IRELAND

15. Felix Jones: 8
Capped a rare start with a brace of second half tries just four minutes apart as Georgia began to fade.

14. Craig Gilroy: 7
Carelessly made some basic errors but saw plenty of possession carrying 85 metres with ball in hand. He also contributed seven tackles.

13. Darren Cave: 6.5
Given the pressing schedule it already seems unlikely that Cave will get another opportunity before the World Cup. Another solid performance but not enough to force himself into the first choice reckoning.

12. Gordon D’Arcy: 6
Difficult to judge him against this opposition. He needed a run out and his experience will be vital against Australia but he offered little in the way of creativity.

11. Simon Zebo: 6.5
Two steps forward, but now another step backwards. After winning some of the critics over last weekend Zebo bagged a try and threatened to break the line but he just wasn’t on the same wavelength as teammates.

10. Ian Madigan: 8.5
Madigan excelled in the lead role. Though he looks increasingly more suited to 12, the Georgians struggled to get their hands on his jinking runs and eventually Ireland would convert the line breaks.

9. Eoin Reddan: 7.5
Stand-in captain for the day, he played a key role as Ireland looked to counter-attack and his delivery was slick but Georgia’s only score came after he was fended off by a towering second-row.

1. Dave Kilcoyne: 7.5
The powerful Georgian front-row had their Irish opponents in all sorts of bother. Kilcoyne made up for that (to a certain extent) with the first try of the afternoon and an 80 minute shift.

2. Richardt Strauss: 6.5
Another rolling maul, another Irish try, with Strauss going over for Ireland’s second of the game. The lineout fared well, hitting Foley and Diack regularly.

3. Mike Ross: 6
Ross is undercooked and it showed. Nothing close to the heroics of last week, but he’s the only option. See Rodney Ah You contribution in the replacements.

4. Dave Foley: 8.5
An outstanding test debut and an early bolter in the season for an unexpected World Cup spot. Carried for 17 metres and was safe as houses in the lineout, spoiling Georgian possession on occasion.

5. Mike McCarthy: 6
Pressured Georgia in the lineout but wasn’t as prominent as Foley in the second row, who could come into the squad for the Australia game instead of McCarthy.

6. Dominic Ryan: 7
Escaped serious injury when a stray Georgian boot stamped on his face, the back-row contained a physical and ill disciplined Georgian threat despite their unfamiliarity with playing together.

7. Tommy O’Donnell: 7
Good statistics with 11 carries and also led the tackle count, and linked reasonably well in the openside position carrying 24 metres.

8. Robbie Diack: 7
His versatility could be a major bonus for future squad selection. Made two clean breaks and provided a safe pair of hands at the tail of the lineout.

Replacements: 8
It’s something of a Joe Schmidt trademark that the Irish replacements make a positive impact. Silky footballer Stuart Olding scored a great try, and Robin Copeland’s rip was the catalyst which created Felix Jones’ second try.

Rodney Ah You began his 30 minute run out with a forward pass and a soft penalty concession. There has literally never been anything which suggests he’s a viable alternative to Ross at tight-head – albeit he’s only there as injury cover.

GEORGIA

15. Merab Kvirikashvili: 6
It may have mattered little, but The Lelos record points scorer missed an early shot to put them ahead. Georgia’s main attacking influence was keen to run with possession.

14. Sandro Todua: 5
Georgia will never been known for their wingers, and Todua doesn’t look like breaking that trend.

13. Davit Kacharava: 6.5
On this evidence Georgian centres like a big hit as much as their front-row, but it was up Kacharava to organise the defensive line with mixed results.

12. Merab Sharikadze: 7
The leading light in The Lelos backline, Sharikadze is coached by former Ulster, Ireland and Lions second-row Jeremy Davidson at Aurillac in ProD2, and made a whooping 22 tackles. He’s only 21, definitely one to watch.

11. Tamaz Mtchelidze: 5
Another typical Georgian wing, Mtchelidze played for 54 minute but made little impression on the game. Incidentally, his replacement Giorgadze wasn’t involved much either. It’s just not their thing.

10. Lasha Khmaladze: 5
Solid, like everything else in the Georgian side, but not a flashy player and Kvirikashvili carries a lot of the backs’ responsibility from fullback.

9. Giorgi Begadze: 5.5
The first Georgian to be yellow carded for persistent infringements. That card came in the 40th minute and could have been much earlier.

1. Misha Nariashvili: 7
The Lelos eight dominated the Irish scrum, and proved a resistant defence despite a plethora of missed tackles. Nariashvili was at the heart of that pressure.

2. Shalva Mamukashvili: 6.5
Irish pressure in the lineout restricted Georgia from capitalising on their advantage at scrum time.

3. Davit Kubriashvili: 7
A key component in the Georgian strength, those who follow the Top 14 will know of his expertise and the Irish front-row inevitably struggled to cope.

4. Kote Mikautadze: 6
The Toulon second-row showed up well in a defensive effort which frustrated Ireland in the first half.

5. Giorgi Nemsadze: 6.5
A strong fend on Eoin Reddan was the highlight which allowed him to score under the points, but the Tarbes man also made 11 tackles.

6. George Tshikishvili: 6.5
More tackles than anyone else (19) but he missed a couple and a lack of discipline across the pack cost Georgia in the end.

7. Viktor Koleishvili: 5
The Clermont openside could conceivably have seen red for stamping, whether deliberately or not, on Dominic Ryan’s face.

8. Dimitri Basilaia: 5.5
The Lelos best outlet of go forward ball from the pack, but Basilaia was the second Georgian in the sin bin as they consistently slowed Irish ball.

Replacements: 5
Milton Haig called on all of his replacements between 50-60 minutes, perhaps with a winnable test against Japan next weekend in mind, but ended up down to 13 due to injury and ill-discipline late on.

By Dave Blair (@viscount_dave)

Photo by: Patrick Khachfe / Onside Images