IRELAND:
BEST PLAYER: Jamison GIbson-Park
Planet Rugby 9/10: “The scrum-half has grown in influence since the retirement of Johnny Sexton as the life and brains of the team. Gibson-Park is an incredibly intelligent rugby player who rarely makes a bad decision. Just about everything good from Ireland today came through the experienced star.”
Ball 8/10: “Reads the game so well and was central to much of Ireland’s good play. His defence was outstanding.”
Rugby Pass 8/10: “Gibson-Park provided plenty of quick ball, allowing Ireland to maintain their attacking tempo when they did get their hands on the ball. His kicking game was solid and his overall game management was effective, not least considering a lot of Ireland’s kicking load has been placed on his shoulders. Is arguably Ireland’s MVP with Sexton retired.”
Rugby Dump 8/10: “The man of the match was superb as ever and proved once again that he dictates the Irish tempo. His box kicking was pinpoint, and his two long balls out to Lowe on the wing were truly world-class.”
Irish Mirror 9/10: “Deserved TV Man of the Match, another top class performance, the more decisive of the half-backs, one superb chase down of Russell.”
WORST PLAYER: Jordan Larmour
Planet Rugby 5/10: “For a player who was elevated into the starting XV after a Hugo Keenan injury in the warm-up, he did relatively well. The full-back straightened the line well in certain phases and ticked boxes throughout. Solid without being a standout.”
Rugby Pass 6/10: “A late replacement for Hugo Keenan, Larmour’s counter-attacking panache was lesser spotted on this occasion. Was surprisingly solid under the high ball until a glaring knock-on in the 61st sullied his copybook but by no means a poor performance.”
Rugby Dump 6/10: “Rock solid under the high ball in what was a truly reassuring performance but lacked that bite to make any real in-roads into the Scottish defence. Larmour is always busy and when given an inch can take a mile but he just didn’t get that inch today.”
SCOTLAND:
BEST PLAYER: Andy Christie
Rugby Pass 8.5/10: “Outstanding on just his second Test start. The Saracens back-rower showed his pace to charge down a Lowe clearance, won two important turnovers in the first half and played a major role in the Scots’ defensive shift, topping the tackle count with 27. Pinged for crossing but possibly his only blemish. Another big turnover to deny Nash a try. A big positive from Scotland’s campaign.”
Planet Rugby 8/10: “The Saracens stalwart came to the fore with an excellent performance as he put in a huge all-round effort.”
WORST PLAYER: Duhan van der Merwe
Rugby Pass 4.5/10: “Conceded three penalties inside the opening 22 minutes, twice for not releasing in the tackle when he over-did the strong-arm stuff, and a soft one for drifting offside. Tracked back well to deny Ringrose a score but couldn’t find any space in attack and was well smothered by the Irish defenders. Five tries in the Championship but remains one short of Stuart Hogg’s Scotland record.”
Planet Rugby 5/10: “he behemoth wing seldom found himself in space with ball in hand as he was closely watched by the home side’s defence. Apart from making little impact with ball in hand, he was also quiet on defence and conceded three penalties.”