Ireland and France player ratings: Two-point margin of defeat flatters hosts

France's Brice Dulin in action against Garry Ringrose of Ireland. Photo by Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile

A disappointing, blunt afternoon for Ireland ended with a sequence of attacking phases that summed up Ireland’s day with the ball in hand - getting punished on the gain line by an oppressive French defence and slowly falling backwards. In the end, it was Antoine Dupont - who else? - who won the turnover for France at the end to seal their first win in Dublin for a decade.

Ireland battled hard but effort is the baseline standard expected. When it came to producing clear opportunities, Ireland struggled to generate the kind of quality they needed to on an afternoon where a 15-13 scoreboard largely flattered them.

Let’s have a look at how both teams rated.

Ireland 

Ireland's James Lowe at full stretch for a try that is later disallowed. Picture: INPHO/James Crombie

15. Hugo Keenan: Another solid afternoon out for Keenan, who was unlucky not to put away James Lowe for what could have been a decisive try in the first half. 7/10 

14. Keith Earls: Had a difficult afternoon against Wales but was back to his usual self here with some excellent chasing. 7/10 

13. Garry Ringrose: This was a difficult enough afternoon for Ringrose who showed a few brief glimpses of what he’s capable of but largely struggled to get the ball in decent positions bar a few good breaks in the second half. 6/10 

12. Robbie Henshaw: A tough day at the office for Henshaw. He muscled up in defence as you’d expect but his - and the rest of Ireland’s backline - suffered when Burns was off the field. 6/10 

11. James Lowe: If NASA are ever looking for a renewable way to launch satellites into orbit, they could look to contract James Lowe who looks capable of launching every ball he swings his foot at out of the stadium. This was another good game for Lowe unbalanced by defensive errors at key moments but he can count himself unlucky not to have scored with a powerful surge in the first half. 7/10 

Ireland's Billy Burns is tackled by Gabin Villiere of France. Picture: INPHO/Billy Stickland

10. Billy Burns: A bad kick at goal aside, Burns had an effective first half for Ireland, showing good variety with the ball in hand, good decision-making, and the kind of agility and movement that can make Mike Catt’s attacking system pop. Ireland looked all the worse for his early substitution for a suspected concussion. 7/10 

9. Jamison Gibson-Park: Mixed very good moments with some average decisions and relatively inconsistent action off the box kick and on his phase-to-phase passing. There’s no doubting his ability in transition or in broken field but he began to dip when Burns came off the field. 6/10 

1. Cian Healy: Another big day in defence for Healy who did well to come back on the field after an ugly clash of heads with his captain. A decent day at the office. 6/10 

2. Rob Herring: His lineout throwing was superb here but when Ireland weren’t generating opportunities in the second half, Herring’s ruck involvements fell away and he got lucky with a bad missed tackle early in the second half. 5/10 

3. Andrew Porter: Ireland’s most consistent player over the last few months in the set-piece and on both sides of the ball in phase play. This was another example. 6/10 

4. Tadhg Beirne: Worked incredibly hard here but, a few lineout and breakdown steals aside, wasn’t able to have the same offensive impact as last week. 6/10 

5. Iain Henderson: Did well for Ireland. He called a solid lineout and spent a tough afternoon at the coalface of the set-piece and defensive ruck. 6/10 

6. Rhys Ruddock: A solid performance from Ruddock. He had one good lineout steal, showed up well in defence at times but struggled to generate good collision points in possession either on-ball or at the breakdown. A hard worker who didn’t let anyone down. 6/10 

7. Josh van der Flier: Another busy afternoon for Van der Flier but he looked a little underpowered at times against a dominant French back-row. 5/10 

Ireland's CJ Stander makes a break. Picture: INPHO/Billy Stickland

8. CJ Stander: Death, taxes, and CJ Stander taking the ball to the line for Ireland - these are certainties in life. Ireland needed Stander to work hard on-ball in this game and he did just that. Consistent work-rate, aggression, and output on both sides of the ball. 7/10 

Replacements: Ireland’s bench did relatively well. Ronan Kelleher finished his opportunity incredibly well but overall Ireland lacked game-changing impact in the second half. 5/10 

France 

15. Brice Dulin: This game started out pretty tough for Brice Dulin but he recovered well and played a key role in one French try while dominating the backfield as the game progressed. 8/10 

14. Damian Penaud: Quiet enough here relative to what he’s capable of. 6/10 

13. Arthur Vincent: Covered ground incredibly well and did a good job corralling Ireland’s work with the ball in hand during the second half. 7/10 

France's Gaël Fickou and Jamison Gibson-Park of Ireland tussle for a loose ball. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

12. Gaël Fickou: This guy feels like he was around for the last time France won in Dublin but he missed out by a year or two, making his French debut in 2013 at 19 years of age. Fickou was hugely effective here and lead France’s defence incredibly well while producing incisive moments with the ball in hand. 8/10 

11. Gabin Villière: Really solid for France in the backfield and handled almost everything that came his way quite comfortably. 7/10 

10. Matthieu Jalibert: Played quite well and really stood out in his mobility and ability to show up outside the traditional first receiver position. He missed two kicks at goal but he really added to France’s attack. 8/10 

France's Antoine Dupont. Picture: INPHO/Dan Sheridan

9. Antoine Dupont: This game was relatively quiet by Dupont’s intergalactic standards as of late. His pass accuracy ruck to ruck was a little off what it needed to be but his maturity and execution in possession was a consistent threat and he solidly outperformed his opposite number. 7/10 

1. Cyril Baille: Tough scrummaging, solid work over the ball, and impact in defence. 7/10 

2. Julien Marchand: Hugely effective in possession and, despite a few early wobbles at the lineout, he found his mark as the game progressed and France began to dominate as a result. 7/10 

3. Mohamed Haouas: A big, physical day at the office for Haouas who looks to be developing into a proper, top-class international tighthead. 7/10 

4. Bernard Le Roux: Despite his silly yellow card, Le Roux was a standout performer for France in defence and at the set-piece. 7/10 

5. Paul Willemse: He might have botched a certain try by running his head onto a Dupont pass but Willemse was exactly what you’d want from a big, nasty tighthead lock here. Hugely effective. 8/10 

6. Anthony Jelonch: Big work-rate and defensive impact were the order of the day from Jelonch, who showed up well. 7/10 

France's Charles Ollivon celebrates after scoring a try with Antoine Dupont. Picture: INPHO/Billy Stickland

7. Charles Ollivon: The standout player. He was impactful in defence, consistently won possession in the lineout and at the breakdown. He was a long time coming for France but his work since fully recovering from injury last season has been of the highest quality and this was a continuance of that. 9/10 

8. Grégory Alldritt: A key offensive ball carrier for France and consistently got over the gain line on a day when a lot of the game was played out off No. 9. He’s one of the best back-rowers in the tournament and showed that here. 8/10 

Replacements: The French bench played relatively well as they saw out the win in the last 15 minutes without too much drama. 6/10