How they rated as O’Mahony and the Irish forwards got the better of England

Ireland

15 Rob Kearney

Nothing flash, but he made plenty of ground running back English kicks and committed precious few mistakes, which tells in a game like this 6/10

14 Tommy Bowe

Put Jack Nowell under pressure, but is not getting involved as much as he used to. Maybe the games are tightening up. Spilled a couple when he did 5/10

13 Jared Payne

No mistakes, but nothing much in the way of defining interventions either. Played second fiddle to the man inside, but the relationship is growing 5/10

12 Robbie Henshaw





Huge game from the man they reckon is BOD’s heir. Top tackler, big turnovers and a try. Mistakes too, mind, but when you’re this involved … 8/10

11 Simon Zebo

Dealt with a lot of high balls, as well as restarts, and ran them back well to boot. Made Anthony Watson look jumpy and sacked him in buildup to Ireland’s try 7/10

10 Johnny Sexton





Kicking was mixed – some good, some pretty loose. But when it mattered, ie from the tee and in the buildup to Ireland’s try, he was on the money 8/10

9 Conor Murray





A lot of his kicking a little long too – but bang on when it mattered. Also a couple of snipes, only a heroic tap tackle stopping one of them 6/10

1 Jack McGrath





Very industrious, particularly in first half when he carried relentlessly and tidied up a fair amount of filth. Scrum solid and weaker after he left 7/10

2 Rory Best

Rousing cheer when he came off for one of his best games in a while. Solid set piece. Missed a couple of tackles but made a lot, some crucial 7/10

3 Mike Ross

The ascendancy that Ireland managed to secure at scrum in third quarter was key. Couple of hefty rumbles, too, made for a solid afternoon’s work 6/10

4 Devin Toner

A nuisance on England’s lineout, although missed one of his own too. No real impression made in the loose but an acceptable day’s work 5/10

5 Paul O’Connell





With Munster’s defeat to Saracens behind him he put in a big defensive performance. Point of reference at the lineout and in team’s psychology 8/10

6 Peter O’Mahony

The Munster flanker’s engine is remarkable and here out-performed England’s equivalent, Robshaw. Key interventions in Ireland try 8/10

7 Sean O’Brien





Couple of big carries, one ending in his worrying injury in the first half. Surely not again. Penalised for pulling down a lineout, but Ireland got away with it 5/10

8 Jordi Murphy





Good afternoon’s work, winning a couple of key turnovers and making dents in English defence, particularly in first half. A lineout presence too 6/10

England

15 Alex Goode

All the focus will be on the one he missed. But let’s not forget how cool he was for rest of game. Without that it could have gone well before it did 6/10

14 Anthony Watson

Dancing feet won a few yards, but he was wobbly under the high ball and terrorised by Zebo. Just as well he wasn’t playing full-back 4/10

13 Jonathan Joseph

Couldn’t get away, not that he was likely to in a game like this. But stood up physically and made no mistakes. Not much more he could have done 5/10

12 Luther Burrell

Dealt with some undesirable ball and held up well in defence, literally so at one point in first half. Punched over the gainline too 6/10

11 Jack Nowell

Another who looked edgy under the high ball. Had a couple of kick and gallops in first half and telling half-breaks as England chased in second 5/10

10 George Ford

A seesaw game, but when the dust settled he was dominated by his opponents. Some joy, mostly in defence, but ran down a few alleys too 5/10

9 Ben Youngs

Under pressure now from Richard Wigglesworth, who raised the tempo noticeably when he came on. England not dominating at scrum-half the way others are 4/10

1 Joe Marler

One extraordinary tap tackle kept Ireland at bay in the second half, albeit temporarily. Plenty of other tackles too. One scrum, though, was costly 6/10

2 Dylan Hartley

More involved in loose than he has been, often in support with a telling carry. But set piece not as good as usual. and scrum seemed to improved when Youngs came on 5/10

3 Dan Cole

Industrious in first half in particular, tackling and getting in over the ball. Carried well in second half, and recovered strongly from one shaky scrum to see out match. He’s back 7/10

4 Dave Attwood

Heroic in defence – England’s top tackler with 19 – and the top lineout taker. But his discipline let him down. Two criminal offside offences 6/10

5 George Kruis

Did sterling work sacking two threatening Ireland mauls in first half. Among the top tacklers but not quite the force of nature the man opposite is 6/10

6 James Haskell

England’s cardinal sinner on the penalty front – and discipline was a big issue for them. Missed a lineout. But, as ever, made a lot of tackles in his hour on the field 5/10

7 Chris Robshaw

Another 17 tackles to add to the ledger, but also a few sightings of that rarest of phenomena – the Robshaw errors. Was outshone by Ireland flankers – and that doesn’t happen often 5/10

8 Billy Vunipola

Only Goode made more metres, but his were all from close quarters, through defenders. Did it right to the end as well, which was always his big failing 7/10