Round 1.

Ireland got their Autumn Nations Cup campaign off to the perfect start last night with a comfortable 32-9 win over Wales at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.

Tries from Quinn Roux and James Lowe along with kicks from Johnny Sexton, Billy Burns and Conor Murray ensured the win for Andy Farrell’s men in a game that could have been much worse for Wales.

Ireland played with plenty of invention as they continue to grow and evolve under Farrell but given how poor Wales were they will probably be disappointed when the review the game as they probably should have scored a lot more.

No doubt England will be a much bigger test next week. Anyway, here are your player ratings.

15. Hugo Keenan – 7

Didn’t have to do much but rose to the occasion when needed. Solid performance.

14. Andrew Conway – 6

Struggled to make an impression having been drafted in late.

13. Chris Farrell – 7

Real solid display. Handled the Welsh rush defence well and looked busy throughout.

12. Robbie Henshaw – 7

Some big hits and worked really well both on and off the ball. Starting to find form and looks like he could start to peak soon with more minutes.

11. James Lowe – 9

What a debut. From the minute a ball was kicked you could see this man has been waiting for this night ever since he landed in Ireland three years ago. Massive addition to the Irish team.

10. Jonathan Sexton – 7

His game was cut short after just 28 minutes with injury but before that was playing really well with some lovely passes and an excellent chip in behind. Kicked 3/3 too.

9. Jamison Gibson Park – 8.5

Brought a real sense of dynamism. Always looked to snipe and his speed of play off the bottom of a ruck was a joy.

1. Cian Healy – 7

Should have scored two tries but another good shift from the centurion.

2. Ronan Kelleher – 6

Expected more from this guy but his first game back was always going to be tough. Should still start against England.

3. Andrew Porter – 9

Absolutely annihilated the Welsh scrum in the first half.

4. Quinn Roux – 8

Another man drafted in late. Didn’t put a foot wrong and bagged himself a try. Will be delighted.

5. James Ryan – 6

Lots of errors. Wasn’t himself out there.

6. Peter O’Mahony – 8

A complete and utter nuisance and a menace at the lineout. Gave us all a reminder of what we’ve been missing.

7. Josh van der Flier – 6

Did his job but very quiet.

8. Caelan Doris – 8.5

This man just keeps getting better.

Replacements:

Dave Heffernan (for Kelleher 64) – 6

Ed Byrne (for Healy 59) – 5

Finlay Bealham (for Porter 64) – 6

Tadhg Beirne (for Roux 64) – 6

Will Connors (for van der Flier 69) – 7

Conor Murray (for Billy Burns 65) – 7

Billy Burns (for Sexton 28) – 6

Keith Earls (for Henshaw 71) – 6