Our player ratings as Ireland earn bonus-point win over Wales

Andrew Porter.

Ciarán Frawley — 8: An assured first start capped with a try. Sound under the high ball in defence and, in attack, he beat six defenders and stood in at first receiver to decent effect — particularly in the second half.

Calvin Nash — 7: Lovely over-the-top tee-up for Lowe’s try, but that exemplified his work-rate as he joined the attack only moments after being halted on the opposite edge.

Robbie Henshaw — 7: A quieter day than recent weeks in attack despite a couple of early bursts down the left edge. Led the backs with 10 tackles.

Bundee Aki — 8: Made an early jackal steal and went on to make 16 carries, nine tackles and score a try.

James Lowe — 7: Second to Aki with 14 carries. While he wasn’t at his most influential, he made three offloads and three clean breaks in a game which lacked both.

Jack Crowley — 8: Impressive in a different way to his performance against Italy. In attack, he made good decisions as to when to pass or run, including crucially in the lead-up to the bonus-point try. 100% off the tee, too, with four conversions and a penalty. But it was mostly a day on which Crowley stood out for his grunt work, making nine tackles, assisting a hold-up over the Irish line, and even ploughing into the maul which led to Dan Sheehan’s opening try.

Jamison Gibson-Park — 7: Did what he could on a day when Ireland were guilty of lacking intent in attack on occasion. A lot of their go-forward impetus came directly from his hands. Sharp, as well, to a handful of loose balls, albeit that cost him a couple of knock-ons.

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Andrew Porter — 9: After an early jackal steal, he inflicted upon Keiron Assiratti a day that will haunt him for years to come. Made 10 tackles and took names at the breakdown. This writer’s very unofficial man of the match.

Dan Sheehan — 8: Ireland’s first lineout issues of the championship didn’t really appear to be his. Averaged over four metres per his nine carries and actually did well to finish his obligatory try. Huge at the attacking breakdown.

Tadhg Furlong — 8: Furlong was emotional during the anthems ahead of what was his first Ireland game at the Aviva since the passing of his father in December. Produced a huge performance in the scrum and went looking for work in the loose, too, making six carries and six tackles.

Joe McCarthy — 8: A big man who plays even bigger than he is. Showed glimpses not only of his power but of his fleet footwork, beating three defenders. Nine tackles, some of them again huge. Plays on the edge and will probably continue to concede a couple of silly penalties per game for as long as he’s this effective — it’s just part of the package for the moment.

Tadhg Beirne — 8: His yellow card and penalty-try concession put Ireland under pressure for 10 minutes but his first involvement upon his reintroduction was to climb through the middle of a Welsh maul and rip a ball back to the Irish side, saving a try that would have changed the complexion of the game. Made 15 tackles and two clean breaks, the second of which sealed a bonus point for his side.

Peter O’Mahony (captain) — 7: Made a couple of huge hits among his 10 listed tackles and did a lot of the ugly work at the breakdown and maul for which he’s so valuable to coaches. Gave Porter a literal helping hand in the scrum, too, holding his loosehead’s elbow off the ground to assist him in his destruction of Assiratti.

Josh van der Flier — 7: Denied Wales a potential try when he walloped an onrushing Josh Adams in the first half. Played hard and fast until his HIA and eventual withdrawal for Conan on 50 minutes.

Caelan Doris — 8: Led the team with 20 tackles and while he didn’t make the dent in the Welsh that he would have liked in possession, his 12 carries and nine passes (the latter twice as much as virtually every other forward) will tell you the extent to which he was involved on both sides of the ball.

Replacements:

Rónan Kelleher (Sheehan 55′) — 8: Hugely influential off the bench, winning a key jackal turnover and then making a burst up the middle which led to Aki’s disallowed try for Henshaw’s knock-on. Somehow made 13 tackles in 26 minutes.

Cian Healy (Porter 72′) — 7: As memorable as an eight-minute shift can be, with Healy also getting through a mountain of defensive work and even popping up on the right edge at one point as Ireland built towards their bonus-point score:

Oli Jager (Furlong 55′) — 7: A solid debut off the bench for Furlong and, while he didn’t quite have the same effect on the scrum, he had a greater impact at both breakdown and in defence.

James Ryan (McCarthy 55′) — 6: The reality is that McCarthy’s absence was felt, both in the loose and in the scrum. It feels unfair to give anyone a six — Ryan was by no means bad and he was just the fall guy for his yellow card towards the end. But he wasn’t involved as a lineout jumper and didn’t have an especially meaningful impact on the game.

Ryan Baird (O’Mahony 55′) — 8: Made his trademark 30-yard break upfield, made 11 tackles, and had more success as a lineout option than O’Mahony.

Jack Conan (Van der Flier 51′) — 7: While Ireland’s bench injected an essential attacking impetus, Conan produced his best work in defence, crunching 14 Welshmen during his half hour on the field.

Conor Murray (Gibson-Park 70′) — 7: Brought a sense of certainty to Ireland’s final, bonus-point attack, a long attacking set in which he resembled his masterful best.

Stuart McCloskey (Nash 68′) — 7: Came on on the wing and effectively won the penalty that led to Beirne’s BP score, firstly with a massive tackle and secondly with a powerful counter-ruck.