How Ireland's bravehearts rated: Wingers Mack Hansen and James Lowe first among equals

Andy Farrell joked afterwards that he may need to raid the Old Belvedere U12s for England, such was the intensity in Edinburgh

SWING LOWE: Ireland’s James Lowe will take exceptional form into the Grand-Smal deciding clash with England next Saturday.

HUGO KEENAN: Mr Dependable, Keenan juggled one early kick but otherwise looked after the shop with his usual lack of fuss. Not as prominent with ball in hand as other times but you work with what you get. Great pass for the Mack Hansen try. 7

MACK HANSEN: Had been solid rather than spectacular up to now and was held out on the line again, this time eleven mins in, but finished brilliantly for his try and leapt to claim a box-kick in the run-up to Jack Conan’s score. Effective in open play too. Impressive all round really. 9

GARRY RINGROSE: Back to earn his 50th Test cap at outside-centre after missing the win in Rome with injury. Missed early tackles shooting out of the line, especially before the break, but that does come with the territory. Stretchered off near the end and would be a big miss for England. 6

BUNDEE AKI: Struggled defensively in the No.13 shirt at the Stadio Olimpico. Back on familiar ground as inside-centre here and was busy in attack. Solid rather than spectacular and had to come back on to replace the stricken Ringrose. 7

JAMES LOWE: Huge game from Lowe with huge moments. Some big defensive interventions in the first-half when the Scots really threatened and made a number of superb breaks and passes while claiming a try for himself in the process. Excellent. 9

JOHNNY SEXTON: Back in the cockpit after a day off in Italy and started the day seven points shy of Ronan O’Gara’s Six Nations points record. Managed to equal the Corkman with a penalty and two conversions. Only injury will stop him breaking it next Saturday. 7

CONOR MURRAY: Has been refreshed and refreshing in an Ireland shirt lately and got the nod for 54 minutes here. Had a few moments he might like back, and had to deal with some messy ball, but a solid stint before making way for Jamison Gibson-Park. 7

ANDREW PORTER: Fiji last November aside, Porter has been a constant throughout Ireland’s recent run. Had an early scrum penalty called against him, conceded a turnover and had a few handling errors but made a huge effort in blunting that Scottish attack. 6

DAN SHEEHAN: Back in from the start after missing France and use as a replacement against Italy, the Leinster hooker had ‘scored’ one disallowed try and rattled off a string of dead-eyed lineouts before coming off injured at the end of the first quarter. 5

TADHG FURLONG: Making his first appearance on a pitch since a 36-minute stretch against Ulster in early December, over 100 dats ago. Showed some lovely hands in the first-half as Ireland attacked and put in a solid shift on the other side of the ball too. 7

IAIN HENDERSON: Ulster’s captain was immense before coming off with an injury after 24 minutes. Commanding in the lineout, he had been perfect with his tackling up to that point too. Looked like a huge loss and this on the back of other recent injury issues. 6

JAMES RYAN: Back to his brilliant best this Six Nations. Stole one lineout, made plenty of carries, especially so in the first-half, and almost put the lid on the afternoon with a late break for the line but knocked on in looking for Lowe. 8

PETER O’MAHONY: Tackled his guts out, missing none of his 14 attempts. Only Josh van der Flier did better there. Got up at the lineout and gave some lip to the ref after the first try was chalked off. The bit-of-everything guy that every team needs. 8

J OSH VAN DER FLIER: Prhaps not as conspicuous with ball in hand as he has been in previous days but he was in the thick of it when Scotland threatened and nailed every one of his 18 attempted tackles. Also showed another side to his many talents with some great throwing at the lineout in the second half. 8

CAELAN DORIS: Back to the No.8 position, where most agree he is best, after the Italian job, Doris leapt skyward to claim a lineout for that disallowed try, carried with real purchase and was racking up the tackles to boot before being forced off. 6

REPLACEMENTS: Jack Conan and Jamison Gibson-Park were the standouts off the bench. Conan was huge with ball in hand and got his due reward with his try while Gibson-Park injected his customary zip into the service in a period where Ireland took control of the game. The evergreen Cian Healy deserve a mention in despatches too.