England v Ireland: How they rated
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Here's how we rated the players today:
MIKE BROWN: Solid and tidy, but had little to do. 6
ANTHONY WATSON: Finished brilliantly once again. Deadly. 7
JONATHAN JOSEPH: Started well but game moved away from him. 6
BRAD BARRITT: Took route one in attack and tackled well. 6
JONNY MAY: Finished an early try and threatened throughout. 8
GEORGE FORD: Up and down performance, but set up Watson’s try. 6
BEN YOUNGS: Showed lovely hands for May’s try. 7
JOE MARLER: Strong and abrasive in the loose. 7
TOM YOUNGS: Far more conspicuous than in Paris. Ran hard. 7
DAN COLE: England’s scrum continues to be have its problems. 6
GEOFF PARLING: Helped the line-out with his return. 7
COURTNEY LAWES: Quiet once again, hopefully he burst into life soon. 6
TOM WOOD: Man of the match in an eye-catching display. 8
CHRIS ROBSHAW (CAPT): England chief marksman in strong defensive effort. 8
BEN MORGAN: Continued to regain fitness after long injury lay-off. 6
JAMIE GEORGE: Did his job when he came on. 5
MAKO VUNIPOLA: Quiet appearance from the bench. 5
KIERAN BROOKES: Arrived late so little chance to shine. 5
JOE LAUNCHBURY: Threw himself into the breakdown. 5
BILLY VUNIPOLA: Dropped a visible pass. 4
RICHARD WIGGLESWORTH: Neat and tidy. 5
OWEN FARRELL: Kicked his goals, but handled poorly. 5
SAM BURGESS: Showed promise, could be exciting. 5
SIMON ZEBO: Caught out for Watson’s try. 5
TOMMY BOWE: Costly mistake gifted England their opening score. 5
JARED PAYNE: Unremarkable in all respects. 6
ROBBIE HENSHAW: Unable to impose himself on England’s midfield. 6
DAVE KEARNEY: Struggled with England’s high ball game. 6
JOHNNY SEXTON: Comfortably below his usual high par. 6
CONOR MURRAY: Robbed of a meaningful afternoon by head injury. 6
JACK MCGRATH: Solid in the scrum. 7
RORY BEST: Tight work. 6
MIKE ROSS: Ireland’s early scrum dominance faded as time wore on. 6
DEVIN TONER: Failed to dominate England at the lineout. 6
PAUL O’CONNELL (CAPT): Try aside, a patchy effort from the skipper. 6
PETER O’MAHONY: Bullish but lacking in accuracy. 6
SEAN O’BRIEN: Several notable and unusual errors. 5
JAMIE HEASLIP: Could not rally the troops up a level. 6
RICHARDT STRAUSS: Scant opportunity to alter proceedings. 5
TADHG FURLONG: Joined the fray at a fraught finale. 6
NATHAN WHITE: Solid enough effort. 6
DONNACHA RYAN: Made one impressive track-back tackle. 7
CHRIS HENRY: Impossible to judge the flanker once he was forced to fill in on the wing. 6
EOIN REDDAN: Lacked the impetus that Murray normally offers. 5
IAN MADIGAN: Made several questionable decisions. 6
DARREN CAVE: Ran hard but struggled to shine. 6
