Hugo Keenan — 9: The world-class fullback was at his imperious best. Made a huge hit on Darcy Graham when Scotland’s tails were still up, and finished his two tries well (Duhan van der Merwe — who he also smashed — may have gotten a hand under the second, but it was an exceptional piece of athleticism by Keenan to even make it to the line given he had to jump for the pass).
Mack Hansen — 7: Teed up Lowe’s opening score and almost bagged one of his own. Made a key scramble tackle on Blair Kinghorn early. An injury concern for the All Blacks game after being taken off for a blood injury on that 21 minutes and then being permanently replaced seconds after returning to the field on 34.
Garry Ringrose — 9: An epic Ringrose display. Created two tries and grabbed one of his own when he had to shift out to the wing. Made a wonderful break for Lowe’s opener as he identified a mismatch and galloped into Scottish space. Heavily involved at first receiver, too. Stats list him as missing seven tackles but such is his role in Ireland’s defence, a handful of those can be dismissed.
Bundee Aki — 8: Picked up where he left off. Sapped the Scottish midfield with eight powerful carries and was instrumental in Keenan’s first try. Led the backs with 12 tackles; Sexton was second with seven.
James Lowe — 7: Withdrawn at half-time with an apparent eye injury. Try aside, the stats don’t give the full picture of Lowe’s opening 40, which included a booming kick into the Scottish 22′ and several lung-bursting kick-chases. His work-rate is phenomenal. Fingers crossed he’s okay to face his native country next week.
Johnny Sexton — 8: Wonderful wrap-around and release to set Aki away for Keenan’s first try. Perfect delivery to put O’Mahony through a hole early in the first half, too, before Hansen’s knock-on. Heavily involved in the muckier stuff, as is his wont.
Jamison Gibson-Park — 9: Ran the show to perfection in the first half and played the entire second half on the wing, where he still excelled both in attack and defence. Smallest man on the pitch but won a midfield jackal penalty for good measure deep into the second half, when he could have been forgiven for trying to protect himself for next week’s quarter against his homeland.
Andrew Porter — 8: Won two penalties — one over the ball and one in the scrum. Led the front row with 13 tackles, too. Just a shame his quick thinking and neat pass was thwarted by Nic Berry, who proved one of Scotland’s better defenders on the night.
Dan Sheehan — 8: Threw perfectly and took names with nine carries for 30 metres and 11 tackles. His finish in the left-hand corner wouldn’t have been so easy for virtually any other hooker at the tournament.
Tadhg Furlong — 8: Seemed to have a hamstring complaint after an awkward carry at the tail-end of a huge 48-minute effort. Five carries for 14 metres, 11 tackles, and mostly got the better of Pierre Schoeman in the scrum aside from an early loss of footing which yielded a Scottish penalty.
Tadhg Beirne — 8: An absolute horse for work. Won a turnover and went three for three in the Irish lineout. Made 13 tackles and was a nightmare for Scotland at the breakdown.
Iain Henderson — 8: Intriguingly didn’t call one lineout to himself, but excelled in all other areas. Burrowed over for a score that took Scotland’s soul and was massive in an Irish maul which excelled both offensively and defensively.
Peter O’Mahony — 9: Took umbrage with Scottish talk beforehand and produced a performance befitting of his 100th cap. Dominated Richie Gray and essentially ordered the decommissioning of the Scottish lineout. His handling skills aren’t ‘much improved’ — they’ve always been there; he just now plays for provincial and national teams who know how to harness those skills.
Josh van der Flier — 8: Aside from one highlight-reel steal at the back of a lineout, it was a day of grunt work for Van der Flier — and there are few better in the game at getting the head down and getting it sorted. Last year’s World Player of the Year made 21 tackles, second only to…
Caelan Doris — 9: …who made 22. Doris also made two crucial early turnovers, including one after 19 Scottish phases, which psychologically crippled the Scots. He crippled them physically, as well, not only with his usual bone-crunching hits but with a team-leading 12 carries, the vast majority of which were made with trademark menace.
Replacements
Rónan Kelleher (Sheehan 47′) — 8: His introduction for Sheehan was seamless in all facets of play. Made one big turnover on the ground as well as a remarkable eight carries in just 37 minutes, averaging three yards per carry.
Dave Kilcoyne (Porter 48′) — 7: Took on similar ball to Kelleher albeit for fewer gains. Still punched holes in the Scots in both attack and defence, bringing a kind of urgency that the game was beginning to lack as he was introduced on 48 minutes.
Finlay Bealham (Furlong 48′) — 7: Unfortunate not to finish with a try but produced a trademark, well-rounded performance off the bench.
James Ryan (Beirne 47′) — 7: Another injury concern, his right arm of wrist appearing to be the issue. Produced some nice moments of link-up and was immense in the attacking maul in particular.
Jack Conan (O’Mahony 48′) — 7: Great to see him back. Made good yardage off four carries and took a couple of lineouts on Ireland ball.
Conor Murray (Lowe HT) — 7: Marshalled Ireland well despite their makeshift second-half backline and made a huge hit on Van der Merwe.
Jack Crowley (Sexton 48′) — 7: Crossfield kick for Ringrose’s try was a beauty. Some flashes of his own brilliance — and physicality — as well as one botched chip.
Stuart McCloskey (Hansen 21′ & 34′) — 8: Wound up playing the majority of the game on account of Hansen’s injury and was excellent, particularly defensively where he made 13 tackles and won two turnovers.
