Ireland player ratings: Under-par showings sees Six Nations Grand Slam dream dashed in defeat to England

Following Ireland’s narrow 23-22 loss to England in the Six Nations, here is how we rated Andy Farrell’s charges who were denied back-to-back Grand Slams.

Ireland player ratings v England

15 Hugo Keenan: Shifted to the wing early on but was just as effective in the position as he hardly put a foot wrong in classic Keenan fashion. Played a key role in James Lowe’s second score too and made some good defensive reads. 5

14 Calvin Nash: Gutting for the youngster. He was forced off after just six minutes, and we cannot give him a fair rating.

13 Robbie Henshaw: Scrambled well defensively on the whole but wasn’t as effective with ball in hand as he has been recently. 5

12 Bundee Aki: Continues his fine run of form with bulking carries into the heart of the English defence and was excellent once again at the breakdown. The one problem with the latter is that he did concede two penalties. He missed a tackle on Ben Earl as the number eight scored, but that was more down to the Englishman’s brilliance than the centre’s mistake. 8

11 James Lowe: The speedster took his two opportunities to score well, particularly the first, and although he was a bit guilty of suspect defence, it did not cost Ireland the match. His canon boot is such a weapon. Lowe was crucial in keeping Ireland in the game and looked to have given them a winning try. 7

Half-backs

10 Jack Crowley: Not helped with all the disruption in the Irish backline, and in the end, his two challenging missed kicks at goal did prove costly. But Crowley still looked assured and not shaken throughout the game. He took control of the attack well and played his part in getting Ireland back into the lead. 6

9 Jamison Gibson-Park: Ran the show well at scrum-half in the first half despite England’s pressure. He was sharp and effective and when he was forced to the wing after Ciaran Frawley’s injury, he still managed to shine. He put Lowe away superbly to give his side a chance of winning the game. What a talent. 8

Planet Rugby’s player ratings key.

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Loose forwards

8 Caelan Doris: Ireland weren’t quite up to their usual high standard and perhaps that is epitomised by Doris’ outing. The number eight did not put in a poor performance, but he has set an incredible benchmark that he just didn’t hit today. There were a few uncharacteristic missed tackles, was less effective with ball in hand but still busy around the park. 5

7 Josh van der Flier: One of the players closer to their standard than the rest. Always busy around the park in all facets and he did that getting stuck in on defence and his hands on the ball plenty. 6

6 Peter O’Mahony: Admitted himself that his yellow card was not good enough and it proved very costly in the latter stages of the match. The skipper didn’t return to the pitch after his sin-binning. 4

Marcus Smith drop-goal denies Ireland back-to-back Six Nations Grand Slams as England shine

Tight five

5 Tadhg Beirne: Stepped up to save Ireland on several occasions but ultimately, it was not enough. A consistent performer but would have wanted a bit more purchase in attack. 7

4 Joe McCarthy: Missed two of his 12 attempted tackles, conceded a penalty and was outplayed by England’s powerful second-row partners. 4

3 Tadhg Furlong: Had his struggles in the scrum against Ellis Genge and didn’t get much go forward with his carries. 4

2 Dan Sheehan: England marked the hooker and made sure they stopped him from getting in space. His lineouts were on point again, but he looked a bit more human today after tearing up opposition this year. 6

1 Andrew Porter: Went deep into the fixture yet again as Ireland make the most of his ability around the park. He had an influence around the field and held up his side of the scrum. 6

Replacements: Iain Henderson conceded two penalties in his short shift but did throw his weight around well. The front-row replacements were solid. Ryan Baird struggled somewhat, and while they were able to inspire the side to get back ahead, they let it slip soon after. 5

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