Well that was exactly what we wanted. Ireland were dominant from about five minutes in until the full-time gong. A bonus point win, and just three points conceded against the biggest rivals in the group. Ireland are now in pole position to top Group A and set up a quarter-final with South Africa.
Scotland were poor, there's no arguing with that, but Ireland needed this performance to restore the confidence of 2018. There were some huge performances around the field, and a number of player who answered big questions.
15. Jordan Larmour - 8
We can breathe a lot easier about our fullback options in a post Rob Kearney world after this performance. Larmour was generally solid defensively today, and looked to give Ireland an extra dimension in attack from number 15. Made 69 metres with ball in hand.
14. Andrew Conway - 9
No Irish player deserved a try more than Conway today. Caused chaos with his kick chasing throughout the game and had a very good game under the high ball. His quick thinking, balls skills, and outstanding chase forced Stuart Hogg into conceding a 5-metre scrum that led to Ireland's third try. Looked dangerous with ball in hand throughout the game.
13. Garry Ringrose - 8
A quietly fantastic day for Ringrose. His eight tackles underestimate his defensive influence in midfield. Very often the last man between Scotland and a big break, especially in the second half, Ringrose was a rock for Ireland today.
12. Bundee Aki - 7
Only lasted 22 minutes and his fitness will be a big concern. While on, he was massive in defence, and it was a huge hit, indicative of his performance that spelled the end.
11. Jacob Stockdale - 7
A two minute cameo from Stockdale in the first half showed what could have happened if more of the ball was on his wing today. A huge bolting hit on Hogg got Irish fans out of their seat, and then his run of the short side of the scrum straight after was classic Stockdale. Conceded three turnovers over the 80 minutes.
10. Johnny Sexton - 7
Some great passing was the highlight of Sexton's performance today, while he was his usual abrasive self in defence. Gave up goalkicking duties early on to Murray, and there's the usual worry over his fitness. Came off when the match was over after 57 minutes. We're likely to see a lot more from the out-half later in the tournament.
9. Conor Murray - 7
It wasn't Murray's day to shine, but he did nothing wrong. His passing was crisp and accurate. His kicking, particularly in the early contest, was causing the usual chaos. Was withdrawn earlier than usual which illustrated Ireland's dominance.
1. Cian Healy - 7
Absolutely destroyed WP Nel in a scrum before half time. Schmidt changed the props early on, but the game was won with Healy at the centre of things with a big performance all over the field.
2. Rory Best (captain) - 8
Nobody expected to see the Irish captain go 80 minutes, including Wayne Barnes, who was happy to tell him about it. Best answered a lot of critics today. Ireland never lost a lineout, though a couple did go slightly astray. His finish for his try was fantastic, and he was all around the breakdown like a lunatic as usual. Not much chance of Best turning into a touring captain based on this performance.
3. Tadhg Furlong - 9
The kind of performance we've come to expect from Ireland's number 3. A try topped off a flawless performance in the scrum, lifting in the lineout, and in the loose, where his tackle count was through the roof - his stats were second only to Jack Conan when he made way for Andrew Porter when both props were replaced after just 49 minutes.
4. Iain Henderson - 9
The performance that Ireland have been waiting for from the Ulster second row. His break after 5 minutes was the work of a backrow, setting up the first Irish try. Much of his work around the field and at the breakdown was equally dymanic, while he called a lineout that was, in theory at least, under pressure, but was almost perfect throughout.
5. James Ryan - 8
The usual. Joint top of the tackle count with 14. Joint top of the carry count with 15. Nips in with a try. Perfect in the lineout and scrum. There's not much this lad can't do.
6. Peter O'Mahony - 7
Only lasted 27 minutes and we wait with bated breath to find out if his HIA replacement will rule him out for coming games. He was involved hugely in getting Rory Best over the line in the maul for Ireland's second try, and the game was arguably won by the time he was replaced.
7. Josh van der Flier - 8
Left the field with a cut to the eye early on, and when he returned, so did the trusty red scrum cap, and from there, it seemed the Leinster open side flanker was everywhere. Showed great pace to make some vital tackles throughout while his performance on the ground was summed up by a one man counter-ruck turnover in the second half.
8. CJ Stander - 8
A return to form for Stander. Looked far more dangerous with ball in hand then in recent games, and his quick movement from the back of the scrum was huge in setting up Ireland's third try. Had 15 carries in the game, sharing for top spot with James Ryan.
Replacements:
Jack Conan - 8
On as an early blood sub for Van Der Flier and was seemingly harshly pinged for not rolling away for Scotland's first score. Was back on just a couple of minutes later for the unfortunate O'Mahony, and from that point on had a stormer. 14 tackles for the number 8, and particularly dynamic off the back of the scrum.
Chris Farrell - 8
Ireland starting to play with some swagger.
👌 from Chris Farrellpic.twitter.com/v8dWDed59V— Balls.ie (@ballsdotie) September 22, 2019
Arrived after just 22 minutes for Aki, initially as a HIA replacement. Big hits in defence throughout, most notably when squeezing Russell off the ball to allow Conway's kick through to set up Ireland's third try. In the second half, he became a force in attack too, showing class in attack with a reverse pass to Luke McGrath and a general ability to make a break.
Dave Kilcoyne - 7
A big tackle count in his limited time on the pitch, and managed to get on some ball too. Good scrummaging too.
Andrew Porter - 7
Was everywhere in the loose, even rescuing Ireland's perfect lineout record. The scrum continued to dominate on his arrival.
Luke McGrath - 6
Didn't have much of an opportunity to impose on the game, with the slow and steady ball being the order of the day at the back of the ruck for a team looking to close out the game.
Jack Carty - 7
A beautiful kick through to Chris Farrell showed an out half full of confidence and not afraid to express himself.
Tadhg Beirne - 5
Unlucky to pick up a yellow card when Ireland were under pressure and he was forced to slow the game down. Tough to have complaints with the decision, and it made the last 10 minutes more uncomfortable than his team would have wanted.
Niall Scannell - N/A
Not on long enough to be rated, even in the backrow.
