SHANE HORGAN 5
Has been as physical as ever over his two games in the tournament but the knee injury he suffered before the Scotland game has meant that his handling and positional play have been way off. That's not his fault by any means but he'll still be disappointed with his own form.

BRIAN O'DRISCOLL 6
This guy likes to lead by example and in the matches against Georgia and again on Friday night he really took the game to the opposition, even if he we didn't witness any of his trademark breaks. The only question mark surrounds his ability as a tactical captain, one capable of changing things on the pitch when the original game plan isn't working.

GORDON D'ARCY 5
You have to feel sorry for the fella. He made a few mistakes in the game against Namibia but apart from that, anytime he got the ball, he had a couple of defenders waiting to meet him. Ireland's play has become quite predictable and unfortunately D'Arcy is the one paying for it.

ANDREW TRIMBLE 4
While he might have a future at 12 or 13, Trimble is clearly not a winger. He never looks composed or con"dent when turning to chase a ball and his kicking abilities are virtually nonexistent. All that said, it's not his fault he's been turned into a winger by the Irish coach.

DENIS HICKIE 5
Had a nightmare first outing against Namibia but a lot of that may be down to the tackle on him early in the game that clearly left him a bit confused. Improved against Georgia but didn't really get enough ball to cause any trouble. He should have been on the bench against France, no question.

RONAN O'GARA 5
He's had a difficult World Cup, what with all the off the field rumours, and when you take all that into consideration, he hasn't been all that bad. His kicking out of hand hasn't been perfect but then again he's had to work with poor ball and opposition back-rowers right in his face.

N34 EOIN REDDAN 6
The Heineken Cup winner did very little wrong against France and it makes you wonder how he could have performed if he was actually ready for the test in Paris. He's clearly a more complete scrum-half than Isaac Boss and in time he'll make that Ireland number nine shirt his own.

PETER STRINGER 4
There's no point in pretending he played well in either of Ireland's opening two games but like O'Gara, he was dealing with particularly messy ball. Having not played a proper game before the World Cup warm-up games since March, he was always going to struggle to get back into the swing of things but this shouldn't be the end of him.

MARCUS HORAN 5
Was part of a phenomenally strong scrum effort from the Irish front-row on Friday night but his handling let him down at two crucial junctures in the game. Like many of his teammates, he looks like a guy who's been over trained over the past few months and he may have been too keen to prove a point on Friday night.

JERRY FLANNERY 6
As we saw from Friday's game, Flannery (right) is a far greater threat around the pitch than Rory Best but the fact that the line-out didn't go so well will count against him, even if it wasn't necessarily his fault.

RORY BEST 5
Apparently Best does a lot of work at the breakdown but we'll have to take that one on trust. There's no doubt he's an excellent line-out thrower but is that enough for a hooker to have in his armoury in this day and age?

JOHN HAYES 5
Again, deserves to be applauded for another phenomenal front-row effort on Friday night but around the pitch, the Bull wasn't really his old self. The body must be getting tired now but there still doesn't seem to be anyone good enough to replace him if he does retire after the tournament.

DONNCHA O'CALLAGHAN 4
The Munster second-row has been a major disappointment in this tournament and again, it looks like he's been over trained. Clearing out ruck-ball is usually his forte but didn't dominate and rarely got his hands on the ball around the park.

PAUL O'CONNELL 5
Enjoyed a half-decent game on Friday night but he'll be disappointed with his efforts in the first two games. Sometimes you get the feeling that the guy is trying too hard to make his mark on a game and would be better off not worrying about things so much.

SIMON EASTERBY 5
A "ne performance on Friday night saves Easterby from a much lower rating but there's no excuse for his late tackle on Michalak, which cost Ireland both "eld position and eventually, points.

DAVID WALLACE 5
Clearly wasn't fit coming into the tournament and deserves credit for at least surviving three games. The biggest problem here is that O'Sullivan saw no need to bring an extra openside in his squad, which meant that Wallace hasn't had a proper opportunity to recover from his ankle injury.

DENIS LEAMY 5
Had to deal with a lot of sloppy ball at the back of the scrum and even though he didn't go backwards often, he didn't exactly earn Ireland that many yards on the front foot. He's another who looks over trained and a player who just doesn't seem to be enjoying his rugby at the moment.

By Ciaran Cronin