15. Stuart Hogg: 7
Mostly solid under high-ball, and his footwork caused the Irish difficulties. He was unfortunate to lose control of the ball over the line late on. Scotland would be a significantly better team if they shared more of his aggression and gumption.
14. Dougie Fife: 5
Whilst game in attack, he would be concerned by a defensive effort which saw him missed a third of his attempted tackles.
13. Mark Bennett: 6
Bennett’s cut and dash in the 13 channel was one of few highlights in Scotland’s attacking game, and he produced an excellent turnover shortly after half-time. Some defensive questions were raised in the first half as Ireland routinely fixed the attention of the Scottish centres, forcing them to turn inwards and allowing wider runners to make breaks on the outside.
12. Matt Scott: 5.5
Lively in attack alongside Bennett and certainly grew into the game, but over-chased Sexton for Payne’s try in the second-half.
11. Tommy Seymour: 6
More involved than he has been, setting up Russell’s try with a clever kick, and claiming one high ball spectacularly.
10. Finn Russell: 5.5
The fact that he scored his try from an unlikely position on the left wing showed his ability to read the game. One second half chip for Scott was precise and inventive, but there were loose moments as well, with two kick-offs awry.
9. Greig Laidlaw: 5.5
An acceptable performance, but was a distant second best to Conor Murray. That there was so little resistance for large swathes of the game is evidently not the captain’s fault alone, but there seemed to be little demonstrative resistance against what became an embarrassment.
8. Dave Denton: 5.5
Committed, willing and at times effective as a ball-carrier, but having flattened the defender, he too frequently fails to stay on his feet himself or to find an offload.
7. Blair Cowan: 5
The breakdown contest was completely one-sided, with Cowan playing alongside two ball-carrying eights. When he did get an opportunity, Jerome Garces was quick to blow the whistle.
6. Adam Ashe: 6
Made an impression with a strong early tackle, heavy involvement as a ball-carrier, and a soft pass under pressure for Russell’s try. A missed tackle on O’Brien was soft, and was ill-equipped for the struggle at the breakdown.
5. Jim Hamilton: 5.5
One of the rarest sights in international rugby is Jim Hamilton making a clean break. His show-and-go in the first-half was sublime, but left him surprised and confused at what to do next.
4. Jonny Gray: 7.5
Scotland’s best forward on the day. Matched Ashe for carries and has finished as Scotland’s top tackler in every single fixture in this year’s tournament.
3. Euan Murray: 5
Departed early with a broken nose for Cross, who was sin-binned in the second half. Ireland’s scrum was untroubled on their own ball throughout.
2. Ross Ford: 6
The line-out went well, but Ford’s upright ball-carrying fell victim to the Irish choke tackle.
1. Ryan Grant: 5
A return to the starting line-up ended with injury after half an hour.
Replacements: 5.5
Fraser Brown, a former flanker, made some difference to the annihilation at the breakdown after coming on at hooker, and the line-out continued to work well. Sam Hidalgo-Clyne got the additional game-time many have called for and impressed in places.
IRELAND
15. Rob Kearney: 7
In Kearney, Ireland have a complete modern full-back who was error-free at Murrayfield and willing to run the ball back whenever Scotland were foolish enough to give it to him.
14. Tommy Bowe: 6
Began with a great break in the build-up to O’Connell’s try. Thereafter, this was one of his quieter games but still managed to make metres with ball in hand down the right wing.
13. Jared Payne: 6.5
Probably should have seen yellow after taking out Ashe in the air early on. Joined Ireland’s party properly in the second half with an excellent angle through the Scottish midfield from a back-line play which Ireland have tried, to little effect, a number of times in the tournament.
12. Robbie Henshaw: 7
Showed genuine verve as Ireland opened up for the first time this tournament.
11. Luke Fitzgerald: 6.5
A threat down the left wing, with his supporting lines demonstrating his pace and ingenuity. Particularly in the first half, this was an impressive return to the starting team.
10. Johnny Sexton: 6.5
Missed a sitter of a penalty in the second half, and then another, slightly more difficult, shortly afterwards. In attack, he produced all of the wrap-arounds, inside balls, and other intricacies that are the hall-marks of his play. In truth, the occasional mis-hit kick from the tee is his only weakness.
9. Conor Murray: 7
So prominent thus far, Ireland’s changed mindset diminished Murray’s role in the first-half, although it did allow him to run the ball on occasion. His distribution was sharp and when he did kick, it was with accuracy, particularly in the closing 20 when Ireland tightened up.
8. Jamie Heaslip: 6
His most critical intervention was the tackle on Hogg which denied Scotland a try on 75 minutes.
7. Sean O’Brien: 9
After an ingenious Irish line out, he burst through some weak Scottish tackling for his first try and added another in the second half. Scotland simply couldn’t cope with his strength either in the loose, where Cowan and Ashe amongst others were swatted aside, or at the breakdown, where Ireland won 12 turnovers.
6. Peter O’Mahony: 7
Ireland’s top tackler and an important part of the immense pressure they exerted at the breakdown.
5. Paul O’Connell: 8
A great afternoon for an ageing second row. Provided the know-how to get over the Scottish line in the first four minutes which set the tone, and ensured Ireland maintained complete control of the match thereafter.
4. Devin Toner: 5.5
A quiet game for a player who has made an impression this tournament. However, most line-out ball was thrown to O’Connell.
3. Mike Ross: 7
Mostly in the side for his scrummaging, and the set-piece platform in that regard was very solid.
2. Rory Best: 6.5
Having faced some criticism last week, he produced an excellent first half turnover as Ireland completely dominated that area. The line-out faltered on occasion but it mattered little.
1. Cian Healy: 7
The Irish scrum was in control, and Healy finished way ahead of the rest of the front five for carries and turnovers.
Replacements: 6
Jack McGrath got through a lot of work in defence and showed Ireland’s strength in depth at loose-head. Ian Madigan, lively off the bench, would have been disappointed that his cameo ended with a missed shot at goal which could have strengthened Ireland’s cause.
By Charlie King (@CharlescpKing)
Photo by: Patrick Khachfe / Onside Images
9 replies on “Six Nations 2015: Scotland vs Ireland Player Ratings”
Jeez, low scores for both Ireland and Wales players considering the record breaking magnitude of the away wins … can’t wait to see the English player scores … 😉
Ahhh, you know the deal Brighty, the ratings are completely subjective to the person writing them!
My England ratings will be up later on, and to save you the wait, yes, they will be more positive than the Wales/Ireland ratings (both of whom I would have been much more generous towards, for the record).
If Haskell, Burrell and T Youngs get more than a 4, questions will be asked Jamie.
Very low scores, wouldn’t like to see them if we had lost
I just thought Scotland were desperately underpowered up front. They just weren’t up to Irelands physicality or indeed up to anyone’s physicality all tournament. Which as they have some threat in the backs these days is disappointing.
Can we re-assess Hogg as a 0 for allowing Heaslip to knock the ball out from under his arm and thereby preventing an England win?
And, I suppose, given Heaslip’s tackle won the entire tournament for Ireland, he should get a 10
Rest of the ratings seem to high for Sciotland and to low for Ireland
Don’t you dare disrespect Hogg 😉
I do agree with this twelvestocks, but is not completely clear why. The Gray brothers and Hamilton are not exactly light weight. Jonny may not be supper heavy, but he does an awful lot of work. Denton, Beattie and Ashe are all pretty solid at 8, maybe not Vunipola, but up there with Heaslip in power terms surely. I have been reasonably impressed with Cowan. He may not have OBriens power, but then few do. His biggest problem against Ireland was that he seemed to be almost the only one really competing over the ball.
Not sure how much work Denton and Ashe did over the ball on Saturday?
Is the front row having that big an impact?
I think the Scottish front row are ok at pushing, but not much else. You’re right, Jonny can hold his head up. Maybe the real gulf is in the back row. Cowan is busy, quick and technically proficient, but I think he can’t do it all against O’Mahony, Heaslip and the immense O’Brien, who is surely set to be one of the stars of this world cup.