Jamie Osborne — 7: Made a huge grab in 24th minute which roused the Irish effort, as well as their fans, and was one of the better performers on the day. Osborne’s positional instinct seems spot-on and he’s plainly a dependable replacement for Hugo Keenan. The next stage of his development may be to challenge Keenan for his starting spot with Leinster.
Tommy O’Brien — 6: Just didn’t get a chance to get going with ball in hand, which wasn’t on him. Defended with his typical tigerishness.
Garry Ringrose — 5: Fended easily by Leicester Fainga’anuku’s for Ardie Savea’s try and burned for pace on several occasions. Still had some big defensive moments, but it was among Ringrose’s poorer games for Ireland.
Stuart McCloskey — 8: Was Ireland’s most threatening attacker, routinely crossing the gainline and coming within millimetres of creating scores with an offloading ability that is unparalleled in Ireland’s backline. Should not have been taken off and deserves to keep his place against Australia in a couple of weeks’ time.
James Lowe — 6: All effort, as always, but off-colour with his decision-making at key junctures. Missed a couple of defensive reads, which these days is unlike him, but contributed plenty in the air.
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Jack Crowley — 6: A solid if unspectacular return to the starting jersey. Crowley’s flashes of brilliance were tempered by several poor kicks from hand which offered New Zealand the attacking opportunities they crave.
Jamison Gibson-Park — 8: Resembled his previous best with his attacking tempo, box-kicking game and defensive output.
Forwards:
Andrew Porter — 6: A rare average performance across the board.
Dan Sheehan (captain) — 6: Would need a rewatch to determine his responsibility for Ireland’s lineout collapse, the root cause of which was, really, Tadhg Beirne’s red card. But there were certainly a couple of poorly thrown balls, including an early overthrow. Still made his usual attacking dent.
Tadhg Furlong — 7: Achieved parity at scrum-time with Tamiati Williams and took his try well. Would have been a 7.5 but the decimal system is strictly prohibited by The 42′s editor, and he wasn’t an 8.
James Ryan — 6: Might have even overcompensated for Beirne’s dismissal and left a mark in the contact area, but struggled in the lineout.
Tadhg Beirne — n/a: Shouldn’t have been sent off.
Ryan Baird — 8: Ireland’s standout player alongside McCloskey. His athleticism shone and his improved lineout ability offered Ireland their only assurance as that particular set-piece collapsed.
Josh van der Flier — 7: His poach on eight minutes was one of exceptionally few forced turnovers by Ireland and his effort at the breakdown was admirable throughout.
Jack Conan — 6: Didn’t quite hit his usual levels and was eclipsed by Caelan Doris off the bench.
Replacements:
Rónan Kelleher (Sheehan 70′) — 7: Shored up Ireland’s lineout and made a remarkable 11 tackles in just 20 minutes.
Paddy McCarthy (Porter 67′) — 6: Came on with the game slipping away from Ireland and made a positive initial impression before Ireland’s scrum imploded.
Finlay Bealham (Furlong 60′) — 6: One of his less memorable Ireland cameos.
Iain Henderson (Beirne 24′) – 7: His maul work and direct carrying was notable.
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Craig Casey (Gibson-Park 67′) — 5: Missed a tackle on Cam Roigard for the game-sealing score, albeit it was effectively over before then. Barely got a chance to do anything as New Zealand took over the last quarter.
Sam Prendergast (Crowley 67′) — n/a: Didn’t get a chance to do anything, really, and it would feel wrong to mark him.
Bundee Aki (McCloskey 56′) — 5: Didn’t make the desired impact off the bench, and McCloskey’s absence was glaring.
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Player ratings as Ireland fall to New Zealand in Chicago
Backs:
Jamie Osborne — 7: Made a huge grab in 24th minute which roused the Irish effort, as well as their fans, and was one of the better performers on the day. Osborne’s positional instinct seems spot-on and he’s plainly a dependable replacement for Hugo Keenan. The next stage of his development may be to challenge Keenan for his starting spot with Leinster.
Tommy O’Brien — 6: Just didn’t get a chance to get going with ball in hand, which wasn’t on him. Defended with his typical tigerishness.
Garry Ringrose — 5: Fended easily by Leicester Fainga’anuku’s for Ardie Savea’s try and burned for pace on several occasions. Still had some big defensive moments, but it was among Ringrose’s poorer games for Ireland.
Stuart McCloskey — 8: Was Ireland’s most threatening attacker, routinely crossing the gainline and coming within millimetres of creating scores with an offloading ability that is unparalleled in Ireland’s backline. Should not have been taken off and deserves to keep his place against Australia in a couple of weeks’ time.
James Lowe — 6: All effort, as always, but off-colour with his decision-making at key junctures. Missed a couple of defensive reads, which these days is unlike him, but contributed plenty in the air.
Jack Crowley — 6: A solid if unspectacular return to the starting jersey. Crowley’s flashes of brilliance were tempered by several poor kicks from hand which offered New Zealand the attacking opportunities they crave.
Jamison Gibson-Park — 8: Resembled his previous best with his attacking tempo, box-kicking game and defensive output.
Forwards:
Andrew Porter — 6: A rare average performance across the board.
Dan Sheehan (captain) — 6: Would need a rewatch to determine his responsibility for Ireland’s lineout collapse, the root cause of which was, really, Tadhg Beirne’s red card. But there were certainly a couple of poorly thrown balls, including an early overthrow. Still made his usual attacking dent.
Tadhg Furlong — 7: Achieved parity at scrum-time with Tamiati Williams and took his try well. Would have been a 7.5 but the decimal system is strictly prohibited by The 42′s editor, and he wasn’t an 8.
James Ryan — 6: Might have even overcompensated for Beirne’s dismissal and left a mark in the contact area, but struggled in the lineout.
Tadhg Beirne — n/a: Shouldn’t have been sent off.
Ryan Baird — 8: Ireland’s standout player alongside McCloskey. His athleticism shone and his improved lineout ability offered Ireland their only assurance as that particular set-piece collapsed.
Josh van der Flier — 7: His poach on eight minutes was one of exceptionally few forced turnovers by Ireland and his effort at the breakdown was admirable throughout.
Jack Conan — 6: Didn’t quite hit his usual levels and was eclipsed by Caelan Doris off the bench.
Replacements:
Rónan Kelleher (Sheehan 70′) — 7: Shored up Ireland’s lineout and made a remarkable 11 tackles in just 20 minutes.
Paddy McCarthy (Porter 67′) — 6: Came on with the game slipping away from Ireland and made a positive initial impression before Ireland’s scrum imploded.
Finlay Bealham (Furlong 60′) — 6: One of his less memorable Ireland cameos.
Iain Henderson (Beirne 24′) – 7: His maul work and direct carrying was notable.
Caelan Doris (Ryan 32′, Conan 51′) — 7: Looked powerful in general. Welcome back.
Craig Casey (Gibson-Park 67′) — 5: Missed a tackle on Cam Roigard for the game-sealing score, albeit it was effectively over before then. Barely got a chance to do anything as New Zealand took over the last quarter.
Sam Prendergast (Crowley 67′) — n/a: Didn’t get a chance to do anything, really, and it would feel wrong to mark him.
Bundee Aki (McCloskey 56′) — 5: Didn’t make the desired impact off the bench, and McCloskey’s absence was glaring.
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