Lions player ratings v Highlanders – Who fired and who flopped in the Lions fourth match

Lions player ratings v Highlanders. RUCK marks every Lion player after their fourth match of their tour on Wednesday morning.

British and Irish Lions:

15 Jared Payne The New Zealand-born back had a mixed day. He made some brave tackles but made too many basic errors. 6.5/10

14 Jack Nowell Much better than last week but didn’t make a significant claim for a Test shirt. Offered nothing in attack. 6/10

13 Jonathan Joseph Looked good when carrying and scored a great try. He fell off a few tackles in defence but still put in a strong bid for a Test shirt. 8/10

12 Robbie Henshaw The centre started well: he made a critical, try-saving tackle on Fekitoa but struggled to make an impact from there.. 6/10

11 Tommy Seymour Struggled to deal with the immense power of Waisake Naholo in the opening 40 but scored a great try three minutes after the restart.  7/10

10 Dan Biggar The Welshman played decent, kicking well from the tee and out of hand. He’s still nowhere near a Test shirt. 6.5/10

9 Rhys Webb Varied his passing expertly and box kicked efficiently. Still behind Murray but in pole position for a place on the bench for the first test. He also made two scintillating line-breaks, making 54 metres overall: more than anyone else. 8/10

8 CJ Stander Got through a mountain of work with ball in hand and showed great handling skills with the offload that lead to Joseph’s try. Sometimes found himself going backwards more often than not. 7/10

7 Sam Warburton (c) Was quiet in the opening 40 but the captain was everywhere in the second half and got his tour up and running with a well-taken try. 7/10

6 James Haskell Messed the home boys about at the breakdown and made his presence felt. Didn’t deserve to be on the losing side, making a match-high 10 tackles. 7/10

5 Iain Henderson After a poor first showing a week ago this was far more like it from the Irishman. Big play to win turnover on own line.. 7/10

4 Courtney Lawes Had the dynamism and power to punch holes in the Highlanders in defence early on but had to be replaced after a sickening hit to the head. 7/10

3 Kyle Sinckler He has all the talent in the world but made a few wrong decisions. 7/10

2 Rory Best Reasonable lineout throwing, bar one near halftime. Won crucial turnover near line. Subbed with front-row mate Sinckler. 6/10

1 Joe Marler Part of a very solid Lions starting scrum, but that was about all. 6/10

Replacements: 16 Ken Owens 5/10, 17 Jack McGrath 4/10, 18 Dan Cole 4/10, 19 Alun Wyn Jones 7/10, 20 Justin Tipuric 5/10, 21 Greig Laidlaw 5.10, 22 Owen Farrell 5/10, 23 Elliot Daly 5/10