Here's how the Scotland players rated in Dublin.

Blair Kinghorn: Had a couple of moments where he thought he could break away without quite managing it. Had a pretty solid performance in the Aviva and he’ll be happy with how he got on throughout the match. 7

Kyle Steyn: The Glasgow wing wasn’t involved very much in an attacking sense but neither did much of the Scotland team. Had to do a lot of his work defensively and he definitely did that well but couldn’t offer enough in the game. 6

Huw Jones: Was very good throughout the game and was really strong throughout the match. Linked up well with McDowall and deserves a lot of credit for his performance. A real key player for this Scotland team and is improving defensively all the time too. 8

Stafford McDowall: In for his first Six Nations start and he had an excellent game. Carried well and was physical in challenges. Looked like he had been playing at this level for years and that’s arguably the biggest compliment you can give him. 7

Duhan van der Merwe: He’s been a real threat throughout this tournament but he was disappointing in Dublin. Was trying to do too much himself but he did improve in the second half a small bit. 6

Finn Russell: A mixed day from the Scotland co-captain. He kicked from the tee well but it wasn’t quite as good out of hand and his error early in the second half brought a lot of pressure onto Scotland. Perhaps his high standards counts against him at times though. 6

Ben White: Back in the team and he played well again. He’s had a very good Six Nations so it was no surprise to see him continue that before he was eventually replaced by George Horne during the second half of the match. 7

Pierre Schoeman: Not his best game in a Scotland shirt and was replaced early in the second half by Rory Sutherland. Likely to just be one of those days but it wasn’t really going well for him in Dublin before his early exit. 6

George Turner: A bad throw from a lineout led to Ireland getting their first try of the match and he never really recovered from it. Unsurprisingly replaced early in the second half and he’ll be frustrated with his showing. Did return to the action for a short spell when Ashman was yellow carded. 5

Zander Fagerson: Became Scotland’s most capped prop and he continued his brilliant form. Had an excellent try saving tackle early in the second half and alongside Ben White, he’s arguably been Scotland’s best player in this campaign. Never lets them down. 7

READ MORE: Five things we learned as spirited Scotland defeated by Ireland in Dublin

Grant Gilchrist: Scotland struggled in the lineout today and it wasn’t the Edinburgh lock’s finest hour. Did well at times in the tackle but didn’t get involved in the match as much as he might have liked. 6

Scott Cummings: Similar to his second row partner, it was an okay performance during the match but never quite had the impact he would have hoped to in the game. 6

Andy Christie: Had an excellent game in his second Scotland start as he continued his brilliant club form this season. Carried the ball well when he could open his legs and made some great tackles defensively. 8

Rory Darge: Wasn’t massively involved in the match but like the rest of the team he defended very well against a strong Ireland side. Was replaced with 20 minutes to go by Matt Fagerson and can be happy enough with his showing. 6

Jack Dempsey: With most of Scotland’s work being done defensively he wasn’t able to carry as much as he wanted to but he did have brilliantly to help keep Ireland at bay for as much time as possible. 7

Replacements

Ewan Ashman: Came on in the second half and was shown a yellow card for giving away Scotland’s third penalty in one move. Unlucky but not great for him. 3

Rory Sutherland: Back from the international wilderness and he put in a strong showing during his cameo. 5

Javan Sebastian: Got a short cameo in the last 10 minutes of the game and can be happy with how he did during it. 4

Sam Skinner: Played the final 10 minutes but wasn’t massively involved as Scotland tried to chase a score. 3

Matt Fagerson: Replaced Rory Darge and he followed on from his co-captain with a strong performance in the tackle but wasn’t able to carry as much as he’d like. 4

George Horne: Back to his usual role of supersub this week and helped create Huw Jones’ try with a great run. 4

Cameron Redpath: Didn’t have his best game in Italy but he was very strong from the bench today. Had a a great try saving tackle. 5

Kyle Rowe: Was given a chance off the bench this week after being unused last week and had a couple of opportunities to run and took them well. 4