15 GEORDAN MURPHYIreland's limited attacking gambits meant that he ended up a frustrated spectator for large passages of the game. Dropped one high ball but simply didn't feature. 4/10

10 JONATHAN SEXTON

Struggled with the placed ball in keeping with virtually all the frontline place-kickers; there was a pause in the mechanics and his rhythm seemed off kilter. Decent distribution. 4/10

4 DONNCHA O'CALLAGHAN

Enthusiastic and committed as always in hitting rucks and making tackles, the integrity of his effort could not be questioned just the effectiveness at times. Conceded one penalty. 5/10

14 TOMMY BOWE

Recovered from two early knocks-on, a symptom of the wet conditions and the general malaise. Well-timed run for the first try and linked well with his captain for second try. 5/10

3 MIKE ROSS

Another pillar in a dominant Ireland scrum and maul, there is no doubt that in the prevailing conditions, a tighter approach would have been more lucrative points-wise. 5/10

13 BRIAN O’DRISCOLL

He missed a couple of tackles, which is most unusual but definitely a product of his lack of game time. Intelligent inside pass for Bowe's try. He'll be better for the outing. 4/10

5 PAUL O’CONNELL 

Dominant in the lineout, he showed a tremendous appetite to get on the ball and try and eke out the hard yards. There were times when Ireland chose one or two wrong options when trundling forward. 6/10

1 TOM COURT

He was in the vanguard of a dominant Ireland scrum and contributed around the pitch in discharging the nuts and bolts of his general remit. Might look to get on the ball a little more. 5/10

6 STEPHEN FERRIS

Ireland's outstanding player by some distance. He made the yardage up front, invariably getting well over the gain line and gave his team-mates a target going forward. Put in some big tackles too. 8/10

7 SHANE JENNINGS

He worked very hard at the breakdown but his cause wasn't helped by team-mates occasionally getting themselves isolated. The breakdown was a bit of a free-for-all the way it was refereed. 5/10

12 GORDON D’ARCY

Picked up his game after one dropped pass, defended well and carried ball for short yardage in heavy traffic. Intercepted pass for US try shows how telegraphed Ireland's back play has become. 4/10

9 CONOR MURRAY

One good break, but a couple of fumbles, a penalty conceded and decision-making needs to sharper. A difficult experience but he has the game and character to learn. 4/10

8 JAMIE HEASLIP

Some nice footwork saw him make half-breaks here and there but he might have taken things on more himself from a dominant scrum. By his lofty standards, a reasonably quiet game. 5/10

11 KEITH EARLS

Great break early on and showed one or two glimpses of his dazzling footwork but his qualities were underutilised, albeit on a night where conditions were difficult. 5/10

2 RORY BEST

His lineout throwing on a wet, blustery night was good and he was influential around the pitch, especially in carrying ball. Took try well and only blot was the concession of a penalty. 6/10