Jamie Osborne — 6: Finished his try well to give Ireland a seven-point cushion. Had a rare off day in the air and was caught in the backfield on a couple of occasions. Also popped up at second playmaker several times to decent effect, and kept two Irish attacks alive with offloads.
Robert Baloucoune — 6: His power — as opposed to his speed — troubled Wales a couple of times early and teed up Irish opportunities, although he forced one offload which found only touch and, like Osborne, came out second-best in too many aerial battles on the night. Teammates will likely rip the piss out of him for his misread on Rhys Carré’s try for a long time, but Baloucoune finished the game strongly with a clever offload to Frawley and an excellent saving tackle on Josh Adams which reminded us of his usual defensive quality.
Garry Ringrose — 7: Just a fine effort on both sides of the ball. Had plenty of neat and tidy attacking contributions, beating four defenders, and made nine of his 10 attempted tackles.
Stuart McCloskey — 7: Made the most yards of any Irish player in the first half and finished with 13 carries and 15 tackles, one of which was a first-half try-saver. While he didn’t reach his previous heights, this was still an impressive display by the Ulster inside centre.
Jacob Stockdale — 7: Ran a cracking line to grab the game’s opening score and made one excellent recovery of a Welsh kick in an otherwise relatively quiet first half. Not as heavily involved throughout the game as he would have liked, but carried with purpose during limited chances to do so and played a key role in Osborne’s try.
Jack Crowley — 6: Made an iffy start with a sliced exit kick and a poor pass to ground, but showed some tidy footwork on several visits to the Welsh 22′ and showed the right instinct to take his try as opposed to make one more pass. Made 13 of his 14 tackles but place-kicking remains and issue. Has had both better and worse days in green.
Jamison Gibson-Park — 7: Was also sloppy in the early stages of his 50th cap before being temporarily withdrawn with a blood injury. Sharper upon his first-half return and made some key stops of Welshmen around the ankles. Guilty of overplaying at one point in the third quarter which invited a spell of Welsh pressure, but otherwise managed the game very well and box-kicked to near perfection.
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Forwards:
Tom O’Toole — 8: His early scrum penalty win on his first start at loosehead eventually yielded Ireland’s opening try. Then, a knock-on at the base of a ruck — unfortunate, granted — cost Ireland a second. That was the only blot on O’Toole’s copybook. Won another scrum penalty early in the second half, moments after he initiated a choke tackle with Rónan Kelleher to earn that very scrum. Carried and tackled with menace.
Rónan Kelleher — 8: Notably ferocious in the attacking breakdown, where he routinely made massive clear-outs. Created the choke tackle with O’Toole which led to an Ireland scrum penalty — and scrummaged well all night himself. Spot-on at lineout time, carried with force on nine occasions, and made 17 tackles in just over an hour.
Tadhg Furlong — 6: Enjoyed a strong first half and made 10 carries in all, although one of those led to a poor knock on as he visibly tired in the second half. Lost his personal battle with Welsh replacement Nicky Smith decisively before being replaced by Tom Clarkson.
James Ryan — 7: Made 14 carries and did all that was asked of him in the lineout. His couple of penalty concessions were frustrating but Ryan was far more so a nuisance to Wales than he was to Ireland.
Tadhg Beirne — 7: Called game with his breakdown steal at the end. Had earlier stolen a lineout. Made 14 tackles and 11 carries, albeit many of the latter saw him stopped instantly by stout Welsh defence.
Jack Conan — 8: Won a big jackal penalty to lift a sustained period of Welsh pressure on 26 minutes. Did well to even catch the ball from which he ultimately scored — and was unfortunate to see his first-half effort chalked off. An excellent all-round display in which he made 47 metres from 15 carries, four offloads, and 13 tackles.
Nick Timoney — 7: Picked up where he had left off in the first half, making some huge hits, notably including one in the opening seconds. Strong in the attacking breakdown.
Caelan Doris (capt) — 7: While not quite as explosive as he was against England, Ireland’s skipper still led the team (along with Kelleher) with 17 tackles and made 13 carries. Also didn’t appear to annoy English referee Karl Dickson too much, which feels like a genuine step forward in his communication with officials.
Replacements:
Tom Stewart (Kelleher 63′) — 6: Spent much of his 17-minute cameo buried in the breakdown, which is what Ireland needed. Aside from one early carry, we didn’t see much of him in the loose where he’s at his most exciting.
Michael Milne (O’Toole 63′) — 6: Made himself known with a couple of forceful carries and six tackles. Scrummaged well.
Thomas Clarkson (Furlong 59′) — 6: Solid in defence and particularly stood out in the lineout, where he’s an excellent lifter. Didn’t carry ball — adding even a fraction more to his attacking game feels like an important step in his development.
Joe McCarthy (Ryan 59′) — 7: Made an immediate impact with a grab and chip down the line when Ireland needed something. Lineout steal on 75 minutes also simultaneously roused the crowd and calmed nerves.
Josh van der Flier — 7: Made an excellent defensive impact off the bench.
Nathan Doak (Gibson-Park 23′, 75′) — 6: Was lively upon his first-half introduction, picking one lovely pass in particular for the on-running Caelan Doris inside the Welsh 22′. Ireland almost exclusively defended during his second cameo.
Tom Farrell (Ringrose 70′) — n/a: Only on for 10 minutes and didn’t have the time or the game script to make a discernible impact.
Ciarán Frawley (Stockdale 70′) — 6: Involvement with Baloucoune and chip down the right gave Ireland decent field position from the Welsh exit. Otherwise would have been an ‘n/a’ as, like Farrell, he had precious little chance to affect the game.
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Our player ratings as Ireland see off Wales in tough challenge
Backs:
Jamie Osborne — 6: Finished his try well to give Ireland a seven-point cushion. Had a rare off day in the air and was caught in the backfield on a couple of occasions. Also popped up at second playmaker several times to decent effect, and kept two Irish attacks alive with offloads.
Robert Baloucoune — 6: His power — as opposed to his speed — troubled Wales a couple of times early and teed up Irish opportunities, although he forced one offload which found only touch and, like Osborne, came out second-best in too many aerial battles on the night. Teammates will likely rip the piss out of him for his misread on Rhys Carré’s try for a long time, but Baloucoune finished the game strongly with a clever offload to Frawley and an excellent saving tackle on Josh Adams which reminded us of his usual defensive quality.
Garry Ringrose — 7: Just a fine effort on both sides of the ball. Had plenty of neat and tidy attacking contributions, beating four defenders, and made nine of his 10 attempted tackles.
Stuart McCloskey — 7: Made the most yards of any Irish player in the first half and finished with 13 carries and 15 tackles, one of which was a first-half try-saver. While he didn’t reach his previous heights, this was still an impressive display by the Ulster inside centre.
Jacob Stockdale — 7: Ran a cracking line to grab the game’s opening score and made one excellent recovery of a Welsh kick in an otherwise relatively quiet first half. Not as heavily involved throughout the game as he would have liked, but carried with purpose during limited chances to do so and played a key role in Osborne’s try.
Jack Crowley — 6: Made an iffy start with a sliced exit kick and a poor pass to ground, but showed some tidy footwork on several visits to the Welsh 22′ and showed the right instinct to take his try as opposed to make one more pass. Made 13 of his 14 tackles but place-kicking remains and issue. Has had both better and worse days in green.
Jamison Gibson-Park — 7: Was also sloppy in the early stages of his 50th cap before being temporarily withdrawn with a blood injury. Sharper upon his first-half return and made some key stops of Welshmen around the ankles. Guilty of overplaying at one point in the third quarter which invited a spell of Welsh pressure, but otherwise managed the game very well and box-kicked to near perfection.
Forwards:
Tom O’Toole — 8: His early scrum penalty win on his first start at loosehead eventually yielded Ireland’s opening try. Then, a knock-on at the base of a ruck — unfortunate, granted — cost Ireland a second. That was the only blot on O’Toole’s copybook. Won another scrum penalty early in the second half, moments after he initiated a choke tackle with Rónan Kelleher to earn that very scrum. Carried and tackled with menace.
Rónan Kelleher — 8: Notably ferocious in the attacking breakdown, where he routinely made massive clear-outs. Created the choke tackle with O’Toole which led to an Ireland scrum penalty — and scrummaged well all night himself. Spot-on at lineout time, carried with force on nine occasions, and made 17 tackles in just over an hour.
Tadhg Furlong — 6: Enjoyed a strong first half and made 10 carries in all, although one of those led to a poor knock on as he visibly tired in the second half. Lost his personal battle with Welsh replacement Nicky Smith decisively before being replaced by Tom Clarkson.
James Ryan — 7: Made 14 carries and did all that was asked of him in the lineout. His couple of penalty concessions were frustrating but Ryan was far more so a nuisance to Wales than he was to Ireland.
Tadhg Beirne — 7: Called game with his breakdown steal at the end. Had earlier stolen a lineout. Made 14 tackles and 11 carries, albeit many of the latter saw him stopped instantly by stout Welsh defence.
Jack Conan — 8: Won a big jackal penalty to lift a sustained period of Welsh pressure on 26 minutes. Did well to even catch the ball from which he ultimately scored — and was unfortunate to see his first-half effort chalked off. An excellent all-round display in which he made 47 metres from 15 carries, four offloads, and 13 tackles.
Nick Timoney — 7: Picked up where he had left off in the first half, making some huge hits, notably including one in the opening seconds. Strong in the attacking breakdown.
Caelan Doris (capt) — 7: While not quite as explosive as he was against England, Ireland’s skipper still led the team (along with Kelleher) with 17 tackles and made 13 carries. Also didn’t appear to annoy English referee Karl Dickson too much, which feels like a genuine step forward in his communication with officials.
Replacements:
Tom Stewart (Kelleher 63′) — 6: Spent much of his 17-minute cameo buried in the breakdown, which is what Ireland needed. Aside from one early carry, we didn’t see much of him in the loose where he’s at his most exciting.
Michael Milne (O’Toole 63′) — 6: Made himself known with a couple of forceful carries and six tackles. Scrummaged well.
Thomas Clarkson (Furlong 59′) — 6: Solid in defence and particularly stood out in the lineout, where he’s an excellent lifter. Didn’t carry ball — adding even a fraction more to his attacking game feels like an important step in his development.
Joe McCarthy (Ryan 59′) — 7: Made an immediate impact with a grab and chip down the line when Ireland needed something. Lineout steal on 75 minutes also simultaneously roused the crowd and calmed nerves.
Josh van der Flier — 7: Made an excellent defensive impact off the bench.
Nathan Doak (Gibson-Park 23′, 75′) — 6: Was lively upon his first-half introduction, picking one lovely pass in particular for the on-running Caelan Doris inside the Welsh 22′. Ireland almost exclusively defended during his second cameo.
Tom Farrell (Ringrose 70′) — n/a: Only on for 10 minutes and didn’t have the time or the game script to make a discernible impact.
Ciarán Frawley (Stockdale 70′) — 6: Involvement with Baloucoune and chip down the right gave Ireland decent field position from the Welsh exit. Otherwise would have been an ‘n/a’ as, like Farrell, he had precious little chance to affect the game.
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Six Nations marks out of 10 Rugby