Gavan Casey

Backs:

• Jordan Larmour — 6: Difficult circumstances for Larmour coming straight into the starting 15 from outside the matchday squad. Safe enough in Hugo Keenan’s absence aside from one unforced spillage in his own 22′. Nice snap-pass nearly sent Nash over for a score in the second half — but otherwise Larmour was fairly well marshalled in possession.

• Calvin Nash — 7: Sumptuous offload to Bundee Aki created an early opening, and Nash almost capitalised himself when he slalomed to within inches of the Scottish line from Larmour’s pass only to knock on while trying to present the ball back to Jamison Gibson-Park. Defensively sound again.

• Robbie Henshaw — 8: Led the backs with 14 carries and, while he never quite broke the line, he routinely offered Ireland impetus at times in which they lacked it. A Trojan effort from midfield, albeit he was beaten in the lead-up to Scotland’s late try.

• Bundee Aki — 8: A mostly typical Bundee Aki display, apart from one uncharacteristic missed tackle on Stafford McDowall which might have proved costly on another day. Made 53 metres off 13 carries and led the backs with nine tackles.

• James Lowe — 7: Sparked Ireland into life at the start of the second half after a poor first 40 by his standards, and resembled the James Lowe we know from there. Beaten for the Scottish try but Huw Jones was in open country by that point, in fairness.

• Jack Crowley — 7: More than solid and less than spectacular on a day in which Ireland were broadly similar. His physicality — particularly when Irish carriers are in danger of being isolated — is a weapon, as are his exceptional penalty kicks to touch.

• Jamison Gibson-Park — 8: As well as being his usual, sharp self on Irish ball, he made a couple of excellent defensive reads in either half which stopped Scotland at crucial junctures in the game.

Forwards:

• Andrew Porter — 8: Decisively won the scrum battle with Zander Fagerson and saw his excellent work around the park rewarded with a pivotal try. That was one of his team-leading 15 carries.

• Dan Sheehan — 8: Won a settling jackal penalty in the opening seconds and showed excellent awareness to claim Ireland’s first try. Made 45 metres off 10 carries in just 55 minutes.

• Tadhg Furlong — 7: Unfortunate not to finish with a try. A powerful scrummaging performance and impactful in the loose, too.

• Joe McCarthy — 7: Again relatively quiet with ball in hand, but influential in defence where a big rip on Fagerson got Ireland out of trouble early. Silly offside on 17 minutes gifted Scotland three points but his work at the breakdown prevented several more opportunities for the visitors.

• Tadhg Beirne — 7: Made a couple of frustrating spillages among his nine carries but was solid in an Irish lineout that was again under pressure, and led the team with 14 tackles.

• Peter O’Mahony (captain) — 7: A similar performance to Beirne’s, with one tackle less and one carry more. O’Mahony didn’t especially move the needle on what might be his final performance in green, but he put in a shift of work.

• Josh van der Flier — 7: Like Twickenham, showed flashes of a return to his 2022 best. Made one big jackal turnover in the first half and produced some enormous hits.

• Caelan Doris — 7: Made 14 carries and eeked out yardage without ever cutting loose. Won four lineouts on Ireland’s ball as a triple-threat option with Beirne and O’Mahony.

Replacements:

• Rónan Kelleher (Sheehan 56′) — 8: A brilliant bench cameo in which he even demonstrated some exquisite passing.

• Cian Healy (Porter 67′) — 6: A dirty-work shift as Ireland steered the ship home. 

• Finlay Bealham (Furlong 51′) — 7: Annihilated Rory Sutherland in the scrum with his first involvement as Furlong went off for a HIA. Made some significant impacts on both sides of the ball otherwise.

• Ryan Baird (McCarthy 56′) — 7: Made a huge hit to prevent a Scottish try that could have made things even more interesting late on.

• Jack Conan (O’Mahony 64′) — 6: Quiet by his standards but was mostly focused on protecting Irish ball at the breakdown as they wound the game down.

• Conor Murray (Gibson-Park 70′) — n/a

• Harry Byrne (Larmour 67′) — 5: Yellow carded for a high hit on Finn Russell, one made with poor technique.

• Garry Ringrose (Nash 57′) — 7: A spillage near the Scottish line on the hour mark left the visitors off the hook but Ringrose exploded into life thereafter and was vital to Ireland’s sealing of the deal.

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