Scotland 10 Ireland 40: Ireland player ratings

15 Rob Kearney

A little bit of a mixed bag, a fumble for Scotland’s try, a couple of sliced kicks but overall his contribution was on the positive side of the ledger with some muscular carries at important times. Rating: 6

14 Tommy Bowe

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Sean O’Brien: He made a total of 76 metres, scoring two tries but it was his ability to get his team through the first line of Scotland defenders, and to physically dominate in heavy traffic that marked an outstanding display. Rating: 8

He worked extremely hard all afternoon and made some excellent breaks for a 92-metre haul. A couple of offloads didn’t go to a teammate but that doesn’t take away from the impact he made. Rating: 7

13 Jared Payne

He capped an excellent performance with his first try for Ireland, running a great line to dot down. His footwork, awareness, passing and intelligence are of a very high calibre. Rating: 8

12 Robbie Henshaw

Mature, powerful and with a fine skills quotient, he’ll learn from not straightening and putting Fitzgerald in for an early try but he has discharged his duties superbly. Rating: 8

11 Luke Fitzgerald

He provided the team with a shot of adrenaline every time he touched the ball. His footwork, lines of running, support play and strength in the tackle made for an impressive return to test rugby. Rating: 7

10 Jonathan Sexton

He’ll probably remember the couple of missed penalties but game management, passing (we’ll overlook hitting Henshaw in the face) and ability to vary the point of attack made him a central cog in victory. Rating: 8

9 Conor Murray

A typically industrious performance, his delivery from the base was sharper as was his speed to the breakdown and that maintained the high tempo that Ireland craved. Rating: 7

1 Cian Healy

He was superb; his ball carrying was a huge feature when the game was a proper contest, getting over the gain-line, as was his tackling. One excellent poach to boot while forcing a couple of scrum penalties. Rating: 8

2 Rory Best

The lineout looked a little ropey in the first half with Ireland losing two of the four but when it mattered he came up with a pinpoint throw for Sean O’Brien’s first try. Conceded a penalty but forced one too. Rating: 6

3 Mike Ross

Picked up an arm/shoulder injury in the first half and was replaced soon after the break. Scrum went well and he cleared out aggressively at rucks. Rating: 5

4 Devin Toner

Smuggled the ball beautifully to Sean O’Brien for the latter’s first try and had a presence at the breakdown. Ireland were a little unsure for defensive re-starts and he needs to take responsibility in general terms. Rating: 5

5 Paul O’Connell

He gets a second try at Murrafield nine years after his first one in 2006. Inspirational leadership to complement his qualities as a player: 11 tackles, 14 carries; Ireland’s leading lineout operator. Brilliant. Rating: 8.

6 Peter O’Mahony

A wonderful second half performance in which his carrying was a massive feature of his team’s go forward ball. He carried 12 times, beat four defenders, including one clean break. Rating: 8

7 Sean O’Brien

He made a total of 76 metres, scoring two tries but it was his ability to get his team through the first line of Scotland defenders, and to physically dominate in heavy traffic that marked an outstanding display. Rating: 8

8 Jamie Heaslip

He carried more than any other Irish player (15) with largely limited success. He conceded a couple of penalties and missed some tackles but most of that pales when measured against his try saving effort on Stuart Hogg. Rating: 6

Bench

Sean Cronin made an impact in carrying terms when he came on as did Marty Moore and Iain Henderson even though the latter gave away a penalty. Rating: 7.

Coach

Joe Schmidt and his coaching team got the tactics right, preparing the team perfectly and then watched them produce a high calibre display in the context of the occasion. Rating: 8