Ireland player ratings vs Scotland | 2023 Guinness Six Nations
Ireland player ratings: The most consequential Guinness Six Nations’ game of the round, Ireland’s Grand Slam steam train was pitted against a Scotland side that can rightly lay claim to being the best of its generation – and one eager to spoil Andy Farrell and co’s party.
What transpired was a bizarre game in which Ireland suffered an unprecedented number of injuries and left filling holes all over the pitch, with Josh van der Flier left throwing lineouts and Cian Healy playing hooker. Yet Ireland, who were on the rocks for periods, found a way, as good teams have a habit of doing.
15 Hugo Keenan – 7.5
Solid outing in the maelstrom, even if he didn’t get to shine in attack as much as in previous rounds.
14 Mack Hansen – 9
A remarkable finish to beat Duhan van der Merwe and settle Irish nerves off and seemed to be involved in everything good Ireland did in attack. On the other side of the ball was responsible for multiple turnovers. A near faultless performance.
13 Garry Ringrose – 6
Returned to the fray after recovering from a calf injury. Not his finest game from a defensive point of view, falling off a handful of tackles in the first half. His game ended abruptly when a brutal hip-to-head contact saw him needing significant treatment from the medics.
12 Bundee Aki – 7
A productive shift from Aki, with a number of deft touches in attack alongside the rough stuff. Tackled his heart out.
11 James Lowe – 7.5
Some key defensive contributions, not least shooting out of the line for a man-and-ball stop on Stuart Hogg on 22 minutes. A couple of unforced errors but they paled against his overall contribution here, which included a well-taken try.
10 Johnny Sexton – 5.5
An at-times scatty performance from the Irish icon, maybe not surprising given the chaotic game nature of the game. Became the joint leading points scorer in Six Nations history, as you do.
9 Conor Murray – 6
A mixed bag from the Munsterman, with Gibson bringing an immediate impact off the bench in terms of speed and clarity in terms of how Ireland attacked.
1 Andrew Porter – 7
Scrumaged well, getting into Zander Fagerson, if a little quiet in the loose by his own standards.
2 Dan Sheehan – NA
The hooker looked to have scored yet again before it was deemed illegal on a technicality. Came off after 18 minutes.
3 Tadhg Furlong – 7
Back after 100 days out, the tighthead was backed to start despite the extended injury layover. Was in the thick of things from the off, scything down Duhan Van Der Merwe with his first contribution. Would have been forgiven ring-rust but there was very little on show here.
4 Iain Henderson – 7
Despite a bright start, the Lion came off with what looked like a broken wrist after just 24 minutes.
5 James Ryan – 7.5
An absolutely huge defensive shift from Ryan. Fumbled a lineout on the Scottish 5-metre line, albeit off a slightly overthrown effort from Kelleher. It was a big moment but he stayed in the fight and was unlucky not to add to his impressive tally of tries this Six Nations.
6 Peter O’Mahony – 8
It was a day for a player like O’Mahony, whose dogged performance was summed in when he threw the 6’5 Blair Kinghorn into touch like a ragdoll.
7 Josh van der Flier – 8.5
Part of a crucial double-jackal with Lowe that ultimately saw Ireland go from defending their line to being camped out on the Scottish line. Called on to take on lineout throwing, which was a big ask, even for the World Playe of the Year. He took to it like a proverbial duck to water.
Just showing off at this point ? #SixNations2023 pic.twitter.com/T8cSRk3H7v
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) March 12, 2023
8 Caelan Doris – NA
An unbelievable AFL-esque catch from Doris off a botched Scotland lineout looked to have set up an early try for Ireland, before Luke Pearce ruled it illegal and he appeared to injure himself in the process.
REPLACEMENTS:
16 Ronan Kelleher – 6
On early in tense circumstances and played a part in a number of Ireland lineout system failures. The context was that he had suffered some kind of injury and he duly left 9 minutes into the second-half, having bravely tried to stay on for the guts of 30 minutes.
17. Cian Healy – 8.5
Did a remarkable impression of a Test level hooker, which is pretty freakish from the veteran loosehead who hadn’t played at No.2 since his school days. Ireland’s scrum improved with Healy at No.2.
Cometh the hour… ? #SixNations2023 pic.twitter.com/DHhs90eOGl
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) March 12, 2023
18 Tom O’Toole – 7
Another really solid outing in the bank from the Droghead native.
19 Ryan Baird – 7
Brimming with enthusiasm on early for Henderson. His freakish athletic ability is well known and it was an opportunity to gain experience in a full-blooded Test match.
20 Jack Conan – 8
A slow start after coming on very early and but played his way into game. Took his opportunity in the 61st second by swatting aside Duhan van der Merwe to score a try that took the wind out of Scotland.
21 Jamison Gibson-Park – 8
As already mentioned, Ireland looked like
22 Ross Byrne – 7.5
Ireland needed a steady hand at the tiler and Byrne steered his team home with little fuss.
23 Robbie Henshaw – NA
Comments on RugbyPass
Did the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
1 Go to commentsHe seems to have the same aura as Marcus Smith - by which I mean he’s consistently judged as if he’s several years younger than he actually is. Mngomezulu has played 24 times for the Stormers. When Pollard was his age he had played 24 times for South Africa! He has more time to develop, but he has also had time to do some developing already, and he hasn’t demonstrated nearly as much talent in that time as one would expect. If he is a generational talent, then it must be a pretty poor generation.
4 Go to commentsThe greatest Springbok coach of all time is entirely on the money. Rassie and Jacques have given the south african public a great few years, but the success of the springbok selection policy will need to be judged in light of what comes next. The poor condition that the provincial system is currently in doesn’t bode well for the next few years of international rugby, and the insane 2026 schedule that the Boks have lined up could also really harm both provincial and international consistency.
16 Go to commentsJake White is a brilliant coach and a master in the press. This is another masterclass in media relations and PR but its also a very narrow view with arguments that dont always hold water. White wants his team to win, he wants the best players in SA and wants his team competitive. You however have to face up to the reality of a poor exchange rate and big clubs with big budgets. SA Rugby cant compete and unless it can find more money SA players will keep leaving regardless of Springbok eligibility and this happened in 2015 - 2017. Also rugby is not cricket. Cricket has 3 formats and T20 cricket is where the money is at. When it comes to club vs country the IPL is king but that wont happen because the international calendar does not clash with the club calendar in rugby. So the argument about rugby going down the same path as cricket is really a non-starter
16 Go to commentsNZ rugby seem not to have learnt anything from professional rugby. Super rugby was dying and SA left before they died with the competition. SA rugby did a u turn on their approach to international players playing overseas and such players are now selected for Bok teams. As much as each country would love to retain their players playing in local competitions, this is the way the world is evolving my friends. Move with it or stay 20 years behind the times. One more thing. NZ rugby hierarchy think they are the big cheese. Take a more humble approach guys. You do not seem to have your players best interests at heart.
3 Go to commentsBeaches? In Cardiff? Where?
1 Go to commentsHe is right , the Crusaders will be a threat. Scott Barrett, ( particularly), Fergus Burke , Codie Taylor, ( from sabbatical) etc due back soon for the Crusaders. There are others like Zach Gallagher too. People can right the Crusaders off, Top 8 , here we come !!
1 Go to commentsWe will always struggle for money to match the other sides but the least the WRU can do is invest properly in Welsh rugby. Too much has been squandered on vanity projects like the hotel and roof walk amongst others which will never see a massive return. Hanging the 4 pro sides out to dry over the last decade is now coming back to bite the WRU financially as well as on the pitch. You reap what you sow.
1 Go to commentsWhat do you get if you cross a doctor with a fish? A plastic sturgeon
14 Go to commentsWhat happened to feleti Kaitu’u? Hasnt played in a while right?
1 Go to commentsGregor I just can’t agree with you. You are trying to find something that just isn’t there. Jordie Barrett has signed until 2028. By the end of that he would have spent probably 11-12 years on Super Rugby and you say he can’t possibly have one season playing somewhere else. It is absurd. What about this scenario, the NZR play hard ball and he decides to leave and play overseas. How would that affect the competition. There seems to be an agenda by certain journalists to push certain agendas and don’t like it when it’s not to their liking. I fully support the NZR on this. Gregor needs to get a life.
3 Go to commentsHope he stays as believe he can do a great job.
1 Go to commentsMake what step up? Manie has a World Cup winner’s medal around his neck and changed the way the Springboks can play. He doesn’t have anything to prove to anyone. The win record of the Boks with him in the team is tremendous. Sacha can be wonderful and I hope he has a very succesful Bok career, but comparing him to Manie in terms of the next Bok flyhalf is very strange. Manie is the incumbent (not the next) and doing pretty incredibly.
4 Go to comments00 😍 U
1 Go to commentsSabbaticals have helped keep NZ’s very best talent in the country on long term deals - this fact has been left out of this article. Much like the articles calling to allow overseas players to be selected, yet can only name one player currently not signed to NZR who would be selected for the ABs. And in the entire history of NZ players leaving to play overseas, literally only 4 or 5 have left in their prime as current ABs. (Piatau, Evans, Hayman, Mo’unga,?) Yes Carter got an injury while playing in France 16 years ago, but he also got a tournament ending injury at the 2011 World Cup while taking mid-week practice kicks at goal. Maybe Jordie gets a season-ending injury while playing in Ireland, maybe he gets one next week against the Brumbies. NZR have many shortcomings, but keeping the very best players in the country and/or available for ABs selection is not one of them. Likewise for workload management - players missing 2 games out of 14 is hardly a big deal in the grand scheme of things. Again let’s use some facts - did it stop the Crusaders winning SR so many times consecutively when during any given week they would be missing 2 of their best players? The whole idea of the sabbatical is to reward your best players who are willing to sign very long term deals with some time to do whatever they want. They are not handed out willy-nilly, and at nowhere near the levels that would somehow devalue Super Rugby. In this particular example JB is locked in with NZR for what will probably (hopefully) be the best years of his career, hard to imagine him not sticking around for a couple more after for a Lions tour and one more world cup. He has the potential to become the most capped AB of all time. A much better outcome than him leaving NZ for a minimum of 3 years at the age of 27, unlikely to ever play for the ABs again, which would be the likely alternative.
3 Go to commentsJake White talks more sense than anything I've read in the last 5 years. Hope someone's listening.
16 Go to commentsThe Springboks tried going down the road of only picking home-based players and it was an unmitigated disaster in 2016 and 2017. Picking overseas-based players has been one of the main reason the Boks have done so well since 2018, not only because of the quality Rassie could call on, but because of the knowledge and experience those players brought into camp from England, France and Japan. With some of the big names playing abroad it also gave younger players in SA the chance to break through at franchise level. Would we have seen the emergence of a Ruan Nortje if RG and Lood were still at the Bulls? Not so sure. I understand why Jake would want to block players leaving since his job depends on good results but it’s an approach that would take Bok rugby back to the bad old days and no South African wants to see that.
16 Go to commentsExeter were thumped by 38 points. And they only had to hop on a train.
39 Go to commentsI am De Groot.
1 Go to comments