Rugby World Cup 2011 Quater Final : Ireland v Wales player ratings
Mark Reason rates the players' performances in World Cup quarter-final clash between Wales and Ireland.
Ireland v WalesMatch Scheduled:Date: Saturday October 8, 2011
Time : 18:00 local, 05:00 GMT, 11:00 BDT
Venue : Westpac Stadium, Wellington
Rob Kearney
He did most of the needful in defence, but failed to find his support when he had a couple of chances on the counter. 6/10
Tommy Bowe
Another good nperformance from the big wing. He spilled one ball when nearly through, but looked the most likely to threaten. 6
Brian O'Driscoll
Ireland's best back as he has so often been. He won a turnover, set up a counter, made things happen, but without support. 7
Gordon D'Arcy
So good against Italy, so poor against Wales. His dozy missed tackle let in Phillips for the try. Hesitant all night. 4
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Keith Earls
The Lions thought he was the coming man, but he makes a lot of mistakes at this level. Took his try well, but terrible in defence. 4
Ronan O'Gara
A fine player over the years but had a horror night. A couple of kicks went dead in goal, knock on in front of posts, replaced after 55 minutes. 3
Conor Murray
It's been a while since Ireland have had a scrum-half and Murray may be the man. Strong, reasonable pass, excellent cover under the high ball. 6
Cian Healy
Two costly scrum penalties in the second half and an important missed tackle. He never fades but another Irishman who had an off night. 5
Rory Best
A remarkable effort from the hooker given he was held together by a safety pin. But he did miss a couple of lineout throws. 6
Mike Ross
He is the man who holds Ireland scrum together, but he struggled to keep up with the pace of the game at times. 5
Donncha O'Callaghan
He was smashed backwards early on by Jamie Roberts and never managed to impose himself after that. 5
Paul O'Connell
Ireland's best forward as he so often is. He pinched a few lineouts and kept driving the ball up. A pick and go too many on occasion. 7
Stephen Ferris
He rampaged around in the first half, but then he took a knock that brought up all the doubts about the state of his knee. 6
Sean O'Brien
The usual big carries as he tried to get Ireland going forward, but he was beaten to the breakdown too often. 6
Jamie Heaslip
A strangely anonymous night from one of Ireland's best players. He has not fired as he does in the Six Nations and even shuffled into touch once. 5
Replacements
Jonny Sexton was a big improvement at fly-half but by then it was too late. The game was almost gone by the time the changes were made. 6
WALES :Leigh Halfpenny
He nailed a huge penalty from halfway into the wind and completely justified his coach's gutsy selection. 7
George North
He is a fine carrier and made a couple of big defensive hits, but lost his defensive position for a while into the wind at the start of the second half. 6
Jonathan Davies
He deserves huge credit for scoring a try off slow ball when there was nothing really on. It decided the match. 7
Jamie Roberts
One of the men of the match. He was the man who got Wales surging over the gain line early on and they nevr lost the momentum. 8
Shane Williams
He finished his try well and made a big save in defence when he got under the ball as Ireland surged over the line. 7
Rhys Priestland
This kid can play. His tactical kicking was naïve on a couple of occasions, but otherwise he was immense in both attack and defence. 7
Mike Phillips
He had another top game. One weak defensive kick led to Ireland's try, but how well he took the score round the blind side and switched direction for his team. 8
Gethin Jenkins
The loosehead prop who won two lineouts, how often do you say that. He was also a big presence in defence. 7
Huw Bennett
He helped his forwards make lots of tackles but his throw was picked off on occasion. He was just a step below a few others. 6
Adam Jones
The old hair bear nicked a couple of penalties off Ciaran Healy and was his usual forceful presence around the pitch. 7
Luke Charteris
Made 16 tackles in a big first half and then had to retire injured. No wonder. 7
Alun Wyn Jones
He lost his second row partner and so had to keep going for 80 minutes. It was a courageous effort from the man. 7
Dan Lydiate
He made a load of tackles but was not always secure when carrying the ball. But then not many people are against the Irish back row. 6
Sam Warburton
Another quite phenomenal performance. He is not a killer in the tackle, but he keeps bring people down and he keeps turning ball over. 8
Toby Faletau
Drifted in and out of the game but the offered Wales some deep cover at crucial moments. 6
Replacements
Mainly Bradley Davies who came on for Charteris at half time. He biffed about the pitch but wasn't quite as solid in defence. 6
