Ireland player ratings: Bundee Aki shines while the front-row dominates Wales

Following Ireland’s 31-7 victory over Wales at the Aviva Stadium in the Six Nations, here is how we rated Andy Farrell’s charges.

Ireland player ratings v Wales

15 Ciaran Frawley: Got on the scoresheet after a sharp showing in the place of the always-excellent Hugo Keenan. Stepped into the first receiver role well as he worked well with fly-half Jack Crowley. He managed to beat a few defenders well and one of the best compliments we can pay him is that Keenan wasn’t missed. 7

14 Calvin Nash: The Munsterman has thrived with the responsibility of starting the first three games of the Six Nations. A stunning offload sent James Lowe over the line, and he completed another sharp one to Josh van der Flier. 6

13 Robbie Henshaw: Another solid showing as he managed to keep George North relatively quiet on attack. He made good decisions with the ball in hand as a whole, too. 6

12 Bundee Aki: Ireland needed a big ball carrier to punch holes in the strong Welsh defence, and they got that from the abrasive 12, who regularly took two or more men with him. He was a pest at the breakdown too and spread the ball well when needed. 8

11 James Lowe: His left peg continues to be a massive asset for the side but was just as impactful with the ball in hand, gaining the most metres by an Ireland player (84). Got a deserved try and was mostly solid. 6

Ireland keep Grand Slam hopes on track after Six Nations win over Wales

Half-backs

10 Jack Crowley: Patient on attack and knew when to pull the trigger for Lowe’s score. He kicked well off the tee this week, nailing all five of his shots at goal, and his line kicks were solid. He has filled Johnny Sexton’s void superbly, and this outing was just another game that he further cemented his place long-term. 7

9 Jamison Gibson-Park: Trademark snappy service from the base of the rucks and solid kicking display. Effective display as per usual. 7

Loose trio

8 Caelan Doris: A mammoth work rate as he finished with the joint-most tackles (20) in the match and got his hands on the ball plenty. A standard performance for him, but he has set an incredibly high bar recently. 7

7 Josh van der Flier: Landed a truly marvellous tackle in the first half, but the flanker was forced off early in the second half. He made some good carries in the wider channels and hit the requirements of his role without being a standout. 6

6 Peter O’Mahony: A sturdy performance from the Irish captain as he celebrated his 50th Six Nations cap with a victory. There was little fuss with his performance but little to shout about, too. 6

Tight forwards

5 Tadhg Beirne: Gambled near his own try-line, and it didn’t pay off as the officials were too sharp to his antic and punished him with a yellow card and awarded Wales a penalty try. His sin-binning aside, it was another sublime performance from Beirne capped off with a try with the final play of the game. He was busy on both sides of the ball and at the breakdown. 8

4 Joe McCarthy: The 22-year-old has swiftly settled into the starting line-up for Ireland, and while today wasn’t his best outing, it was still an effective one. Defensively, he was busy, and he made an excellent carry through the heart of the Welsh defence, showing some nibble footwork in the build-up to Lowe’s try. 6

Front-row

3 Tadhg Furlong: His first Test since the passing of his father and was clearly and understandably emotional during the anthems. But he didn’t let his emotions get the best of him as he put in a strong and tidy shift, including a big scrum showing. 7

2 Dan Sheehan: A memorable game as he became the top-scoring hooker in Six Nations history, dotting down for his seventh try in the Championship at the back of a 13-man maul. For the first time in this campaign, Ireland lost a lineout on their own throw, and it happened twice while Sheehan was on the pitch, one his doing, the other not. At his usual brilliant standard with his carries, strong defensively and superb in the scrums. 8

1 Andrew Porter: Outside of a hiccup at the scrum in the latter stages of his shift, it was a dominant display from the Ireland loosehead, who was excellent in the scrums and just as effective around the park. 8

Replacements: James Ryan’s yellow card was a let-down from the bench, but there were big defensive shifts from the likes of Ryan Baird, Jack Conan and Oli Jager. 7

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