Six Nations 201, Wales v Ireland: player ratings George North Like Cuthbert he was always looking for the physical contact but did not show any of the subtle skills of the smaller Irish wingers. Dan Biggar Poor first half when his decision-making and passes both stuttered fatally. Much more assured in the second half. Mike Phillips Not anywhere near his best. Lacked awareness when Wales had come back to 15-30 and should have ensured the kick-off went straight out. Gethin Jenkins Is he really match fit? There was little to suggest that he truly is. Needs to be back in Wales and playing regularly. Matthew Rees Solid but little else. Ken Owens was a lively replacement in the loose but his throwing let him down. Adam Jones Wales might have been under pressure at the scrummage early on but generally they were much more solid with Jones than they were without him in the autumn. Andrew Coombs Began nervously on debut but went on to produce an eye-catchingly abrasive performance with moments of deftness with ball in hand too. Ian Evans Quite superb considering he hasn't played for 11 weeks. Carried effectively and willingly, especially in the first half. Aaron Shingler Picked for his line-out work but had to be replaced by Justin Tipuric when the score mounted. Tipuric was quick and linked well, and must start with Warburton next weekend. Sam Warburton Suffered a second-half stinger but he carried more prominently than of late and was always a presence at the breakdown. Toby Faletau Started to show more strongly in the second half, especially when making one surge down the left. Ireland Rob Kearney Not outstanding but not slovenly either. Very nearly scored when Brian O'Driscoll scored his try. Craig Gilroy Seriously lively in attack and made one huge hit on Halfpenny in defence. His kicking is poor, though, and allowed Wales to counter-attack too easily. Brian O'Driscoll Only a sloppy clearance prevented a 10 mark. Pure genius for Simon Zebo's try. If this was his last match in Cardiff it was a fitting farewell. Gordon D'Arcy Difficult to shine next to the master and D'Arcy departed early through injury to be replaced by Keith Earls, who missed Cuthbert for Wales' first try. Simon Zebo Try was easy courtesy of O'Driscoll but the footballing skill for Cian Healy's try was sublime. Jonny Sexton Easy to see why he is the outstanding candidate for the Lions' No 10 berth. Looks so calm and assured, and not afraid of the heavy traffic. Conor Murray Sent to the sin bin when the battle was raging late on. Might have been lucky not to have been penalised earlier for a possible deliberate knock on. Cian Healy A try, a win and a scrummage that was mostly on top. What more can a prop ask for? He will have been a happy man on Saturday night. Rory Best A mixed bag. Charge-down for a try and one hugely important turnover but also a yellow card and some wayward throwing. Mike Ross Solid enough as Ireland scrummaged well. Did not show up in the loose. Mike McCarthy The grafter alongside his more prominent partner, but he got through a huge number of tackles in the second half. Donnacha Ryan A towering first-half performance, both at the line-out and in the loose. Did his fair share of tackling in the second half too. Peter O'Mahony Good, solid effort and may have been replaced too early, with Chris Henry arriving. Sean O'Brien A remarkable performance from the flanker, so good that he could easily have been man of the match but for O'Driscoll's majesty. Tackled himself to a standstill. Jamie Heaslip A cliché but he did lead by example. He tackled his heart out in the second half too.