Sam Prendergast was man of the match today.
It was a 32-18 victory away from home, although Scotland were desperately unlucky after losing both Finn Russell and Darcy Graham following a first-half head clash.
Tries from Calvin Nash, Caelan Doris, James Lowe, and Jack Conan secured Ireland the bonus point as they continue on their quest for a Six Nations three-peat.
Player-of-the-match Sam Prendergast kicked five from six.
1. Andrew Porter – 8.5
Fairly flawless showing from the man who just keeps showing up.
Scrum looked dominant.
2. Rónan Kelleher – 6.5
Possibly a bit harsh, but he did have a few throwing issues and was brought off at half-time for Dan Sheehan.
3. Finlay Bealham – 7.5
One of his best performances in green.
Won a really important breakdown turnover in the second half.
4. James Ryan – 7.5
His usual relentless self at ruck time.
Few, if any errors, and had an eye-catching line out steal.
5. Tadhg Beirne – 8
Huge part of what was a such a good outing from the front-five unit.
80 minutes of brilliance from the blue scrum-capped legend.
6. Peter O’Mahony – 7
Score is brought down by a couple of dropped balls in the first half, but he totally justified his selection and could start against France.
Brings that hard edge that you just don’t want to play against.
7. Josh van der Flier – 7.5
Had none of his usual stand-out moments, but was error free and everywhere.
8. Caelan Doris – 7.5
Similar to Van der Flier. Not many eye-catching plays but was everywhere.
9. Jamison Gibson-Park – 9
Sensational again from the scrummie.
Had a number of high-skill plays executed to perfection.
10. Sam Prendergast – 8
Silenced any doubters.
Kicked really well both out of hand and off the tee, while his marshalling of the backline and passing were of their usual high standards.
Will be frustrated to have made it three Ireland games in a row with an easy conversion missed. He would have been 100% without it.
Won the player of the match award.
11. James Lowe – 8.5
Classy once again.
Outrageously good in the air, kicking was on point, as were his trademark hand-offs and offloads.
Took his try very well.
12. Bundee Aki – 7
Defended well, but gave away a few first-half penalties.
13. Robbie Henshaw – 7
Was having a great game until a poor read in the second half nearly resulted in a Scottish try at a crucial period of the game.
14. Calvin Nash – 7
Very, very solid and Ireland should have had a penalty try and his brilliant footballing skills.
Deserves to start against Wales and improve on that performance.
15. Hugo Keenan – 7.5
The calming presence he brings week in, week out, cannot be understated.
Replacements:
16. Dan Sheehan – 5.5
Polar opposite to last week. Made a heap of errors.
17. Cian Healy – 6
18. Tom Clarkson – 6
19. Ryan Baird – 6
20. Jack Conan – 7.5
The stand-out sub this week. Should he be on from the start?
21. Conor Murray – 6.5
22. Jack Crowley – 7
Came on at fullback and took a lovely catch and made some good hits.
6/2 split with Crowley could now be on.
23. Garry Ringrose – 7
