Ireland player ratings: Ireland weathered the storm – quite literally – to notch a 34-5 win over Georgia in treacherous conditions in Tbilisi.
With heavy rain turning the Mikheil Meskhi pitch into a handling hazard by half-time, it wasn’t always pretty, but there were flashes of quality from the men in green.
Tommy O’Brien struck early, Nick Timoney thundered over late, and Sam Prendergast provided moments of both class and comedy as Andy Farrell’s side took another step forward in their July campaign.
Here’s how we rated the Ireland players:
1. Jack Boyle – 5
Took a hammering from the Georgian tighthead Irakli Aptsiauri and didn’t have a fun time of it in the first half. Ireland rallied in the scrum after the break, but Boyle had already been hooked.
Georgia
Ireland
2. Gus McCarthy – 6
A willing tackler and solid in the lineout, if a little unspectacular. Hooked just before the hour.
3. Thomas Clarkson – 6
Less culpable than Boyle in the early set-piece woes, though still part of a front row that spent the first half going backwards. Improved as Georgia tired.
4. Cormac Izuchukwu – 5
Too quiet from the Ulsterman. Started reasonably well but vanished from proceedings. Conditions didn’t help, but for a man trying to break into the national reckoning, he needed to do more.
5. Darragh Murray – 5
A couple of carries and did his job defensively, but faded into the background on debut. Like Izuchukwu, just didn’t influence the game enough.
6. Ryan Baird – 7.5
An impressive outing from Baird. Reliable in the lineout and produced a lovely offload assist for Casey’s try early in the second half.
7. Nick Timoney – 8
Imposing at openside. Brought his 114kg to bear in the carry and at the breakdown. His bulldozing 69th-minute try summed up a highly effective performance.
Turnovers 
8. Gavin Coombes – 8
Outstanding in the first half, including a pressure-relieving turnover on 15 minutes. Faded a touch after the break, but still one of Ireland’s best.
9. Craig Casey – 7.5
Kept the tempo up in grim conditions, even if he occasionally tried to do too much. Took his try well and was one of the few players to consistently inject urgency.
10. Sam Prendergast – 6.5
Started strongly, nailed a tricky touchline conversion, then ran himself needlessly into touch with a failed NRL-style corner flag finish that will no doubt annoy Paul O’Connell. His kicking from hand was a little inconsistent and he threw a few hospital passes too as the weather worsened, but his goal kicking was superb. A very Sam Prendergast game.
11. Jacob Stockdale – 7
Busy and direct. Trucked it up with intent and beat defenders before sadly leaving with a shoulder injury just before the break. The new shaven-headed look? Intimidating.
12. Stuart McCloskey – 6
Unusually sloppy hands at times – most notably coughing it up metres from the line just before half-time – but still beat defenders when given a sniff. Patchy.
13. Jamie Osborne – 6
Tried to punch holes in the Georgian defence but rarely broke the line. Guilty of one or two loose moments, but at least he kept asking questions.
14. Tommy O’Brien – 8.5
Electric opening 10 minutes, scoring two tries and looking a constant threat. Fell off somewhat as the game wore on and botched a hat-trick chance late on, but still a quality showing.
15. Jimmy O’Brien – 6
Linked nicely at times but not his most involved performance. Had to work off scraps with conditions limiting broken-field play.
REPLACEMENTS
16. Tom Stewart – 6
Did what was asked. Solid in the set-piece and didn’t let the standard drop after coming on.
17. Michael Milne – 6
An improvement on Boyle in the scrum and held his own in the physical exchanges.
18. Jack Aungier – Not rated
On too late to judge properly.
19. Thomas Ahern – 6
A neat 19-minute cameo. Did little wrong and added some freshness.
20. Max Deegan – Not rated
Came on too late to make a fair assessment.
21. Ben Murphy – Not rated
Same story. A few minutes at the end.
22. Jack Crowley – Not rated
No time to impress.
23. Calvin Nash – 7
Came on for the injured Stockdale and made an immediate impact, slicing Georgia open for Casey’s try. Carried hard, though did spill one under little pressure in the 66th minute.
