Ireland player ratings: ‘Tireless’ star a standout again as Andy Farrell’s charges produce another ‘underwhelming’ performance
Ireland players after scoring a try.
Following Ireland’s narrow 22-19 win over the Los Pumas from Argentina, here are our player ratings for Andy Farrell’s men.
Backline
15 Hugo Keenan: The full-back looked to make something happen on attack throughout making a boatload of carries, many of which were key in Ireland’s attack. A solid outing. 5
14 Mack Hansen: Looked far more like the scrum-capped superstar we know and he scored a try to vindicate that. While he did have a lot of positive interventions, that attempt at a tackle in Juan Cruz Mallia’s try is not one he would like to watch back. 6
13 Garry Ringrose: The centre has such deceptive pace and strength which was a major asset today. Ringrose beat five defenders and made 68 metres with the ball in hand – a team-high for both – while also making solid defensive contributions. 8
12 Robbie Henshaw: Such an allrounder and he slotted into the 12 channel with aplomb today. The centre will be delighted with his shift for the most part and may have convinced Andy Farrell to back him again. 6
11 James Lowe: He is never quiet in an Ireland jersey and that was the same again, particularly in the first half. His kicking game provides a great deal of balance in the back-three. 6
10 Jack Crowley: Finally got a Test try in what was a great bounce-back outing where he finished with 12 points. Crowley did have the attack purring in the first half and made a few errors in the second until he was replaced. 6
9 Jamison Gibson-Park: As per usual the scrum-half was at the centre of all the good that came from the Ireland attack and used his expert understanding of the game to disrupt Argentina at every opportunity. What a player. 8
Mixed bag forwards
8 Caelan Doris: Better from the skipper but still not the rampant Doris we have come to expect although he did make a whopping 18 tackles. Still, he is trending well and he certainly does look at home with the captain’s armband. 7
7 Josh van der Flier: 24 tackles! That alone speaks volumes for his tireless shift which was one of his best at Test level for quite some time. When he is on song he is right up there as one of the players with the biggest engine. 8
6 Tadhg Beirne: Would have hated the fact that he knocked the ball forward on the line. Outside of that Beirne was busy and had an accomplished game, however, his typical breakdown influence was not there and Ireland struggled as a result. 6
5 James Ryan: Had some good touches in the first period but sort of got lost in the chaos when Argentina had their tails up. Nothing wrong but nothing amazing with his effort. 5
4 Joe McCarthy: The yellow card for too many penalties does bring down his score but he was solid otherwise, throwing his body into contact with and without the ball. He was rewarded with a try as a result of a decent game. 7
3 Finlay Bealham: Some might feel he was lucky to be on the park after that croc roll and he did not feature much otherwise. At scrum-time he did not gain much dominance and was under pressure from Los Pumas that is not renowned for its scrummaging prowess. 5
2 Ronan Kelleher: One overthrow to note in a pretty bland shift other than his 18 tackles. Kelleher was solid enough on the day. 6
1 Andrew Porter: Took a bit of heat in the scrums and made some solid defensive contributions until he was removed. Not perfect but acceptable. 5
Replacements: The headline is Sam Prendergast who will hand Crowley sleepless nights after an impressive cameo on debut. The prodigy looked at home in Test rugby and ran the attack with confidence only for Argentina to hold firm. Jamie Osborne injected some venom on both sides of the ball while Cian Healy equalled Brian O’Driscoll’s record. While solid on defence from the bench, they offered little attacking threat as Farell’s charges held on for a narrow win with an underwhelming performance as they failed to score a single point in the second half. 5
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