Ireland player ratings vs Wales | 2024 Guinness Six Nations
Ireland player ratings: Ireland came into this one heavy favourites, but Wales didn’t quite roll over in the manner that many were predicting at a cold Aviva Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
It was Ireland’s least convincing outing of the championship to date, with Warren Gatland’s men making it sticky for the much-fancied men in green.
Here are our Ireland player ratings:
1. Andrew Porter – 8
Made a crucial turnover on eight minutes and then spent the rest of the match swapping between beasting the Welsh scrum and making a massive nuisance of himself.
2. Dan Sheehan – 7.5
Running over British & Irish Lions wing Josh Adams like he was a rookie was made his highlight of the first half. The lineouts weren’t perfect, so that will be for Mr O’Connell to look at during the week, but other than that another fine Sheehan performance.
3. Tadhg Furlong – 6
Another passable shift from the tighthead, who continues to live on reputation more than his actual performances these days. Most of the pressure brought to bear on Wales’ scrum came from Porter’s side, while he was quiet around the park.
4. Joe McCarthy – 7
Threw himself around the place but he’s still yet to reach the heights seen against France three weekends ago. His ability to break tackles in relatively heavy traffic sets him apart from most Test locks.
5. Tadhg Beirne – 7.5
A couple of botched lineouts aside, it was a generally productive first half for the Munsterman. The second half started badly when he was sin-binned for collapsing a maul on Ireland’s line, an infringement that saw Wales awarded a penalty try. Sealed the deal with Ireland’s bonus point on the buzzer.
6. Peter O’Mahony – 6
His 50th Six Nations match, the returning captain had a decent outing, one turnover aside. Not much to report other than that.
7. Josh van der Flier – 7.5
Always at the right place at the right time, van der Flier’s defensive work and ability to contest at the breakdown were top-notch, but it was his carrying which was on show here. Came off for a HIA 50 minutes in and was replaced by Jack Conan.
8. Caelan Doris – 6
Doris’s athleticism and skill set were on display in fits and starts, making significant carries and demonstrating a high tackle count, before fading into the wallpaper at other times.
9. Jamison Gibson-Park – 7.5
His snappy decision-making and sharp service kept the tempo high, allowing Ireland to maintain pressure on Wales throughout the match.
10. Jack Crowley – 7
Maybe the most mature performance yet from Crowley, who kicked well out of hand and from the tee. Attacked the line well and was ably abetted by Frawley frequently making himself available as a second option at first receiver.
11. James Lowe – 6.5
The Welsh defence attempted to put pressure on Ireland’s back three, meaning Lowe maybe didn’t have quite the same leeway with his kicking that he enjoyed against Italy, and even missed touch on one occasion with a clearing kick from his 22. His ability to break the first tackle was invaluable but he was caught napping by Rio Dyer on a lazy backfield run.
12. Bundee Aki – 8
His midfield breakdown work proved a roadblock for the Welsh attack although a couple of handling errors besmirched his performance, he was his usual potent self. Came a cropper of Andrea Piardi once or twice but that comes with playing on the edge. Was good value for his ultimately disallowed 5-pointer in the 59th minute, which was pulled back for a knock-on by Henshaw.
13. Robbie Henshaw – 5
The first half largely passed Henshaw by other than a few solid carries and he didn’t hit his straps in the second either. One to forget for the Leinster centre.
14. Calvin Nash – 7
A beautiful offload for Lowe’s try in the corner on 32 minutes and was a lot more involved than his previous outings.
15. Ciaran Frawley – 8.5
His first-ever Test start after coming in for the injured Hugo Keenan, Frawley showed that he can mix it up with ball in hand, throwing some sumptuous passes and even twice found Nash on the right wing with a kick pass. Constantly tried to make things happen, often acting more as a second flyhalf than a sweeper. Picked up Ireland’s third try which put the game to bed and by rights he should have received the Man of the Match award.
REPLACEMENTS:
16. Ronan Kelleher – 8
Immediately won an important turnover after coming on for Sheehan, before making a half-break that directly led to Aki’s try.
17. Cian Healy – 6
While he didn’t improve on Porter, Healy brought some convenient experience and stability to the setpiece in the final eight minutes.
18. Oli Jager – 6
The former Crusader made his debut after coming on for Furlong on 50 minutes and provided fresh legs and continued the dominance in the scrum.
19. James Ryan – 6
His introduction added an extra layer of steel to the lineout and ruck, with Ryan making his presence felt immediately. Copped another yellow card for his troubles.
20. Ryan Baird – 7
Baird’s elite athleticism and energy were evident, not least with a number of breaks upfield that most locks dream about but have become standard for the Leinster man.
21. Jack Conan – 7
Conan’s impact was pretty immediate after coming on for Josh van der Flier, with strong carries that tested the Welsh defence and solid work at the breakdown.
22. Conor Murray – 6
Murray’s experience and tactical kicking helped Ireland control the game’s tempo in the final 11 minutes.
23. Stuart McCloskey – 6
McCloskey brought physicality and fresh legs to the midfield in a relatively short 13-minute cameo.
Comments on RugbyPass
Wouldn’t be a bad move if Ireland pulled into SA with a young side. Particularly in Pretoria. Invaluable experience getting thumped in the bosveld.
49 Go to commentsIreland. The Princess Diana of Rugby. I never cheered so much for a team as i did for the All Blacks in that QF.
49 Go to commentsWill be great to see the Leinster first XV back in action again after their cotton wool time…
1 Go to commentsLooked up Grant Constable on google and reply was doppelgänger for Ben Smith
49 Go to commentsIt is so good that we now all get excited and debate who is best and emotionally get involved. We all back our teams which is great. Up until about 15-20 years ago, NZ was basically on its own, and then Saffa, Aussie and sometimes French and English were there. We now have at least 5-6 really top sides and another 4 who keep improving. This is so healthy. So we should not resort to rubbish comments and unhealthy debate, but rather all be chuffed that the product we watch is not competitive, exciting and often uncertain. It would be so good if World Rugger could find a way to align the rules to professional players as well as spectators. Live rugby games are SO boring as there is SO much down time as we wait for refs and TMOs and whoever else to look at every small event going back endless phases with the hope of eventually find a minute infringement to then decide cancel what was a wonderful try. This is the ultimate cork back in the bottle moment and feels like every balloon is always being popped. Come on- we must be better with the rules.
49 Go to comments“upon leaving said establishment I tripped over a stool knocking some bottles into the air and as I fell I accidently dislodged a police officer’s teaser who was passing by on an unrelated matter there by landing on said taser which caused it to discharge 50,000 watts into me. Out of shock I shouted Ireland are going to win the world cup. Upon waking up I apologised for the distress caused by my Ireland comment. The matter is closed. If you wish to pursue this matter may I remind you what I told Wayne Barnes when he sent me off. I AM A BIG ASS MAN”. Or was it “I AM A BIG ASS, MAN” or was it “I AM A BIG ASSMAN”?
1 Go to commentsThe only championship the Boks hold are: Great value for the incompetence of referees during the RWC Moaning endlessly and champions of spewing utterly ignorant 💩 at all times. Displaying the dangers of a third world education End of.
49 Go to commentsSouth Africa and Rassie do a phenomenal job of treating the 4 years in between World Cups as nothing more than a training exercise to build squad depth. The Six Nations money that keeps Irish rugby afloat is unfortunately too important to allow the same approach, and basic population size means we'll never get close to matching the depth of South Africa, England and France. That being said, Irish rugby is in a relatively good place and slowly improving inch by inch. If the other three provinces can pull the finger out and actually develop some players it'd be even better.
49 Go to commentsGood on Clarke for taking on the criticism and addressing his deficiencies, principally his laziness.
2 Go to comments“It is the people’s favourite against the actual favourite. It is the people’s champions against the actual champions. I’m joking, but it’s going to be a fantastic series.” Why did Darcy make that joke knowing it would be used as click bait? Why did RP headline it as a serious comment? Anyway, the tired comment isn’t very astute. SA players may have played more games etc. Darcy over estimated as a pundit.
49 Go to commentsNot sure Frisch will ever make the French team with Depoortère and Costes waiting in the wings to take over from Danty and Fickou.
1 Go to commentsThe Irish are tired and the Boks are old. The test series won't confirm who is best in the world, it will confirm which team needs to pursue the task of rebuilding with the most urgency.
49 Go to commentsGrant, the first time I have seen an article written by you. Maybe I have missed your previous stuff. These days all professional players effectively play a common season so all top players are equally tired, or rested. That is the job of the coaching ticket to build squad depth and juggle resources so players are ‘ fresh’ when the big games come. Possibly Ireland are less inclined to juggle squad compared to Rassie, who is prepared to take the risk to rest players as well as build depth throughout the year so come WC he has a full squad, experienced and rested enough to win 7 games. After all, to win WC you need to get through the tournament and then win the final big 3 games. Ireland should try and build a bit so come final 3 they are ready. So far only played final 1(QF). I am so looking forward to the Irish tour. Hopefully Rassie has enough time to align his guys, as he draws them from across the globe, and not from 2 sides locally( eg Leinster, Munster). No excuses, going to be exciting.
49 Go to commentsIn football, teams get fined and sometimes docked points for deliberately fielding weakened teams yet Leinster can pretty much do as they please with no comebacks. Could it be because Ireland run the URC? Could it be that Ireland run the ERC? Whichever it is, it stinks!!
6 Go to commentsIreland are only the People’s Champions in Irish eyes. The rest of the world do not care for them very much because of attitudes of people like Gordon, Ferris, Best, Jackman…I could go on!!
49 Go to commentsNot sure how Karl Dickson can ever ref a Quins game, he played for the club for 8 years as understudy to Care and is still close friends with half the team
3 Go to commentsAre bookies taking bets on how many times Vunipola's eventual statement will use the term “elders"? My money is on at least 4 times.
4 Go to commentsSo Ireland will be tired, despite having the most rested test squad in the world. They only play tests, champions cup and urc play off games ffs! Case in point; Leinster sent a B squad to SA for their last two games while their first xv rested up and trained at their leisure for the sf vs Saints at the so called ‘neutral venue’ of Croke Park. So tired? Do me a favour… And as for “people’s champions”? Seriously??? Outside of Ireland they are respected for their ability to win 6N. And of course plenty of inconsequential test friendlies without any real pressure. WC ko games when the pressure is white hot? Not so much…
49 Go to commentsSurprising how standing down or benching a player can do wonders for their motivation. Several players this week in that category.
2 Go to commentsHaha lads lads lads, that’s how you have a holiday In Majorca
4 Go to comments