Ireland were left counting the cost of injuries after they fell to a 16-10 defeat to Wales at the Aviva Stadium.
Sean Cronin was denied a late try, under the posts, but Wales were the better team.
Here’s how we rated Joe Schmidt’s men.
Rob Kearney – 8
Wales tested him with some early steeplers and the Irishman never backed down once. Brave to a fault. Sliced one easy clearing opportunity to keep Ireland under the cosh. Chased Sexton’s 52nd minute chip to the corner with gusto and wrung George North out of play to ensure an attacking line-out.
Dave Kearney – 6
Smart, sharp defence on six minutes to shut down a Welsh two-on-one in front of the Irish posts. Possesses great speed but was bottled up for most of the afternoon. Was lucky that Halfpenny’s kick behind him tiddled out of play, metres from the Irish tryline.
Luke Fitzgerald – 5
Hared into breakdowns like a man possessed and won a very important first-half turnover. Drifted wide on occasion as he sought to get into attacks. Jared Payne may re-take this jersey for England, especially if his hip injury turns out to be serious.
Robbie Henshaw – 6
First receiver for many of Ireland’s set plays but did little more than ram himself into traffic. So effective in defence. Little gets past him and he is hard to shift on the deck.
Keith Earls – 5
All of Ireland will hope his neck injury is not as serious as it first looked. We’re being a touch harsh here but his hesitation for Sexton’s chip in behind the Welsh defence (38 minutes) may cost him a World Cup place – even before he was injured. Defensively solid down his channel and eager for the aerial combat.
Johnny Sexton – 5
Brought out the crossfield kick early and almost connected with Earls. Wales pressed him for time and space – harrying him successfully in the opening half hour. Started the second half with a sublime kick in behind. Radar was dialled in after the break.
Conor Murray – 6
Not as many box-kicks as usual. Ireland wanted to keep ball in hand as much as possible and the scrum-half followed his coach’s instructions. Wales made it tough for him to get much clean ball. Teamed up well with McGrath to turn over Welsh ball just before the break.
Jack McGrath – 5
Had a serious examination from Tom Francis, on his debut, and gave away one needless free kick for an early scrum engagement. His big hit on Jamie Roberts led to a turnover (on 37 minutes).
Richardt Strauss – 6
Gave away a penalty, which Leigh Halfpenny converted, for taking Rhys Webb out. Successfully used as a head-down battering ram for one forward excursion.
Nathan White – 6
Used a little more in attack than Mike Ross. Took a while to get into the scrummaging game but grew as the match went on.
Iain Henderson – 8
What a try! Ireland’s best player by far. Unstoppable for his score under the posts, right before half-time. His rucking and counter-rucking is superb. Threw in two second-half lineout steals for good measure. Brute force.
Paul O’Connell – 7
One monstrous piece of work at the breakdown (15 mins) won a turnover and had the home crowd roaring. Not a perfect game – couple of missed tackles and inadvertently spoiled a backline move – but sheer, bloody-minded commitment throughout.
Peter O’Mahony – 7
The modern game is all about the breakdown and the Irish back row struggled. O’Mahony was the best of the three Irish back-rows but even he struggled to win clean ball. Came off injured with a little under 30 minutes to play.
Jordi Murphy – 6
Has done remarkably well since making his Ireland debut, last year, but this was not his best game in green. Justin Tipuric outshone him. Finished out at centre after injuries struck.
Jamie Heaslip – 6
Take a lot to get this man to ground when he is in charge mode. Better in attack but struggled to clear out Welsh bodies at the breakdown. Quick to snaffle up any loose ball in his vicinity – or loosen it from a Welsh grasp.
Replacements
Sean Cronin – 7
(On for Strauss ’51) A superb replacement to have. Broke tackles and gave his side forward momentum.
Dave Kilcoyne – 4
(On for McGrath ’60) Gave away a stupid penalty with 10 minutes to play.
Tadhg Furlong – 5
(On for White ’57) Heaved himself around for the final quarter.
Donnacha Ryan – 5
(On for Fitzgerald ’67) The record books will have it as Ryan on the wing but he came into the back row and Murphy went to the wing.
Sean O’Brien – 6
(On for O’Mahony ’51) Showed a lot of industry and carried well when he came on.
Eoin Reddan – 5
(On for Murray ’63) The teeming rain made it tougher for Reddan as he chased a lost cause.
Paddy Jackson – 4
(On for Sexton ’63) Had a ponderous drop goal attempt blocked down.
Felix Jones – 5
(On for Earls ’63) Saw little of the ball in the final 15 minutes. Finished on the left wing.
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