IRELAND suffered a disappointing 10-16 defeat to Wales on home soil on Saturday and head coach Joe Schmidt is due to announce his squad for the Rugby World Cup within the next 24 hours.
So, who's a dead cert and who's hanging by a threat? To help your judgement, we've individually rated each of the 23 Irish players who took part in the Wales loss at the Aviva Stadium below.
15. Rob Kearney - 7/10 - Made some superb catches but didn’t gather up and unders on two or three occasions. Made good yards in attack in the first half.
14. Dave Kearney - 6/10 - Provided little threat in attack but dealt well with his fielding.
13. Luke Fitzgerald - 5/10 - The experiment of playing Fitzgerald at 13 just didn’t work on Saturday. The Irish midfield got no success against Scott Williams and Jamie Roberts.
12. Robbie Henshaw - 6/10 - Had his hands full with Jamie Roberts all day. Tackled well but offered little in attack.
11. Keith Earls - 6/10 - Unlucky with a bounce of the ball from a Johnny Sexton cross-field kick in the first half. He could have been in for a try. Stretchered off in the second-half after a long injury delay.
10. Jonathan Sexton - 6/10 - Kicked out of hand poorly throughout but nailed all his kicks at goal. Ran with purpose with ball in hand in the early minutes.
9. Conor Murray - 6/10 - Made a lot of tackles and maybe should have box-kicked more as Sexton was losing the kicking battle for territory.
8. Jamie Heaslip - 8/10 - The number eight was involved in the best of the Irish play. Battled hard at the coalface all day.
7. Jordi Murphy - 7/10 - Another fine display but the Irish back row lost the battle to their opponents.
6. Peter O'Mahony - 7/10 - Won a penalty for Ireland and carried well in the first half.
5. Paul O'Connell (c) - 6/10 - The Irish lineout went well but he didn’t carry with his usual aplomb in a disappointing Aviva Stadium farewell.
4. Iain Henderson - 9/10 - Was the best Irish player on the field. He worked tirelessly, carried well, scored a try and won possession off the Welsh on a number of occasions. On this display he should be a first choice player.
3. Nathan White - 5/10 - Struggled against Gethin Jenkins at scrum time. Will have learned a lot on his first start at international level.
2. Richardt Strauss - 6/10 - Threw well in the lineout but struggled with his front row teammates at scrum time.
1. Jack McGrath - 6/10 - Carried well and showed some good handling before half time. Struggled in the scrum.
SUBS:
16. Sean Cronin - 7/10 - Gave away a penalty but upped the tempo of the Irish attack. Almost won the game but for some great last ditch defending by Wales.
17. Dave Kilcoyne - 7/10 - Carried well during his time on the pitch.
18. Tadhg Furlong - 6/10 - Was involved in open play but didn’t improve Ireland’s fortunes in the scrum.
19. Donnacha Ryan - 7/10 - Worked hard and kept the lineout working well in Paul O’Connell’s absence.
20. Sean O'Brien - 7/10 - Made a good impression with ball in hand but was outmatched by Toby Falatau.
21. Eoin Reddan - 6/10 - Didn’t make a noticeable impact from the bench.
22. Paddy Jackson - 6/10 - His drop goal attempt was overly ambitious. Looked a bad decision from the outset.
23. Felix Jones - Not on long enough to be rated.
Man of the Match: Justin Tipuric – The Welsh number seven was simply a colossus. His three turnovers and 18 tackles helped stifle the Irish attack throughout. Scored a try as well.
TEAMS:
Ireland: 15 Rob Kearney, 14 Dave Kearney, 13 Luke Fitzgerald, 12 Robbie Henshaw, 11 Keith Earls, 10 Jonathan Sexton, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Jordi Murphy, 6 Peter O'Mahony, 5 Paul O'Connell (c), 4 Iain Henderson, 3 Nathan White, 2 Richardt Strauss, 1 Jack McGrath. Subs: 16 Sean Cronin, 17 Dave Kilcoyne, 18 Tadhg Furlong, 19 Donnacha Ryan, 20 Sean O'Brien, 21 Eoin Reddan, 22 Paddy Jackson, 23 Felix Jones
Wales: 15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Scott Williams, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 George North, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Rhys Webb, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Alun Wyn Jones (c), 4 Bradley Davies, 3 Tomas Francis, 2 Ken Owens, 1 Gethin JenkinsSubs: 16 Scott Baldwin, 17 Paul James, 18 Aaron Jarvis, 19 Luke Charteris, 20 James King, 21 Gareth Davies, 22 Rhys Priestland, 23 Hallam Amos
