Backs

Hugo Keenan — 8: A try-saving tackle in either half and a monster take in the air on 54 minutes were the highlights. Fell off a couple more but there were no real lowlights. Picked up where he left off for Ireland in the XVs game for the most part.

Mack Hansen — 7: Was mainly effective in the attacking breakdown during the first half. Came alive with ball in hand — and finally found some success in the air — in the last quarter.

Garry Ringrose — 6: Clever support line for Aki’s offload which yielded a yellow on half-time for Ringrose’s soon-to-be-teammate Jordie Barrett. Melted Reiko Ioane in a monstrous first-half tackle. A solid outing, albeit one in which he was starved of real attacking opportunities.

Bundee Aki — 6: Two uncharacteristic early errors — a forced forward pass and a sloppy knock-on — left him visibly frustrated. It was Aki who eventually burst a hole in the Kiwi line for the move which resulted in Barrett’s yellow and three points. Made nine carries, slightly less than his average, which illustrates some of Ireland’s attacking struggles.

James Lowe — 7: Kept Ireland alive in the final 10 minutes when the game would have otherwise petered out. Made one of the best 50-22s you’ll ever see — a touchline 22-22 in reality — and led Ireland in carries (nine, alongside Aki and Caelan Doris) and metres gained (40).

Jack Crowley — 6: The feeling that he never truly had control of the game was emphasised by a poor drop as Ireland were making inroads in the Kiwi half on 51 minutes, albeit Crowley was far from alone in making an unforced error of that description. Made one excellent conversion from the right-hand side.

Jamison Gibson-Park — 8: Conceded two penalties but was arguably Ireland’s most impactful defensive player, saving a couple of tries including one with an amazing, come-from-behind tackle on Damian McKenzie. Conducted Josh van der Flier’s score with typical expertise.

Forwards:

Andrew Porter — 7: Charge-down of Cortez Ratima’s box-kick gave Ireland an early foothold. Monstered a few Kiwi rucks and fared better in the scrum than the last fixture between these sides, albeit Ireland deem him to have been harshly judged on that occasion. Unlucky not to have been awarded a breakdown turnover in the first half.

Rónan Kelleher — 6: Was a threat to Kiwi ball at the breakdown without gaining proper reward. Strong performance in the loose but while Ireland’s couple of lineouts don’t fall solely at his door, that particular set-piece does tend to function a bit more slowly when Kelleher is on the line as opposed to Rob Herring or Dan Sheehan.

Finlay Bealham — 6: Was harshly adjudged by referee Nic Berry to have been “driving straight across” in a second-half scrum in which it looked for all the world as though Bealham had done enough to win a penalty. Conceded two more on the ground, leading the team with three.

Joe McCarthy — 7: Produced several guttural responses from the crowd on both sides of the ball. One second-half spillage was a momentum-killer, albeit McCarthy got absolutely crunched with a hit which dislodged the ball.

James Ryan — 7: Led the team in directly forcing two Kiwi turnovers on a day in which they were scarce.

Tadhg Beirne — 6: Had a similarly frustrating performance to virtually every Irish player on the field without producing the kind of signature moments for which he has become famous.

Josh van der Flier — 8: Was already Ireland’s best performer before his try, and continued to be thereafter.

Caelan Doris (captain) — 7: Made nine carries, a couple of them incisive, and made some huge defensive hits too. Tough criticism but should have been all over Nic Berry for the Kiwis’ closing of the gap in the lineout in the first half.

Replacements:

Rob Herring — 6: Best Test-level thrower in the country and that alone made a difference.

Cian Healy — n/a:

Tom O’Toole — n/a:

Iain Henderson — 5: A frustrating appearance off the bench on a day in which it made little impact across the board.

Peter O’Mahony — n/a:

Conor Murray — n/a:

Ciarán Frawley — 4: An error-strewn cameo in which everything went wrong for him. Will probably never again have one like it in either green or blue.

Jamie Osborne — :