15. Leigh Halfpenny
The Welsh full-back was his usual excellent self, setting the tone early on with a fine aerial display. Finished with five from six with the boot, a missed conversion the only blip.
14. Jack Nowell
Wearing 11 on Saturday, Nowell made the most metres of any player this weekend — 161m on 14 carries — and showed some lovely footwork for his try.
13. Mark Bennett
Bennett has been a revelation for Scotland and he was one of their standout men in the Twickenham defeat, crossing for a try in the first half.
12. Jonathan Davies
There was only room for one Welsh centre and Davies gets the nod over midfield partner Jamie Roberts. When he left Johnny Sexton on his arse early on, it set the tone for an impressive afternoon that not even his late yellow card could tarnish.
11. Liam Williams
Wales were obviously ready for Ireland’s kicking game and on the left wing, Williams gobbled up everything that came at him, rarely giving the chasing Irish a sniff.
10. George Ford
Orchestrated England’s back play with authority, settled any nerves with a try early in the second half, and probably deserved man of the match.
9. Ben Youngs
Named man of the match at Twickenham, and linked well with Ford again. They’re becoming a formidable half-back pairing.
1. Jack McGrath
The Irish scrum was rock-solid for the most part and McGrath deserves serious credit for his contribution.
2. Scott Baldwin
Baldwin’s lineout was made to look even more impressive by Ireland’s dysfunctional set-piece. Contributed plenty to the heroic Welsh defensive effort as well, putting in 20 tackles.
3. Nicolas Mas
Returned to the French front row and made sure it held firm in face of the dangerous Italian scrum.
4. Luke Charteris
The outstanding performer of the weekend? Put in a massive 37 tackles as Wales repelled everything that Ireland threw at them.
5. Paul O’Connell
Marked his 100th Irish cap with a typical display at the breakdown and with ball in hand. Even popped up in midfield for a couple of line breaks.
6. Sean O’Brien
Racked up a team-high 19 carries and was generally a nuisance as Ireland tried to gain ground wherever they could.
7. Sam Warburton
Man of the match and deservedly so. Second only to Charteris with 30 tackles, wrecked Rory Best’s head in the lineout, and never gave Ireland a moment’s peace (apart from the 10 minutes he spent in the sin-bin).
8. Billy Vunipola
Human wrecking ball and made sure England’s half-backs had plenty of go-forward ball at their disposal.
