Ireland Player Ratings v England
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Ireland Player Ratings v England
Ireland succumbed to an 18-7 defeat at the hands of England on Saturday at Twickenham.
Andy Farrell's men struggled to break through the England defence which was resolute despite controlling possession and territory for most of the game.
Here is how we rated Ireland in defeat.
Hugo Keenan - 4
A performance that unfortunately had more lows than highs. Keenan was put under tremendous pressure by England's kicking game.
He spilt an early bomb but looked to be more secure under the high ball before he was beaten in the air by Jonny May for the first try of the game in the 17th minute. He was let off by an overcooked May kick in the second half after a poor kick early on and came up with an excellent take in the air but Gibson-Park kicked it dead thereafter. He had some success on attack making over 40 running metres but was often met by two English defenders.
Keith Earls - 6.5
One of Ireland's best backs, he almost scored in the first half and chased kicks all day long.
Chris Farrell - 5
Was found out a few times defensively, one of which in the build-up to May's second try. A few strong carries and almost scored late on in the game.
Bundee Aki - 5
Aki hammered into the England defence with little reward. Eight carries resulted in 16 carries while he solid enough defensively.
James Lowe - 4
Charged down twice early on and overcooked a kick soon after. Not quite as brilliant as he was on debut but did manage 33 running metres.
Ross Byrne - 4
A mixed bag with his kicking game as some pinned England back well while others were overcooked or missed placed, wasn't helped by his pack not going forward.
Jamison Gibson-Park - 3
Charged down early on and sent one out on the full inside the first five minutes.
Gibson-Park had a few poor passes and couldn't unlock the brilliant England defence.
Cian Healy - 4
Struggled against Sinckler in the scrum and didn't get much go forward with his carries.
Ronan Kelleher - 3
Kelleher carried and tackled well making 17 metres from his seven carries while making all of his four tackles but he struggled with his primary jobs as hooker. Two of his lineout darts were picked off while he also threw one skew. His other six darts did find a jumper but England did manage to put Ireland under pressure at the lineouts. England also got the better of Ireland in the scrum. Promising talent but it may have been just too early for a start against a strong forward pack like England.
Andrew Porter - 4
High work rate with his carries and tackles but he found it tough against Mako Vunipola and got little reward for his efforts.
Quinn Roux - 4
A few silly penalties given away while he spent most of his game clearing rucks on attack.
Wasn't able to aid Ireland with their lineout struggles.
James Ryan - 5
Gave a silly penalty away in the 8th minute but was somewhat left off as Ben Youngs took it quickly and it didn't result in points.
As per usual, Ryan was one of the key carriers for Ireland but we was met by the England defence.
A few hefty hits on defence from the latest Ireland captain
CJ Stander - 5
Forced into doing plenty of clear-outs at rucks on attack. Pulled after 66 minutes, solid without being fantastic.
Peter O’Mahony - 6.5
Tore after May as England scored their first try. Threw himself into just about everything.
Calean Doris - 4
Top tackler for Ireland but Doris was battered backwards by the England defence.
Replacements
Rob Herring - 5
The lineout improved while he was on and he almost scored. Final dart went against the head.
Finaly Bealham - 4
John Ryan - n/a
Iain Henderson - 5
Lineout improved with him on but he did drop a pass shortly after coming on.
Will Connors - 5
Solid without making a real imapct.
Conor Murray - 6
Improvement on attack from Gibson-Park
Billy Burns - 6.5
Set up a great try for Stockdale having just came on.
Jacob Stockdale 6.5
Took his chance superbly to score.
