Ireland player ratings: ‘Rare stinker’ from Jamison Gibson-Park as error-strewn playmakers sum up poor performance
Sam Prendergast and Jamison Gibson-Park in action for Ireland.
Following a 40-21 defeat to the All Blacks in the Nations Championship clash at Eden Park on Saturday, here are the player ratings for Ireland.
15 Hugo Keenan: Couldn’t perform his defensive heroics this time around when Patrick Tuipulotu was charging at him and then butchered a two-on-one when the speedy Rob Baloucoune was outside of him. Keenan, like most Ireland players, improved in the second half, but that opening 40 minutes cost them. 5
14 Robert Baloucoune: There was one excellent aerial take and he tried to get involved after the break, but ultimately Baloucoune was well shackled by the All Blacks for most of the match. Generally mistake-free, however, which a lot of his team-mates couldn’t say. 5
13 Garry Ringrose: Made a couple of important defensive interventions but his midfield rearguard was exposed a few times by the hosts. Ringrose’s distribution was decent on the gain line but he wasn’t helped by slow ball at the ruck. 6
12 Stuart McCloskey: A surprisingly subpar performance this year considering how brilliant the centre has been. Made a mistake just after Ireland scored to hand Will Jordan a try and with it the momentum back to New Zealand, which stopped any chances of a comeback. McCloskey was much-improved in the second period, but the damage had already been done. 5
11 Jimmy O’Brien: Deserves credit for at least doing the basics well. Wasn’t really caught out, producing a solid display on the wing. 6
Shockers
10 Sam Prendergast: This tour has been absolutely fantastic for the injured Jack Crowley, whose place seems even more assured now. Prendergast’s kicking to touch, apart from one botched effort, was superb but, other than that, he was abysmal. Given his penchant for simply standing and delivering behind the gain line, it made it all too easy for the All Blacks’ defence with the fly-half not a running threat himself. Also made errors with his team in good positions. 3
9 Jamison Gibson-Park: A rare stinker from the scrum-half, who had a terrible opening period. We can’t quite remember him making that many mistakes in one game before. Gibson-Park was better after the interval and brought more tempo and better decision-making to Ireland, but it was a disappointing return to Auckland for the playmaker. 4
8 Jack Conan: One of the Irishmen’s better players even if he was a bit too upright in contact at times. Conan kept on trucking the ball up, running for 28 metres, and made a superb 20 tackles in defence. 7
7 Josh van der Flier: Made one impressive turnover and looked to impose himself, to reasonable effect, in a number of other rucks. Not the dynamic Van der Flier we’ve become accustomed to but still a good effort. 6
6 Tadhg Beirne: Another Irish player that got physically monstered on occasion, but Beirne kept coming back. Showed his rugby intellect early on by winning a turnover and did his job in the set-piece and around the field. 6
5 James Ryan: Dropped the ball when Ireland had a promising attacking opportunity, which rather summed up the team’s performance. It was a typical workmanlike shift from Ryan, but he is not a top international lock anymore. 5
Ireland’s best
4 Joe McCarthy: So much better from McCarthy, who was easily his side’s standout. The only player to really dominate the All Blacks physically as the lock made carry after carry over the gain line. A super display from the 25-year-old. 8
3 Tadhg Furlong: Has had his critics this year and he certainly isn’t the player he once was but, in fairness, the scrum wasn’t too much of a factor and Furlong has a few more moments in the loose this weekend. Added plenty around the field. 6
2 Dan Sheehan (c): Managed to get the lineout sorted, which has been a real issue in the Nations Championship, while Sheehan also had a few surges in the loose. Another to at least try to make something happen. 6
1 Tom O’Toole: Tried hard but the pace of the game was almost too much for him as he failed to make an impact in pretty much every facet. 4
Replacements: Sean Jansen once again flew into contact and made some decent carries as a result, but it was basically more of the same from the Ireland bench. They were more solid but there was not enough impact from the replacements. 5