Following Ireland’s 23-13 loss to the All Blacks at the Aviva Stadium, here is how we rated Andy Farrell’s men in their Autumn Nations Series defeat.
Ireland player ratings v All Blacks
15 Hugo Keenan: A quiet game on his return to international rugby after a stint with the national sevens team. He made a stunning tackle on the slippery Mark Tele’a but it mattered little as the All Blacks scored on the next phase. 5
14 Mack Hansen: First Test match back since the Rugby World Cup quarter-final against the All Blacks last year and it was like he never left and he slotted seamlessly back into the Ireland backline. He shifted into the first receiver role nicely and was sharp on defence and under the high ball without being sensational. He tried his utmost to force the issue and got it right several times. 6
13 Garry Ringrose: Got a massive roar from the crowd with a mighty hit on public enemy number one, Rieko Ioane, and needed to be effective on defence as the All Blacks kept ball in hand phase after phase. To his credit, he did what was required of him. 6
12 Bundee Aki: A few uncharacteristic errors like dropping the ball cold as he looked up at the defence rather than keeping his eye on it. Still, he was tough to bring to the ground when he carried to the line but not at his box office best. 5
11 James Lowe: A handful of cracking kicks from his booming boot including a glorious 50:22 and threatened on occasions when carrying to the line and was sharp under the high ball. However, like many of his teammates, he was unable to inspire. 6
All Blacks put lacklustre Ireland to the sword to bring 19-game home winning streak to a swift end
Half-backs
10 Jack Crowley: The All Blacks dominated possession for much of the time the fly-half was on the pitch. In fact, he got just 12 touches of the ball before his number was called in the 57th minute. He nailed his shots at goal and missed just one of his eight tackle attempts but far from a memorable outing. 4
9 Jamison Gibson-Park: Ireland’s game drivers weren’t at the races today even with the brilliant scrum-half’s return. He was excellent on defence making several magnificent cover tackles, particularly in the first half to shut down threatening All Blacks attacks. He gave his side a sniff with a brilliant chase and shot that followed but Lowe spoiled it with a dangerous clear out. With Ireland starved of position, Gibson-Park struggled to stamp his mark on attack and wasn’t as accurate as he usually is. 6
Back rowers
8 Caelan Doris (c): A massive carry off the back of the scrum led to his side’s only try of the game which at the time looked like a turning point in the match but it was not to be. He never fails to deliver in terms of work-rate and today was no different but was not able to produce his game-changing moments regularly enough. 6
7 Josh van der Flier: Outstanding performance from the brilliant back-rower who led the Irish charge at the breakdown, creating carnage and contributing heavily to Cortez Ratima’s mare. He got Ireland’s opening try of the game with a stellar line and did just enough to reach out and score while he was incredibly busy on defence too. While many of his teammates produced underwhelming performances, Van der Flier was clearly the best man in green. 8
6 Tadhg Beirne: A work-horse which is stock-standard but he did not get the reward, particularly at the breakdown that he is used to getting. Still rose to the challenge more often than not and got stuck into the nitty-gritty. 5
Tight five
5 James Ryan: Led the charge at the breakdown as he gave the All Blacks all kinds of issues, winning two turnovers. As per usual he topped the tackle count on defence, making 16 in total before he made way for Peter O’Mahony. 6
4 Joe McCarthy: Got under Scott Barrett’s skin early on with his pesky and brutal work at the breakdown. He continued that form for much of his shift but he looked to have picked up a knock before the hour mark and was subsequently replaced. 6
3 Finlay Bealham: Like his fellow prop, he managed to keep his shape enough to avoid penalties at scrum time, particularly against Tamaiti Williams but conceded one the minute Ofa Tu’ungafasi came after Bealham was forced to return to proceedings. Rather quiet otherwise. 4
2 Rónan Kelleher: His first game in a month and in many ways, it showed as he was certainly rusty but did throw his weight around well on defence. The lineout lacked a bit of urgency and pace and Kelleher does need to shoulder some of the blame for the All Blacks’ two clean steals off his throws. 5
1 Andrew Porter: He painted a good enough picture for the officials to avoid sanction despite being put under the cosh by the excellent Tyrel Lomax. He lasted until the 74th minute and he did not let his work-rate slip. 6
Replacements: Ireland needed a lift in the second half from their bench and inject energy and performances to turn things around and simply they did not get it. After a producing a match-winning performance against the Springboks in Durban, Ciaran Frawley had an absolute mare and much of the bench wasn’t much better. The discipline needed to be improved by the fresh bodies but that was not the case as Ireland slipped to just their second home defeat under Farrell. 2