After a couple of sloppy performances this month, Ireland finally clicked as they ran in six tries in an emphatic 46-19 win against Australia at Aviva Stadium.
On a night where quite a few players put in strong displays, here's how we rated the performances.
Mack Hansen – 9
What a return for Hansen, particularly sweet after he missed the Lions Test series through injury. His hat-trick speaks for itself, and even though all three were straightforward run-ins, his ability to hit the line at pace makes him so dangerous. Even aside from the tries, he was sensational in the air, and won so much ball back for Ireland. We can forgive him that simple dropped ball in the second half after a performance like that.
Tommy O'Brien – 7
Didn’t get a huge amount of attacking opportunities, but did well with the limited supply. His clever presentation opened the hole for Hansen to score his third try, and he was unlucky not to have a try of his own after a knock-on in the build-up ruled out his score.
Robbie Henshaw – 7.5 (above)
Came into the game under a bit of pressure, but was reliable in defence and got his reward with a late try. Made nine carries, and showed great hands in the lead-up to Hansen’s second try. A lovely grubber kick earlier on gave Ireland territory for that first try.
Stuart McCloskey – 7
A tough blow for McCloskey to depart early in the game – it looks like a groin injury that’s ended his night. Had been getting strong gainline success before that, with five carries for 22 metres in his 26 minutes on the pitch.
James Lowe – 8
Showed great awareness to team up with Jamison Gibson-Park for that quick penalty, which led to the first try. His kick-chase on Max Jorgensen forced a five-metre scrum for the second Hansen try, and he made 15 carries – five more than any other Irish player, which shows how much Ireland looked to his wing.
Sam Prendergast – 8
Some excellent, quick handling played a big part in Mack Hansen’s first two tries, and did incredibly well to find Tommy O’Brien with a crossfield kick for the hat-trick score. His kicking game was even better though, and he consistently gave his chasers a chance at winning the ball back. Could have scored higher, but defending remains an issue, with Len Ikitau powering over him for the first Wallabies try, while he also fell off Filipo Daugunu out wide.
Jamison Gibson-Park – 7.5
Has become a fantastic kicking scrum-half, and those strengths were to the fore this evening. A great 50:22 gave Ireland field position in the first half, and he connected with Henshaw for the final try.
Paddy McCarthy – 6.5
Looked solid as a rock at the scrum and had one barrelling carry in the first half, but will be frustrated at the second Australian try just before half time, when he was too upright as the pillar defender.
Dan Sheehan – 7 (below)
Lineout was perfect, a stat that was badly needed. Will be frustrated to be held up over the line for a potential try, although with the way that maul turned he had no option but to break for the line. Didn’t see as much action in the wide channels, but got through plenty of bread-and-butter work.
Tadhg Furlong – 7
Will take a partial assist for Mack Hansen’s opening try as the ball flicked off his back as he ran a dummy line. Is playing his way back into form bit by bit, and was particularly effective with some hard tackles.
James Ryan – 7
Not much glamour to the performance, but plenty of doggedness. Only two players carried the ball more than him, logging nine carries, and he contributed the same number of tackles. Gave away a couple of penalties/advantages in the first half, when Ireland’s discipline was off.
Tadhg Beirne – 7
He didn't have the highlight reel moments, but got through a mountain of work on defence with 13 tackles. Didn’t carry a lot of ball, but was used as a distributor quite a bit, making seven passes.
Ryan Baird – 9 (below)
Has really taken his chance this month, with a run of consistent performers. Has become Ireland’s go-to man on lineout ball, and also had three steals this evening, one of which came when Australia were deep in the Irish 22. Topped the tackle count with 14 alongside Caelan Doris, kept the ball moving with 12 passes, and got in for a deserved try near the end.
Caelan Doris – 8
Switching Doris to openside flanker gave the Irish back row a nice shake-up this week, and he put in a tireless shift, joint-top of the tackle count with 14 and second in the carries log with 10 – including a try. Ireland didn’t get much change at the breakdown, but Doris came up with one huge jackal penalty early in the second half when it was still 19-14.
Jack Conan – 7
Was more active on defence rather than attack this week, with six tackles in his 47 minutes on the pitch. Had one strong carry off the back of a scrum near the Irish 22.
Replacements:
Rónan Kelleher – 7
Kept the 100% lineout success going well, and found himself on the end of a Jack Crowley crossfield kick, showing neat footwork to step back inside and keep the attack going, which led to Robbie Henshaw’s try.
Andrew Porter – 7.5
Probably wasn’t pleased to be left on the bench, but came in on 47 minutes and looked fired up. Looked for the ball a lot and made five carries, while he won two scrum penalties.
Thomas Clarkson – 7
Only got to play for 14 minutes due to his head injury assessment taking him out of the game, but got on the ball for a couple of decent carries, and played his part in a dominant scrum.
Nick Timoney – 7
Came in for Jack Conan early in the second half, but didn’t get many opportunities with the ball in hand, although he was very active around the breakdown, doing his best to slow Australian ball down.
Cian Prendergast – 7 (above)
Came on for James Ryan in the second half, and like most of Ireland’s front five forwards, had to get through a lot of grunt work, with the backs flourishing in attack. Has given himself a good shot at being involved against the Boks.
Craig Casey – N/A
Played the final 10 minutes of the game when it was largely over as a contest. Not on long enough to be fairly rated.
Jack Crowley – 7.5
Had a tough act to follow after a good Sam Prendergast showing, and got through a lot in 20 minutes of rugby. Lovely link-up with Casey put Lowe into space, leading to the penalty before Baird’s try, while he found Kelleher with a great crossfield kick moments later. Doris’ try came off the back of a high-ball won by Hansen, from Crowley’s perfect kick.
Bundee Aki – 6.5
Came on early for the injured Stuart McCloskey, but didn’t make a major impact, and there was a frustrating penalty in the second half after he had run offside from a Crowley kick. Made one excellent carry for Baird’s late try, but was quiet overall.
