IRELAND
15. Rob Kearney: 7
Fielded everything the English kickers threw at him (which was too often inaccurate or poorly chased) without issue and often made metres when running it back. Proved how valuable his left boot can be as a clearing option.
14. Tommy Bowe: 5.5
Struggled to get himself into the game, and when he did carry he was usually pretty well shackled. With two centres that are just as capable in the air as him, Ireland are less reliant on his kick chasing. A quiet afternoon by his standards.
13. Jared Payne: 5.5
While Ireland continue to play such a limited game, Payne’s influence on the game is always likely to be minimal. Didn’t do much wrong, but that’s because he didn’t really do much at all.
12. Robbie Henshaw: 8
Ireland’s top tackler for the third week in a row, and his experience as a fullback showed once again as he leapt majestically to beat Goode to the ball for his try. Also showed immense presence of mind to ground it without stepping out.
11. Simon Zebo: 6.5
Much like Bowe, Ireland’s limited gameplan meant Zebo wasn’t pressed into action too often. Threatened to spark into life a couple of times, but never fully broke free.
10. Johnny Sexton: 8
Flawless kicking from hand and (almost) from the tee made a telling difference in the end. He also put in the crunching hit on George Ford that led to a penalty opportunity just before the break. Ireland noticeably lost their shape when he went off.
9. Conor Murray: 7.5
Wasn’t as consistently accurate with his kicking as he has been in recent weeks, but his deft nudge to set up Henshaw for the game-clinching try was a thing of beauty. It had the perfect amount of distance and weight to ensure Henshaw would take it at pace, while Goode was backtracking.
1. Jack McGrath: 7
A strong performance from McGrath who held up his side of the scrum well, and while he didn’t get always get a great return in terms of metres, he was his side’s second most willing carrier.
2. Rory Best: 8.5
An absolute masterclass at the breakdown from the Ulster hooker. He seemed to be everywhere, initially with his scrum hat and then without, always making a nuisance of himself and if not making clean turnovers, then disrupting English ball. Man of the match on another day.
3. Mike Ross: 7
Not the mullering many were expecting at the hands of Marler. Ross did everything that was asked of him at the set piece and didn’t miss a tackle.
4. Devin Toner: 7.5
For such a giant it is incredible how effective he can be at the breakdown. Along with Best and O’Mahony, he was amongst England’s terrorisers-in-chief there. Also won a key line-out five metres out from his own line.
5. Paul O’Connell: 7
A huge work rate from the talisman in green who led his side to a record-equalling 10th win in a row. Finished his side’s second top tackler and a late charge down proved his appetite never dimmed.
6. Peter O’Mahony: 7.5
As effective at the breakdown as he was in last year’s Six Nations and another good line-out option. Marked down half a point for being slightly overzealous at times, conceding four penalties – half of his side’s total.
7. Sean O’Brien: 5.5
Wasn’t on the pitch long before being replaced after suffering a nasty knock to the head.
8. Jordi Murphy: 6.5
A useful line-out option but not quite the influence with ball in hand that Heaslip can have. A steady deputy, nothing more, on this evidence.
Replacements: 6.5
Mostly good, as Martin Moore and Cian Healy both made effective contributions in the tight and loose after coming on, the former winning a superb turnover after some jackaling. Ian Madigan, however, showed there is a real gulf in class when it comes to game management after replacing Sexton.
ENGLAND
15. Alex Goode: 6
As expected, it was a busy afternoon for Goode. There was some good – the jinking run from behind his own line, for example – but there was also some bad, most notably being beaten behind his own line by Henshaw for his try. He also managed to give the ball away six times.
14. Anthony Watson: 6
Watson only carried the ball four times, and yet he managed to beat five defenders, the second most on the pitch. He is England’s most elusive runner but they simply good not get him in the game enough. Also showed his naivety with a pass to no-one in the second half.
13. Jonathan Joseph: 5
Clearly targeted by Ireland after his exploits in the first two rounds, it was noticeable how quickly he was swarmed by defenders when he got the ball. It should have created space elsewhere, but England couldn’t exploit it. A fairly anonymous afternoon, but not entirely his fault.
12. Luther Burrell: 5
Made a couple of powerful surges but again failed to really catch the eye with ball in hand. Will come under serious pressure for his spot in two weeks’ time, but his reprieve could be that Twelvetrees was even worse after coming on.
11. Jack Nowell: 6.5
Like Watson, Nowell was England’s most dangerous attacker but in a similar vein, he was usually closed down before he could beat more than one or two men. Saw a lot of action on his wing, and dealt with it well, for the most part.
10. George Ford: 6
Another Englishman to blow hot and cold. Showed some lovely touches when attacking the line with ball in hand, but was given a masterclass in controlling the game by his opposite number. His kicking out of hand just didn’t stack up against the best in the business.
9. Ben Youngs: 5.5
For Ford, read Youngs. Lost the tactical battle with his opposite number, and wasn’t able to make an impact with any of his trademark snipes around the fringes.
1. Joe Marler: 5.5
Didn’t get the dominance many expected in the scrums over Mike Ross, and it was almost like that was reflected in his work in the loose, which wasn’t nearly as physical as against Italy.
2. Dylan Hartley: 4.5
Anonymous in the loose and oversaw a line-out that suffered Jenga-like wobbles, most notably five metres out from the try-line having turned down a shot at the poles. Replaced just after 50 minutes.
3. Dan Cole: 7
Back to somewhere near his best in the loose, with one monstrous carry straight over the sizeable obstacle of Cian Healy particularly sticking in the memory. Probably England’s most effective player in a breakdown battle they comprehensively lost. Solid if not dominant scrummaging.
4. Dave Attwood: 5
Toiled hard to make 19 tackles despite being subbed on 67 minutes, but was one of several players guilty of giving away cheap penalties that ultimately hurt England.
5. George Kruis: 6
As we have come to expect from Kruis in his fledgling international career, he gave everything to the last. But he couldn’t replicate the physical dominance he has shown so far, and didn’t carry as much ball as he should have.
6. James Haskell: 4.5
Not Haskell’s finest hour in an England shirt. Worked hard in defence to make 17 tackles, but was blown out of the water at the breakdown, where he gave away three penalties. None of the abrasiveness with ball in hand of recent weeks, either.
7. Chris Robshaw: 5.5
Didn’t give away penalties like Haskell did, but the captain was similarly ineffective at the breakdown, which was the single most important battle England lost, as it meant their dangerous back-line didn’t have a platform to play from. Decision to turn down the points early on was shown up moments later as England lost the resulting line-out.
8. Billy Vunipola: 8
Comfortably England’s best performer, with his best performance to date of the Six Nations. Made more metres than anyone in white but Goode, and given that he generally has to work twice as hard for every one of his metres, hr was England’s most effective carrier.
Replacements: 5.5
Wigglesworth looked lively off the bench, while Easter, Youngs, Vunipola and Croft all brought noticeable energy after entering the fray. Twelvetrees, however, had a car-crash of a cameo, carrying ineffectively and throwing several passes to floor. It was a tough game to be introduced into, but you would expect better from an international centre. Why Was Cipriani not brought on at all?
By Jamie Hosie
Follow Jamie on Twitter: @jhosie43
Photo by: Patrick Khachfe / Onside Images
37 replies on “Six Nations 2015: Ireland vs England Player Ratings”
By and large fair, we were lucky to only lose by 10 this week. If Sexton hadn’t have gone off at 19-3, we could have seen a scoreline more similar to the one against Wales two years ago.
Attwood and Haskell were impressing after getting their chance through injuries, but both were poor and need to show more in the last two games if they are to keep their spots.
Hartley should be dropped after that, even if it’s just for the last two games. I didn’t think he offered anything special in the first two weeks, but he was poor on Sunday. Marler was poor as well, but has credit in the bank after strong showings in Weeks 1 and 2.
Hard to judge the backs considering how poor the pack was, but it was headless chicken stuff at time. Hopefully they’ll be better players for the experience, but I wonder about Twelvetrees and Goode as international players – they certainly can’t blame inexperience. Brown should come into the squad next time out if he’s fit with Goode missing out on the 23.
Burrell also poor, although Ireland did a good job on him. They knew he wasn’t the best distributor and they knew if they could shut him down they could effectively nullify the threats outside him. Maybe an argument for the Ford/Farrell 10/12 partnership? Or Manu at 12 who would be might be able to deal with such tactics? But both are injured, so Burrell should be persisted with until the end of the tournament. But unless he can break the shackles, he will be targeted at World Cup time.
As for Ireland, I guess while Plan A is working so well you don’t have to worry about having a Plan B. With their talent I’m sure they could throw it around a bit more, but I don’t expect them to do so this tournament unless they are chasing a game. It will be an interesting one next time out against Wales and their taller backs, who should be able to compete better in the air. I’m hoping Wales by about 10, as I think that will give England the best chance at the Championship, if we can get put the horror show this weekend behind us.
Not entirely sure how you can write “He also managed to give the ball away six times.” and yet still give Goode a 6 / 10. No more than a 4 for me and that is rescued from being a 3 by that one run from behind the line.
Burrell is a tough one. I thought he tackled well and he seemed to make yards and drag defenders in every time he got the ball in a position to run (although he had little support from the forwards when tackled) but we just don’t see enough of him – whether because that’s not in the game plan or because he doesn’t offer himself enough, I don’t know. Those runs, if supported well to create quick ball, should be making space for Joseph and the others
Goode put himself under pressure and escaped very nicely with the jinking run. I was however cringing watching him get run down by a 17 stone centre. We learnt nothing new, the mind is willing and able but he’s not a good enough athlete (pace or power) to be an international back 3 player.
Hard to judge the England backs when they only had limited possession and slow ball. Can’t see how Goode got a 6. Poor game and you tell me he gave the ball away 6 times. More like a 4.
Harsh to lay any line out blame at Hartley’s door – it was the calls that were terrible, not the execution. Attwood takes the flack for that as far as I’m concerned – especially the madness call on their 5 meter line. With Lawes/Parling in Hartley is vital to what is normally a brilliant line out.
Potentially missed Wood yesterday. Can be brutal at the breakdown and also offers that extra line out jumper. With O’Mahoney, O’Connell and Toner – Attwood only really had himself and Kruis to work with. Made his life more difficult probably.
Agree with most – thought Vunipola was brilliant as stated.
Assuming some players are fit this is how I’d go for Scotland:
Marler, Hartley, Cole, Lawes, Kruis, Wood, Robshaw, Vunipola, Youngs, Ford, Nowell, Tuilagi, Joseph, Watson, Brown
Youngs, Vunipola, Brookes, Attwood, Haskell, Simpson, Cipriani, Burrell
May swap Burrell and Manu around depending on how sharp he is!
Not manu! Can you imagine the gaps he would leave? When (if) he masters his defensive indiscipline then maybe.
Assuming JJ is retained there is a good argument for Barritt to lock the door defensively. Having said that I think Burrell is being made a bit of a scapegoat here.
I don’t think the Scots will be as dynamic as Ireland were. England should win with a bit to spare despite last weekends fiasco. Foden or Pennell for Goode if Brown is still not clear to play?
Barritt? FFS. Our defence wasn’t a problem it was our attack that was non existent. How would Barritt have helped?
By freeing up JJ. Did you notice how much he had to do in defence on sunday? I just think the balance`would be better. I’m not a huge Barritt fan either ,just looking for a way to get Englands attack going.OK then Eastmond and JJ,club partnership. Should work but you can hear the “but it’s too lightweight a partnership”cries already.
Sorry I just see red when Barritt is mentioned. Barritt is good for one thing only – killing attacks. His own sides as much as the opposition sadly.
Eastmond has done nothing this season to suggest he is an international centre, and Barritt just limits our attack even further.
Manu is the person other teams least want to see opposite them. Carter has already said words to that effect. That’s good enough for me.
England’s defensive systems have always been solid, when Manu played too. I see no reason to expect a defensive meltdown with Manu and JJ together and it is undoubtedly our best attacking partnership.
All comments and marks i have seen downplay the immense game Mike Ross had in the tight. It’s been a while since anyone anchored an opposition scrum against England so well and decisively. I guess the slightly arcane Dark Arts of the Front Row are too often overlooked.
Hear hear! The guy was a Busted Flush according to many people and in a previous post I countered with the fact he always plays well for Schmidt. Glad people are appreciating him.
DDD
Good point. The last time Ross played against Marler he got absolutely stuffed
A very impressive turn around. Ireland’s stable scrum was a key part of the game given that England would have looked to get an advantage there
2 things
1. Kruis calls the line outs in Parling/Lawes absence
2. Hartley is still partially to blame for the throw on the 5 metre as the angle of his throw was too shallow allowing to be snatched at 5 instead of taken at 6. It was a risky call to throw to the back but exectued correctly it would have been difficult to defend.
A bit pedatic I know as your original point is still valid that Hartley is hashly marked down
IT”S PEDANTIC NOT PEDATIC!! sorry for being pedantic! ;-o
DDD
Making that call with Toner marking Haskell was wrong – simple as that. I’m still very sure that is it Attwood calling the line outs and not Kruis too. May be proved wrong there but I’m sure that is the case.
Doesn’t really matter. Bring in Lawes for Kruis. Lawes calls. Atwood provides grunt Lawes can be dynamic.
Definitely agree.
I’m not dismissing Attwood as a player, but the line out calls on Sunday were dreadful.
I stand by my pre-6N opinion that Lawes, Launchbury and Parling are all better options when fit.
Our backrow were exposed for their lack of paces. Against the irish more agile forwards we were slaughtered at the breakdown. Robshaw too much work to be done, Haskell choke tackle ineffective. Watson was pants choose to go inside of Ford when he should of stayed on Ford shoulder making it far too easy for Sexton to tackle him.
Attwood was pants would probably bring him down to same points as Haskell & Hartley, failing to do the basic in the breakdown was terrible, may have lead the tackle count but that is only good thing. I also may say Attwood failing to clear out more than once, may have demoralized the team as it just seem England gave up.
Burrell was pants, made a couple of runs forward but that is just it. Looked mostly invisible and could mostly had been ignored. Recieved one crappy past from Youngs then got tackle but had he gone the pass away, O’Connell would be facing a 3 vs 1.
Ford endured a nightmare. Lost composure, threw panic offloads, went to play safe but later regained composure very late on the game. To be exact this was the George Ford of old which i saw from last year especially during the final against Northampton. Looking lost, taking everything upon himself, forcing things, likes those wide passes, Ford threw of no reason. In fact i agree on Woodward on bringing Cipriani at 12 because we needed a 2nd playmaker when Ford was having the life sucked out of him. Burrell was doing nothing what so ever to get pressure off from Ford & if you think Goode is going to bail out Ford you are sadly mistaken. Also had Owen Farrell, yes Owen Farrell not been injured he would’ve not allowed Ford in that situation he would’ve guided and told him what needs to be done. Because no-one was telling Ford what has to be done.
Our subs needed to come on much early because the mind set of certain players were just stuck on loser mode. We also paid the price of not having kitchener on the bench when Attwood was pants, in fact i would’ve not care if Easter had come on early for Attwood. 12t may had been pants but at least he showed urgency and chasing kicks with a mindset of needed to make a difference which our subs had, & Lancaster only sub Joseph because he though last year combo would save the day.
Ford struggled with slow ball, Irish intensity and the inexperience of being in that sort of situation before. Not unduly worried about that for him. First one is a team failure and others he will learn from. Not ready to give up on him yet, but you do wonder how things would have been different with a better quality kicker on the pitch. It adds pressure on the other team just by knowing that they can’t give away penalties or its 3 points. Sexton and Halfpenny are the NH masters of this. Tight game in RWC semi or final (big hope I know) who would you want on the pitch. The creative tyro or the accurate kicker? SL will have to think carefully about that if, and I appreciate that it is a big if we get that far. Interesting question though.
Completely agree that Cipriani should’ve been on around the 60 min mark, and in place of Burrell. In situations like this, what’s the point in having a game-changer on the bench if you don’t use him? 12T for Joseph reeked of damage limitation and/or distrust in the Cipriani’s abilities.
Attwood and Kruis have been doing a fine job in the engine room (until Sunday for Attwood at least). But I still feel they’re 4th and 5th in the pecking order and eagerly await the return of Lawes, Launchbury and Parling (the forgotten man? Havn’t seen him at Leicester since his return, but fondly remember two storming tests down under against NZ). Whichever combination should sure up the lineout and add some grunt to the breakdown.
As for the ratings, it’s pretty much a fair reflection. I’d take Goode down a notch – questionable decision making and turned over too often. Which leads me onto why I’d also take Robshaw down – as you say, we were destroyed at the breakdown. Why was nobody clearing out the rucks or contesting the breakdown (except Cole)? The cap/openside has to take some responsibility for that. Thought O’Mahoney had an absolute stormer and would’ve been my MoM, but didn’t realise he gave away quite so many penalties…
Final thoughts, Ireland looked like the real deal on Sunday. Intense and ruthless. Be interesting to see how they adapt their gameplan when chasing a score.
Goode justified the 6 score-thought he had an ok game, not sure that Brown would have brought anything additional to the party, I think we are missing Foden as the number one
We did miss Mike Brown. We missed his passion and balls of steel out there. We got bullied all over the park!
Goode was awful, worst performance by an England player since some of the post 2003 World Cup shockers. thought Nowell was awful as well. Ireland live for the kick chase and Goode and Nowell were very poor positionally, very poor at catching high balls and poor at kicking back. Always going to lose games without those fundamentals as give away massive amounts of metres and also try’s! One panicky lucky run round a couple chasing players doesn’t make up for anything. Throughout whole game he looked like the slowest and weakest player on the pitch.
How about scores for the coaches because this is another epic fail for the England coaching team. We desperately need a coach in there who has experience at the highest level, not a load of ex players who’ve barely got their badges and an ex pe teacher whose only top flight experience resulted in relegation.
This is beyond a joke. Why is it that Ireland and Scotland can attract top coaching talent but England can’t. Rowntree aside (and even he must take some blame for the poor display from the forwards), the rest are not pulling their weight. Farrell demoted to defence only, Catt fired and let’s bring in an experienced head coach to assist Stu with tactics. Preferably a kiwi with a good record for attack and breakdown.
Seriously? Why take Joseph off and not bring on Cipriani when we’re chasing the game. Wigglesworth starts or is out of the 23, can we not have a live wire like Simpson.? And Goode should be dropped from the squad after another in a long line of sh*t performances. But we all know he won’t be.
No,lets get rid of SL full stop. And Farrell. Then lets appoint some serious coaching talent. It can be done,five year contract or no. All it takes is a body of men with guts,vision,a burning desire to be successful and the authority to appoint a suitable candidate.
Oh, that’ll be the RFU. No chance of that happening then.
The unsung hero of Irish rugby is whoever spotted Joe Schmidt and brought him from Clermont to Leinster. Hats off to them!
DDD
Bit harsh on Goode regarding this game, but in the end I agree he doesn’t cut it at international level, which we’ve known for a while. Should have chucked Pennell in the cauldron, the guy is an all round class act!
Said before Goode had played his best rugby at international level. He just didn’t offer anything and has no pace. If we go on experience Farrell was missed. He has got us over the line in tight games and his place kicking keeps the opposition honest. I think the squad suffered from believing their own press. There are going to be games where we must be hard, ferocious and pragmatic. It’s all very well criticising SL but it’s the players that didn’t turn up. To be that outplayed at the breakdown is worrying.
The encouraging thing is we were that poor but Ireland didn’t run away with it. If you didn’t know who was playing and looked at the stats,you’d expect a 30 point margin. If England have thoughts of getting out of the group in the WC, then they cannot afford to take backward steps. We really needed a clean sweep in this second tier competition to take momentum into the autumn.
I was at the match. Its clear that Ireland have a very clever coach who is able to get the best out of his resources. In spite of the fact that England were beaten fair and square on the day, its difficult to understand some of the comments here. Firstly, the England backs. How can people knock them when they had barely any decent ball? – I think after about half an hour the stats showed Ireland had had something like 95% possession! England’s backs had very little in the whole match really. Fairer to criticize the tactics used though as these were often naive. The most notable example was Ford kicking his first three kick-offs straight to Zebo who had time to say “thanks a lot”, catch it, run it back. A couple of phases and then boom, kick from the Irish 9 or 10 right above Ford’s head. Ford got rattled and is being heavily criticized, when the reality is that the Irish set out to do that very thing. England were far too loose, had no Plan B and combined with an Irish team where everyone was playing well and exactly to a strict plan, it cost them the match. Ford shouldn’t be carrying all the blame for those kicks either as this kind of stuff is often dictated by the coaches and the game plan at this level.
I don’t know if I’m the only one who gets annoyed when England have a bad game and the most easily blamed are promptly thrown under the bus? After this match, Ronan O’Gara, not famed for his love of England, and someone who must have been quite good to have won over 100 caps at fly half said that everyone should beware being judgemental because in his opinion Ford may well be talked about as the best player in the world within two years if not earlier. He and other Irish pundits all pointed out that England were missing a host of superb players through injury or in Care’s case, loss of form. Mentioned in particular were Parling, Laws, Launchbury, Wood, Morgan, Care, Brown and Corbisiero (many in Ireland see Tuilangi as just another big lump).
Generally I think the Irish commentators were quite correct. They said Ireland played very well, deserved their win, but that they were lucky to face an England team that was not at full strength and will be when the World Cup comes around.
England should definately make some changes – Attwood spent a lot of time offside and was lucky not to be pinged by the referee two or three more times in the first half. James Haskell had a pretty bad game especially compared to his recent form. The Irish Times said today “We found out that Haskell, with that incredible physique, looks better with his shirt off than with it on” – perhaps a bit harsh, but on yesterday’s form its hard to disagree. Hartley wasn’t good and Youngs deserves a few games. Ben Youngs at 9 made no impression. Wigglesworth was better and everyone in rugby knows that Care on form is world class. Somewhere out there in English club land is a coach who is just as clever as Joe Schmitt – probably someone who’s face doesn’t necessarily fit. Lancaster should find that person quick and get them involved….
Ireland’s worries are much simpler – Absolute Primary is: Jonny Sexton is completely irreplaceable FULL STOP. Three others – Can Big Paulie manage another 10 or so big matches and if not can Ireland do without his fantastic leadership qualities in the World Cup? Is the back up for Mike Ross at tight head strong enough? Are Ireland good enough to play a different, more expansive game?
I think you have to be an English or Irish rugby fan who has attended an England v Ireland Six Nations fixture to know what an incredibly special and unique sporting fixture it is. Last year’s match at Twickenham, won by England, was probably the best live game of rugby I have ever seen. Yesterday came close in the quality of play delivered by both teams, and easily matched or bettered the atmosphere of previous years. Both teams deserve high praise – it was relentlessly physical throughout, skill levels were very high and very little bad temper from either side – England in particular must have been incredibly frustrated at times. Roll on the World Cup. A semi final featuring England v Ireland would be an incredible thing!!! And for Ireland – Warren Gatland awaits….
Interesting. Apparently your comment won’t be posted if it criticises the RFU! How very RFU like that is! Small minded,mithering,arrogant,dismissive and elitist. For shame!
eh?
Get rid of 12trees not international standard club only.
Billy was immense one of his best games.
Back line suffered due to inconsistent pack.
Changes to make bench youngs bring in Wigglesworth.
Bench Brown give pennell a run.
Bench Hartley bring in Tom.
The remainder stay the same.
Ireland won because they contested everything.
Geoff, for starters why bench Brown? Secondly, am I the only one who thought Wigglesworth looked glacial in his delivery at the only part of the game where we were getting anything other than slow ball. Might have to watch it again, but I was sober and was shouting at the tv for him to move it quickly.
I don’t get the Wiggy selection. Would rather Simpson or even Care. Someone to change the tempo.
The only reason I guess to bench Brown would be to give Pennell some game time ahead of the world cup, now we’re all agreed that Goode is not international standard. Sadly barring injury Goode is inked in permanent marker on the world cup squad as fb and third fly half…
Surely Goode’s name has been crossed off multiple times after the weekend?
Personally think Pennell can step up to this level but he needs to be able to show it. Foden is still to come back from injury as well and personally would play Watson or Nowell at fb before Goode.
Agree with Staggy wbout Wigglesworth. I thought he was very slow to the rucks. Just as England were finally speeding their play up, the forwards were carrying over the gainline and clearing the Irish out quickly and with venom, just as we needed a scrum half with zip and vigour, we got Wigglesworth who jogged slowly between each ruck and then took an age to decide what to do. One decent little break aside he was not the man needed. I like him but he’s a slow and sure scrum half with a decent kicking game – not the man you want coming on in the last 20 when your’re down 10 points
Finally someone (The Reaper) who talks sense.
Ford is a quality player who on the day played short of his best. Yes the England backs had little ball to really showcase their obvious talent, that was generally down to a well executed game plan by the Irish. When they did find themselves with possession in good field position they appeared unpolished.
I am in full agreement with the Hartley situation. Not had the best of times in an England shirt in recent games and for me Youngs has more of an engine and definitely better discipline.
Rather than single out a few players though I would say that from a team point of view England gave away far too many penalties. Some of which bordered on lunacy.
The coaching team too need to take responsibility, there was obviously words said after the penalty count from the first half especially in the ruck. They noticeably stopped competing in the ruck especially in the early stages of the second half, which obviously helped in the amount of infringements being made but obviously gave the upper hand to the Irish with good, clean and quicker ball.
It was clear from an early stage that changes were needed in order to try and win this game. Why DC was not brought on is beyond me.