Ireland player ratings: Caelan Doris the ‘soldier in the trenches’ on a ‘dreadful day’ against the Springboks after James Ryan’s ‘thuggery’
Ireland forwards Caelan Doris and James Ryan.
Following Ireland’s 13-24 defeat to the Springboks in Dublin, here’s how we rated Andy Farrell’s charges.
Ireland player ratings
15 Mack Hansen: Battled away manfully throughout his 64 minutes on the park. A warrior at the back and on the wing, he contested brilliantly, came up with a few crucial interventions and did everything in his power to turn the tide. 7
14 Tommy O’Brien: Went in high on a tackle on Canan Moodie and was lucky not to be sanctioned for it. However, that ended his game as he failed the subsequent HIA. Before then, it was a solid start to the game for the inexperienced winger, who contested well in the air and was decent in defence. 6
13 Garry Ringrose: Missed a few tackles but was starved of the ball. Deserves credit for his efforts in defence with Ireland reduced numbers on defence. 6
12 Bundee Aki: Spent more time packing down on the side of the scrum than anything else. He hasn’t been on top form of late, but was much improved today and made some good, strong carries and tackles. 6
11 James Lowe: Spent the match on the back foot, contesting high bombs and occasionally using his booming boot. Couldn’t do much about the opening try; the odds were stacked against him. Did a solid job without being excellent. 6
10 Sam Prendergast: The last to concede a penalty after several of his teammates impeded and spent 10 minutes in the sin bin for it. Tried his best to get his team in the right areas of the pitch, but that’s always difficult when your pack is backtracking at an alarming rate. His defensive work-ons weren’t really exposed. 6
9 Jamison Gibson-Park: Ditto. Gibson-Park threw a stunning pass for Dan Sheehan’s try, but wasn’t able to cope with the pressure the Springboks applied. Swatted off by Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu as the youngster sped away for a try. 5
The forwards
8 Caelan Doris (c): The Irish captain shot up erroneously, creating the opportunity for Damian de Allende to ghost through the defence, a break that resulted in Damian Willemse’s try. While that was costly, one wonders what the scoreline would have been had Doris not been on the pitch for Ireland, as time and time again, he was the man who came in the clutch to get his side out of trouble. The soldier in the trenches. 8
7 Josh van der Flier: A dominant carry laid the groundwork for Sheehan’s try, and the back-rower worked insanely hard throughout the match to give Ireland hope. The Boks took Ireland to the gutters, and Van der Flier, along with Doris, survived. 8
6 Ryan Baird: The same applies to Baird, who limped off after another bruising outing where he competed well at the lineouts, thundered into contact and laid it all out there. 7
5 Tadhg Beirne: Never really has a poor game, and today wasn’t an exception. Looked to have scored a sharp try, running a great line, only for the try to be chalked off for Ryan’s ruck entry. 6
4 James Ryan: Lucky not to be permanently red-carded for what was a dirty, thug shot on Malcolm Marx. He tucked his arm before making contact and flew over the ruck before making head contact. Not only did his sending-off leave his team down a man for 20 minutes, but it scratched off his locking partner’s try that probably would have meant that Ireland led. Made five tackles and a carry before his brain explosion. 2
3 Tadhg Furlong: Part of a scrum that was put into turbo reverse every time the two packs locked horns in the set-piece. A handful of strong carries and some good hands, but failed in his core duty, scrummaging. Finally hooked on the hour mark after a dreadful day in the scrums. 3
2 Dan Sheehan: The shining light in the woeful front-row effort from Ireland. Took his try incredibly well, as he continues to be one of the best hookers around the park. While the lineout woes aren’t just his fault, he did throw a few skew and the set-piece operated at 71% while he was on the park. 6
1 Andrew Porter: Monstered in the scrums by Thomas du Toit and then Wilco Louw, conceding four first-half penalties, with the last of which earned him 10 minutes in the sin bin. Busy as ever around the park, but he is often shown up for his scrum illegalities when fronting up against powerful packs, and that was very much the case today. 3
Replacements: Cian Prendergast was the pick of the Irish bench as he too battered away in the tight exchanges, while the rest of the pack also worked well around the park. The starters left them a massive job to do, too much in fact. Both Paddy McCarthy and Jack Crowley visited the sin bin in what was an ill-disciplined showing from the hosts. 4