Wales 17 Ireland 22: Ireland player ratings

John O’Sullivan looks at the winners and losers as Joe Schmidt’s side win in Cardiff

The impressive Will Addison is tackled by Jarrod Evans in Cardiff. Photograph: Dan Sheridan/Inpho

15 Will Addison

Looked lively in possession, some lovely touches, nice balanced running, good under the high ball and one try saving tackle; the odd mistake but he adds value in attack. Rating: 7

14 Andrew Conway

The challenge for him prior to the game was to produce his best and he certainly rose to it wonderfully. He gave Ireland a cutting edge and suggested that he can't be left at home when the squad heads for Japan. Rating: 8

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13 Chris Farrell

He worked very hard in defence and put in some thumping tackles but will be disappointed in spilling ball close to the Welsh line. Rating: 6

Bundee Aki carries during Ireland’s narrow win over Wales. Photograph: Adam Davy/PA

12 Bundee Aki

A wonderful performance and arguably Ireland's best player on the day; he made metres when he had no right, his footwork, change of angles and offloading gave his team a platform while in defence his discipline and aggression in the tackle was superb. Rating: 8

11 Jacob Stockdale

Scored two tries, threw in some razzle-dazzle footwork and also won a penalty turnover at a ruck before being replaced at half-time; excellent performance. Rating: 8

10 Jack Carty

The official match of the match, some of his work in attack was exceptional and he varied the game cleverly but at times his kicking and passing weren't as accurate as he would have liked but overall and in the circumstances a fine effort. Rating: 7

Jack Carty was named the official man of the match at the Millennium Stadium. Photograph: Dan Sheridan/Inpho

9 Kieran Marmion

Sharp at the hub of Ireland's attack and typically tenacious in defence, he also won a penalty turnover at a ruck; good outing. Rating: 7

1 Dave Kilcoyne

A brilliant performance on both sides of the ball, making line breaks in possession and then making intelligent decisions on whether to offload or not and aggressive and powerful in defence. Rating: 8

Dave Kilcoyne tackles Hallam Amos during Ireland’s warm-up victory. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho

2 Niall Scannell

Ireland only lost one lineout in the 55 minutes that he was on the pitch. He carried and tackled with typical diligence. Rating: 6

3 John Ryan

Ireland won four penalties at scrum time and he played his part while also working hard in the pillar defence; solid display. Rating: 6

4 Iain Henderson

A very impressive, hard working performance from the Ulster secondrow, his workrate dwarfed some of his colleagues and he kept going to the finish. Rating: 8

5 James Ryan

Typically industrious, maybe not carrying as much as he normally would but he led the line in defence, and excelled at the breakdown and in being Ireland's primary ball winner out of touch; remarkable for his first outing. Rating: 7

James Ryan claims an Irish lineout during an improved set-piece performance from the visitors in Cardiff. Photograph: Dan Sheridan/Inpho

6 Tadhg Beirne

Did a lot of strong work in the first half but ran out of energy as Wales came storming back in the second half and appeared to pick up an ankle knock. Rating: 6

7 Peter O’Mahony

Took a bang to the shoulder in the first half that may have limited his effectiveness, conceded a penalty and then won one; a little bit on the periphery compared to his best. Rating: 6

8 Jack Conan

The game didn't materialise in the way he would have liked in terms of getting the ball in a bit of space but he delivered in terms of the spade work; conceded a penalty but positive overall. Rating: 6

Replacements: Andrew Porter really laid down a marker when he came on, Luke McGrath saved a certain try when knocking the ball from Elliot Dee's grasp, Tadgh Furlong and Rory Best made some important interventions late-on but in general terms the replacements didn't inject enough impetus and energy that Ireland required at that point. Rating: 6

Coach: Joe Schmidt will have been largely pleased with the performance in the first half and Ireland certainly looked sharper and less leggy in that period, but the energy levels depleted rather quickly from 60 minutes onwards as Ireland's game became frayed at the edges. He's got some interesting decisions to make in terms of the squad but for 60 minutes got tranches of the performance he wanted. Rating: 7