try-scoring exemplar, including winning a turnover on the ground after his own excellent kick into space on transition. A titanic performance in every aspect by Ireland’s scrum-half.
Forwards:
Jeremy Loughman — 6: His carrying is not his strength and Ireland were always going to be under the pump in the scrum, but Loughman dug in where Ireland needed him on either side of the ball.
Dan Sheehan — 8: This was closer to the Sheehan of previous years: excellent in the lineout, sharp in the loose, and beastly in defence. Secured Ireland’s bonus-point with a fine finish. Also made a nice step and break in midfield, as well as teeing up Josh van der Flier’s first-half line-break out of his 22′.
Tadhg Furlong — 8: Pinged in one scrum but otherwise held his own. Gave it absolute socks around the park, particularly at the breakdown where he was ballistic. Also made all 10 of his tackles, several of them huge hits.
Joe McCarthy — 8: An incredible early maul turnover set the tone for McCarthy’s performance and ultimately yielded Ireland’s opening three points. Soft penalty concession moments later for playing the nine, but otherwise this was McCarthy near his belligerent best, particularly at the breakdown.
James Ryan — 7: While not quite as noticeable as he was against Italy, Ryan is bang in form and his goal-line defence in particular was exceptional. Conceded two lineout penalties, the first of which seemed a touch harsh.
Tadhg Beirne — 8: An early lineout steal led to Lowe’s chance down the left. Beirne went nuclear in the second half — he’s credited as having won one turnover — a brilliant jackal on his own line — but his pressure at the breakdown led to at least two further penalties as England scrambled to keep him off their ball. Made 18 tackles.
Josh van der Flier — 8: Justified his recall with his most effective Irish performance in recent memory. Aside from his own line-break, he was integral to Baloucoune’s score and tormented England for his 49 minutes on the field.
Caelan Doris (Captain) — 9: Like many of Ireland’s key Leinster contingent, this was an explosion back to Doris’ finest form. England couldn’t live with him, his second-half line-break up the middle eventually leading to Osborne’s try. Doris led Ireland with 20 tackles — he had one miss on Itoje, but was otherwise exceptional defensively — and made nearly 50 metres from his 11 carries; granted, a chunk of that yardage was earned with the aforementioned line-break, but he edged over the gain-line with virtually every possession and gave Ireland constant go-forward ball. Capped his effort with a late jackal penalty win deep inside his own half.
Replacements:
Ronán Kelleher (Sheehan 55′) — 6: Spent much of his cameo buried at the breakdown as England gained territorial advantage in their pursuit of consolation scores.
Tom O’Toole (Loughman 46′) — 6: Defended and hit rucks like a madman. Appeared to hold his own at scrum-time on live viewing.
Finlay Bealham — 7: Carried hard and won a turnover. Solid on his first few scrums before conceding one penalty near the hour mark.
Nick Timoney (Van der Flier 49′) — 7: Defended his own line tigerishly and showed some lovely handling skills during his brief glimpses in possession.
Cian Prendergast (McCarthy 62′) — 6: Like Kelleher, most of his effort was focused towards the breakdown on both sides of the ball as Ireland began to cruise towards the finish line.
Craig Casey (Gibson-Park 71′) — 6:Had one solid exit kick to touch and another which put England under some pressure inside their own 22′, but a very brief cameo.
Ciarán Frawley (Ringrose 54′) — 6: Again, came into a different kind of game to that of his predecessor but acquitted himself well in midfield with his limited opportunities to contribute to Irish attacks.
Tommy O’Brien (Lowe 18′) — 8: Made a stunning impact off the bench with a dominant aerial display, a well-taken try, and a try-saving intervention with Rob Baloucoune down his wing. What a bounce-back from Paris.
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Six Nations marks out of 10 Rugby