IRELAND:
Best: James Lowe
Irish Mirror: “Man of the Match. Settled into auxiliary kicking role immediately while excellent early poach caught the eye. First Irish player to clock up 50m with ball in hand, rewarded with fifth try.”
Rugby Pass: “Was a threatening presence behind the scrum and was constantly looking for work. His kicking out of hand was first-rate, his booming boot now the Aviva Stadium’s equivalent of ASMR. Was good value for his try.”
Planet Rugby: “He crossed for his first Test try of the year while his rocket of a left boot continued to be a massive weapon for the side. He racked up over 100 metres with ball in hand and hardly put a foot wrong on defence.”
Worst: James Ryan
Rugby Dump: “Unusually quiet by his high standards as he now looks to be firmly out of the starting line-up when Tadhg Beirne and Joe McCarthy are available. In saying this, his bulk combined with McCarthy’s had the Irish scrum purring with power and he looked back to his normal standards at the line-out.”
ITALY:
Best: Juan Ignacio Brex
Rugby 365: “Great leg drive after the tackle makes him a difficult opponent to stop on the gain line and this was another example of why the Azzurri can build an effective back line around the hard-running centre who had good hands and a big heart.”
Worst: Stephen Varney
Rugby Dump: “Charged down twice and unbelievably slow at the ruck, Varney was on the back foot as his pack struggled to get any parity.”
Rugby Pass: “Charge down kicks undermined his performance and tried to fly out of the defensive line like Faf de Klerk but not his best game and he was not helped by the diminishing returns from his pack. Made an outstanding try-saving tackle on Sheehan.”