One player who was under some scrutiny ahead of Ireland's home draw against Wales this afternoon was CJ Stander.

The South Africa-born Munster player became eligible for Ireland before this year and in the first competitive opportunity, Joe Schmidt threw him straight into the back-row mix.

And it was an impressive performance for the player who was our most effective ball carrier with 23 - indeed a figure that bested every other player on the pitch.

Ireland's CJ Stander is interviewed after the match ©INPHO/Dan Sheridan

With Sean O'Brien not involved today, it was an important asset to have and Stander also made 40 metres of territory, which was the third highest in the green jersey (behind Simon Zebo and Jonathan Sexton) and fifth highest from both sides.

He was also the only member of Ireland's pack to manage a clean break, while defensively he attempted 11 tackles.

All Six Nations statistics from Accenture.