IRELAND
15. Rob Kearney: 7.5
Almost perfect under the high ball and put French catchers under pressure all game. Threatened with ball in hand and kept opposition tacklers busy.
14. Tommy Bowe: 7.5
Broke the gainline a number of times with penetrating runs and was always looking for the ball.
13. Jared Payne: 6
Very solid in defence, especially against Bastareaud, but handling errors cost him chances to break through the French defence.
12. Robbie Henshaw: 8
Superb in defence. Anything that ran down his channel was quickly knocked back and his fullback expertise was shown in the kick chase.
11. Simon Zebo: 6.5
Always looks dangerous when he receives the ball but struggled to make hard yards in a physical game.
10. Johnny Sexton: 8.5
Battered, bloody and bruised throughout. Marshalled the game superbly and his kicking out of hand was near faultless.
9. Conor Murray: 7.5
Provided good service and took pressure off Sexton with some well-judged boxkicks. Physical and threatening as always.
1. Jack McGrath: 6.5
Was physical in the loose and fairly solid in the scrum. Will no doubt be replaced by Cian Healy in the next round though.
2. Rory Best: 5
His throwing in was poor and he will be thanking the gods that his stupid sinbinning didn’t cost his side.
3. Mike Ross: 5.5
Struggled in the scrum against Eddy Ben Arous and gave away a few penalties. Offered himself in the loose though.
4. Devin Toner: 6.5
Obviously the main man in the lineout and assisted a number of tackles, but nothing spectacular.
5. Paul O’Connell: 8
Another standard Paul O’Connell performance. A brutish effort in both the tight and the loose.
6. Peter O’Mahony: 8
Carried hard and made some seriously effective turnovers. A kick from his own 22 could have ended in a try if it was executed slightly better.
7. Sean O’Brien: 7
Looked to be hanging halfway through the second half but lasted the distance. Didn’t carry much but flung himself into tackles.
8. Jamie Heaslip: 7
A knee in the back ended his run out early but he was physical throughout in both attack and defence.
Replacements: 6.5
Ian Madigan looked good when he had to replace a bloody Sexton, and Iain Henderson and Jordi Murphy looked impressive. Front row of Cian Healy, Sean Cronin and Marty Moore struggled, however.
FRANCE
15. Scott Spedding: 5.5
Pretty useless. Kearney was much better under the high ball and whenever Spedding did catch the ball and attack, he ran down blind alleys.
14. Yoann Huget: 6
Came close to a try at one point but other than that he didn’t really threaten with ball in hand.
13. Mathieu Bastareaud: 6
Put in a bruising tackle on Sexton but that’s all he could really muster up during the match. Ireland did well to shut him down in attack.
12. Wesley Fofana: 6
Showed sparks of the Fofana that we know and love but not enough. Again, Ireland did well to shut him down.
11. Teddy Thomas: 5.5
Made one good break but came off early injured. Not the type of winger that looks for the ball and was a liability in defence.
10. Camille Lopez: 7
Took him a while to grow into the game but flourished with 15 minutes to go. Looks very good when his pack put him on the front foot.
9. Rory Kockott: 6
France are dying to see the South African that turns up for Castres (the last couple of seasons anyway). Good service, but offered nothing in attack.
1. Eddy Ben Arous: 6.5
Gave Ireland a tough time in the scrum, but offered very little in the loose.
2. Guilhem Guirado: 7
Throwing-in in the lineout was very good and he put in a brilliant defensive shift.
3. Rabah Slimani: 6
Did ok at scrum time but little outside of it. The days of the fearsome French front-row has all but disappeared.
4. Pascal Pape: 6.5
Put in a physical defensive performance before his yellow card. Was the knee intentional or just brutish bad luck?
5. Yoann Maestri: 7
Big in the lineout and very strong in defence. Needed to offer himself more in attack.
6. Thierry Dusautoir: 7.5
The leader of the French back-row that made Ireland really work at the breakdown. Carried hard and won a good number of turnovers.
7. Bernard le Roux: 6.5
Put in a huge defensive shift but missed a handful of tackles. A brilliant player when it comes to the breakdown.
8. Damien Chouly: 7
Carried with gusto and looked dangerous with ball in hand. Gave away four penalties, though, that cost France.
Replacements: 7
The French pack replacements changed the direction of the game, with Benjamin Kayser, Uini Antonio, and Vincent Debaty all looking dangerous when carrying. Romain Taofifenua scored and Remi Tales looked a solid replacement for Teddy Thomas.
By Calum Gillon (@C_Gillon)
Photo by: Patrick Khachfe / Onside Images