Iain Balshaw 5/10 Club: Gloucester Caps: 35 Ireland felt he was vulnerable and peppered him liberally in the fi rst half. He recovered but rarely threatened in attack

Paul Sackey 7/10 Club: Wasps Caps: 15 Not merely a fi nisher. Showed creative touches in build-up to his try and handled any aerial bombardment adequately

Jamie Noon 9/10 Club: Newcastle Caps: 31 There’s nothing pretty about him but he was hugely effective, smashing Trimble in the tackle all afternoon

Toby Flood 7/10 Club: Newcastle Caps: 17 Suggested he could forge a decent partnership with Cipriani. Did the odd shift at fl y-half and often posed questions

Lesley Vainikolo 6/10 Club: Gloucester Caps: 5 Occasionally looked vulnerable in defence and won’t want to watch that clearance again. But was the key man for Tait’s try

Danny Cipriani 9/10 Club: Wasps Caps: 3 Jonny who? In one game, he became favourite for the Lions No 10 shirt. A phenomenal fi rst-half performance

Richard Wigglesworth 7/10 Club: Sale Caps: 4 An artisan at the base, he rarely threatened but providing Cipriani with good service was his most important role

Andrew Sheridan 7/10 Club: Sale Caps: 24 Predictably gave John Hayes a torrid time in a few scrums and produced one barnstorming run. Business as usual

Lee Mears 8/10 Club: Bath Caps: 23 Easily his best game in an England shirt. Not fl awless throwing in but hugely dynamic in the loose

Phil Vickery 6/10 Club: Wasps Caps: 64 Something of a liability when he pops up in midfi eld but did the nuts and bolts stuff to a reasonable standard

Simon Shaw 5/10 Club: Wasps Caps: 48 Not his best game this season. Lost the ball in contact and conceded penalties. Not surprising to see him replaced

Steve Borthwick 7/10 Club: Bath Caps: 37 Atoned for a nightmare against Ireland four years ago. Applied pressure at the lineout and was generally a nuisance

Tom Croft 6/10 Club: Leicester Caps: 3 A mixed bag. Often showed his naivety in close contact but displayed alarming pace running out of defence in the 79th minute

Michael Lipman 7/10 Club: Bath Caps: 7 Made a positive contribution in the build-up to Sackey’s try and helped England gain the edge in the back row

Nick Easter 7/10 Club: Harlequins Caps: 16 Footballing limitations exposed on a few occasions when he found himself in space but not found wanting in the grunt stakes

Replacements 6/10 Mathew Tait made his pace count almost as soon as he appeared but generally the job had been done by the time coach Brian Ashton made his changes

Ireland

Geordan Murphy 6/10 Club: Leicester Caps: 56 Showed his class in the build-up to Kearney’s try and looked generally sharp before his afternoon was ruined by injury

Tommy Bowe 7/10 Club: Ulster Caps: 13 Underemployed in attack for the second week running but justifi ed his presence with outstanding cover tackle on Noon

Andrew Trimble 4/10 Club: Ulster Caps: 24 You can’t question his desire, only his credentials as an international centre. Heavy-handedness exploited ruthlessly

Shane Horgan 4/10 Club: Leinster Caps: 61 Ireland’s main ball-carrier and occasionally their fl y-half but he doesn’t have the distribution skills for this role

Robert Kearney 8/10 Club: Leinster Caps: 6 Confi rmed his class once again. Menacing in possession, he made all the right decisions and covered tirelessly

Ronan O’Gara 4/10 Club: Munster Caps: 82 Set off like he planned to teach Cipriani a lesson but faded dramatically as the game went on. Hopelessly out of sorts

Eoin Reddan 5/10 Club: Wasps Caps: 10 Test teams are onto him now, exposing the fatal delay in his release. Form dipped after a superb start to the championship

Marcus Horan 5/10 Club: Munster Caps: 56 Ireland were made to work hard in the trenches and so Horan was unable to impose himself as a ball-carrier

Rory Best 6/10 Club: Ulster Caps: 22 The odd blip with his lineout throwing but lively in the loose, including one sublime overhead pass

John Hayes 5/10 Club: Munster Caps: 84 A tough afternoon against Sheridan in the tight, which made his work rate around the park all the more admirable

Donncha O’Callaghan 6/10 Club: Munster Caps: 45 Started at a furious pace and kept going admirably. A reasonable end to a decent championship for the big lock

Paul O’Connell 4/10 Club: Munster Caps: 52 Never stopped looking for work but his lack of match sharpness evident by the number of mistakes made

Denis Leamy 5/10 Club: Munster Caps: 32 Departed on 12 minutes with an injury and his absence told. Ireland missed his abrasiveness

David Wallace 5/10 Club: Munster Caps: 46 Didn’t carry once last weekend, carried maybe once this time around – a fair gauge of where Ireland are right now

Jamie Heaslip 8/10 Club: Leinster Caps: 8 A solid outing for the young No 8. Got few opportunities to carry but plenty of energy and aggression

Replacements 6/10 Luke Fitzgerald served notice that he will torment international defences in the future. No other Irish sub could make much of an impact