Ireland v Wales: Irish player ratings
Sat, 13 Mar 2010 21:48
Ireland kept their hope of winning the Six Nations alive with a 27-12 victory over Wales at Croke Park, Dublin.
Wales fullback Lee Byrne was yellow carded in the first half and Ireland grabbed control of the game scoring two tries while he was off the field.
Ireland kept up the pressure and never allowed Wales back into the match with a third try in the second half scored by Keith Earls.
Ireland are still on track to win the Triple Crown with only Scotland still to play in the Six Nations.
Timmy Hancox rates the Irish players:
Ireland:
15 Geordan Murphy:
Fielded balls at the back efficiently with great work in the air, but didn't offer a great deal on attack.
6/10
14 Tommy Bowe:
Looked dangerous whenever he had the ball in hand and punched a few holes in the midfield defence as well as giving Shane Williams a tough
time on defence..
7/10
13 Brian O'Driscoll:
Had a brilliant game on defence and tackled the strong running Jamie Roberts all afternoon. He wasn't allowed a great deal of room to attack, but can be proud of his efforts in his 100th Test.
7/10
12 Gordon D'Arcy: Replaced by Rob Kearney
Was injured after putting in a big tackle on Jamie Roberts in the first half and looked solid in defence while he was on.
6/10
11 Keith Earls: Replaced by Ronan O'Gara
Scored a brace of tries and showed some great speed to make it to the corner on both occasions. Was a constant threat on the touch line and had the better of his opposite number.
8/10
10 Jonathan Sexton:
Had a terrible day with the boot with less than a 50 percent kicking rate for polls. He did manage a good drop-goal and there were no
problems with his passing game.
6/10
9 Tomas O'Leary: Replaced by Eoin Reddan
Was outstanding in all departments and controlled the game as the dominant No.9 and took pressure off Sexton. He scored a great try and played a big role in both of Keith Earls' tries as well.
9/10
8 Jamie Heaslip:
Tackled well and carried the ball up in the tight phases without standing out amongst the other loose forwards.
6/10
7 David Wallace:
Put his body on the line and made several good breaks with ball in hand. He also effected several steals at the breakdown and was a constant nuisance for the Welsh ball carriers.
8/10
6 Stephen Ferris: Replaced by Shane Jennings
He was effective both in the tight and loose play and did exactly was is required from a blindside flanker with some good tackling and
a few strong ball carries.
8/10
5 Paul O'Connell: Replaced by Leo Cullen
Lead the team well from the front and was good in the line-outs. Did his job without being particularly dominant.
6/10
4 Donncha O'Callaghan:
Was workman-like but didn't stand out during the game. Assisted in gaining the hard yards without adding a great deal more.
6/10
3 John Hayes: Replaced by Tony Buckley
Won a crucial tighthead scrum five metres from his line to stop a Welsh attack. He run out of puff during the second half and didn't feature a great deal in loose play
7/10
2 Rory Best: Replaced by Sean Cronin
Had a good day finding his jumpers in the line-outs and was a useful runner in the loose to bash the ball up.
7/10
1 Cian Healy:
Had a few
problems in the scrums, but was a very good ball carrier in the loose phases of the game.
6/10
16 Sean Cronin: On for Rory Best in the 79th minute.
Not enough time to be rated
17 Tony Buckley: On for John Hayes in the 73rd minute.
Not enough time to be rated
18 Leo Cullen: On for Paul O'Connell in the 78th minute.
Not enough time to be rated
19 Shane Jennings: On for Stephen Ferris in the 78th minute.
Not enough time to be rated
20 Eoin Reddan: On for Tomas O'Leary in the 78th minute.
Not enough time to be rated
21 Ronan O'Gara: On for Keith earls in the 77th minute.
Not enough time to be rated
22 Rob Kearney: Came on for Gordon D'Arcy in the 23rd minute.
Fielded balls at the back well but wasn't given many opportunities to run with the ball.
6/10
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