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Player ratings: Ireland fail to impress in nervy win over Scotland

It was far from perfect but Ireland got their 2020 Six Nations campaign off to a winning start un...



It was far from perfect but Ireland got their 2020 Six Nations campaign off to a winning start under new head coach Andy Farrell.

It seems that very little has changed since Joe Schmidt's departue, with a simplistic gameplan heavily reliant on kicking the ball still clearly in place.

There were some starring performances but overall there is ample room for improvement ahead of Wales' visit to the Aviva Stadium next Saturday.

15. Jordan Larmour: 7

Was exciting in attack as always but was also impressive in the air. While there wasn't maybe as much scrutiny put on Larmour as many of the other players he'll still be delighted with a solid performance after taking over from Rob Kearney as Ireland's incumbent full-back.

14. Andrew Conway: 6

Solid but not spectacular from the Munster flyer. Didn't see the ball as much as he may have liked but was dangerous when he was in possession.

13. Garry Ringrose: 7

Offered plenty in attack with ball in hand and beat a couple of defenders in an energetic first-half display. Had to be substituted at half-time but Robbie Henshaw acted as an ample replacement.

12. Bundee Aki: 6

Made a few nice runs but the Ireland midfield looked weak in defence. While that's not entirely Aki's fault he did miss three tackles in a nervy Irish performance.

11. Jacob Stockdale: 6

Probably his best performance in an Ireland shirt in a while although still not back to his try-scoring best.

10. Johnny Sexton: 7

Scored all of Ireland's points and kept a cool head as captain even after some questionable decisions from the referee. He won't be happy with his team's performance but can take solace in a winning start since taking over as captain.

9. Conor Murray: 5

The Munster man needed a big performance after he was somewhat surprisingly picked over the in-form John Cooney but put in another mediocre performance. He threw an intercepted pass in the first half that almost led to a Scotland try and was on a whole ponderous when Ireland had the ball.

8. Caelan Doris: N/A

Was incredibly unlucky on his debut after having to come off with a head injury within the first four minutes. Won a penalty in a ruck in the opening exchanges but was not on long enough to rate.

7. Josh van der Flier: 6

Did well at the breakdown but wasn't quite as busy as normal. Certainly not a poor performance but also far from his best.

6. CJ Stander: 8

Plenty of questions were asked of Stander in the build-up to the match and in fairness, he answered all of them. Made plenty of runs and tackles and forced a late crucial turnover, metres from his own line.

5. James Ryan: 7

Made plenty of tackles and carries around the fringes of the ruck as always. Wasn't a standout performer but did what was required of him. The lineout operated well on a day when the scrum malfunctioned.

4. Iain Henderson: 6

Not quite as busy as his second-row partner but put in a solid shift nonetheless. Still, with Devin Toner back in form his place in the starting 15 is far from guaranteed.

3. Tadhg Furlong: 6

Quite enough day for the big Wexford man. Grew into the game as it went but the scrum struggled against a Scotland pack that isn't exactly renowned for their scrummaging ability.

2. Rob Herring: 6

Pretty quiet as well from the Ulster player. The lineout did well but Farrell will want him to show more against Wales next week.

1. Cian Healy: 5

Not a day to remember for the Leinster prop. The scrum came off second-best and he didn't carry the ball as much as he normally does.

Replacements: 5

While the replacements were able to hold onto Ireland's lead there was very little impact coming from anyone off the bench. The sight of John Cooney box-kicking a number of times is worrying for a player with such an impressive running game.

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Ireland Player Ratings Scotland Six Nations Six Nations 2020