Ireland
15. ROBBIE HENSHAW 5/10 A first appearance at fullback for six years and it may be just as long until his next. England continued to apply the pressure on a difficult afternoon for Henshaw.
14. KEITH EARLS 5/10 Off at half-time after he was whacked twice in the first 40 minutes, firstly by Curry, then Itoje. Was it a deliberate ploy from England? It certainly limited his impact.
13. GARRY RINGROSE 6/10 Huge hit on Farrell stopped England just as they were building up a head of steam. Has an unmissable classy manner about him in everything he does.
12. BUNDEE AKI 5/10 Heavily involved from the word go but had a tendency to go sideways a bit too often. Was lined up by Tuilagi from about 20 metres and came off second best to his opposite number.
11. JACOB STOCKDALE 5/10 Busy early on, looking for the ball up the middle but went off the boil after he was badly at fault for Daly’s try.
10. JONATHAN SEXTON 6/10 Kept looking for ways around, over or through England’s defence but with limited success. Could not escape England’s suffocating linespeed.
9. CONOR MURRAY 5/10 Kicking not at his ordinarily superb standard and his passing was disjointed too. All in all this was far from Murray’s best. Surprising he stayed on so long.
1. CIAN HEALY 7/10 Was on hand to score a close-range try when Ireland really needed some points but could not break the shackles for one of his trademark gallops.
2. RORY BEST 5/10 (capt) Not a day to remember for the skipper. He got away with a poor lineout near his own line in the first half but did not impose himself.
3. TADHG FURLONG 7/10 Not enough of Ireland’s world class players lived up to their star billing. Furlong perhaps got closest but England’s aggressive defence restricted his influence.
4. DEVIN TONER 5/10 His run of consecutive wins comes to an end at 17. Is an obvious weapon at the lineout and was committed as ever but made way midway through the second half.
5. JAMES RYAN 6/10 His titanic tussle with Itoje lived up to its billing but he normally makes more headway with the ball in hand than this.
6. PETER O’MAHONY 6/10 Ireland’s man of the match against the All Blacks rolled up his sleeves but could not influence the breakdown, nor the lineout as he tends to.
7, JOSH VAN DER FLIER 5/10 Ireland’s joint top tackler never gave up but Joe Schmidt may rue his decision to name Sean O’Brien – more suited to this kind of contest – on the bench.
8. CJ STANDER 5/10 Did well to create enough doubt as to ensure Mako Vunipola’s try was disallowed. Some bruising carries but could not make the same impact as at Twickenham last year.
REPLACEMENTS Sean Cronin (for Best 67) 6; Dave Kilcoyne (for Healy 62) 6; Andrew Porter (for Furlong 62) 5; Quinn Roux (for Toner 57) 5; Sean O’Brien (for Stander 65) 6; John Cooney (for Murray 77) 7; Joey Carbery (for Ringrose 73) N/A;
Jordan Larmour (for Earls h-t) No sign of his electric footwork 5.
England
15. ELLIOT DALY 7/10 Still not convincing under the high ball and was at fault in the buildup to Ireland’s try. Clever grubber for his own score though. A mixed bag.
14. JACK NOWELL 8/10 Always coming off his wing, always looking for work. Got his shot at openside too, joining the scrum with Tom Curry in the sin-bin.
13. HENRY SLADE 9/10 Backed up Farrell with some shrewd kicks, excelled defensively and topped with off with a wonderful pass for his first try. Best performance for England by some distance.
12. MANU TUILAGI 7/10 First start in the competition since 2013 and begin as if to make up for lost time with two big carries shortly before May’s try. Was used sparingly but can make inside-centre his home.
11. JONNY MAY 7/10 Has five tries in five championship appearances now after scoring England’s first here since 2011. Was targeted by Murray’s bombs but dealt with them well on the whole.
10. OWEN FARRELL 8/10 (capt) Called hotheaded in the buildup but stayed at room temperature for the most part. Kicking from hand was exceptional and exposed Henshaw’s positioning.
9. BEN YOUNGS 6/10 Is not as accurate with his box-kicking as Murray but we knew that already. Kept a steady tempo though and a cool head. No surprise to see him stay on throughout.
1. MAKO VUNIPOLA 9/10 Remarkable performance. Carried time and again with real edge and made a staggering 25 tackles. Of all the illustrious Lions forwards on the pitch, he shone brightest.
2. JAMIE GEORGE 8/10 Part of an England front-five that yielded nothing and even produced a sidestep or two. Lineout came under fire in the autumn but no complaints here.
3. KYLE SINCKLER 7/10 Gave away a silly penalty in the first half but relished the confrontation. Could be heard telling the referee Jérôme Garcès, “I’m just very excited tell me to shut up if you need”.
4. MARO ITOJE 7/10 Clattered Earls and perhaps lucky to give away just a penalty. Summed up England’s aggression though and he made a key turnover soon after. Limped off before the hour.
5. GEORGE KRUIS 7/10 Selected for his lineout nous and did not do anything wrong in that respect. Thundered into tackles -” including one crucial invention on Murray.
6. MARK WILSON 8/10 A lot of his best work goes unseen but teamed up with Itoje to dump Furlong on his backside. He stepped up when Itoje departed too. England’s form man produced again.
7. TOM CURRY 6/10 An inauspicious start, going off his feet at the breakdown, then hitting Earls late and earning himself a deserved yellow card. Settled thereafter.
8. BILLY VUNIPOLA 7/10 So much better than when he played here two years ago when so obviously not fit. Is not yet at the peak of his powers but he’s getting a lot closer.
REPLACEMENTS Luke Cowan-Dickie (for George 76) N/A; Ellis Genge (for M Vunipola 77) N/A; Harry Williams (for Sinckler 64) 6; Courtney Lawes (for Kruis 52) One penalty against, one big turnover for 7; Nathan Hughes (for Itoje 55) 6; George Ford (for Tuilagi 78) N/A; Chris Ashton (for Nowell 74) N/A.
