Following Leinster’s 28-20 victory over Edinburgh, here’s how we rated Leo Cullen’s selection in their United Rugby Championship clash.
Leinster player ratings
15 Andrew Osborne: Shipped a yellow-carded blow to the head from Callum Hunter-Hill less than 10 minutes in. Recovered from that and was decent in his limited contribution. 5
14 Joshua Kenny: A very different type of outing to what the rookie has been used to. Whereas try-scoring chances were abundant in previous outings, there wasn’t a sniff here and he was also caught out a couple of times defensively. His evening was then cut short after 37 minutes by injury. 5
13 Rieko Ioane: Definitely not his finest outing. A 42nd-minute fumble was followed shortly after by a high tackle, which highlighted this, but there was energy near the try line. Carried a couple of times for the opening score and was later held up over the line seven minutes from time. 5
12 Ciarán Mangan: First Leinster start, he wasn’t an anxious debut maker, judging by the frequency of his involvements. Plenty of carries, even if the level of yardage wasn’t huge, and he also found his footing in the defence. 6
11 Ruben Moloney: A quiet outing due to the way the game developed. There was one excellent take in the air nearing the interval, but it was his in from the side penalty that set Edinburgh up for their late try. 5
10 Charlie Tector: A player who had been impressing in his midfield starts, even winning player of the match awards, this was a sharp reminder that wearing the No.10 can be a heavy burden. Had an excellently finished try unluckily disallowed on 18 minutes. Persevered despite ongoing issues in getting Leinster going forward, the pressure that existed was visible in his missing of a straightforward penalty in 51 minutes with his team a point behind. 5
9 Luke McGrath (c): The veteran had a first half to forget, including how he couldn’t get to grips with Ben Muncaster in the build-up to the first Edinburgh score, and then throwing an intercept a few metres short of the try line. Much improved in the second half, including a lovely break on 51 minutes. 6
Forwards
8 Diarmuid Mangan: This cut-short outing wasn’t what he would have wished. There were some encouraging carries but also moments of frustration, such as a soft knock-on and then a 34th-minute off-feet penalty. Hooked on 43 minutes with Leinster trailing 15-8. 5
7 Scott Penny: Superb on an evening when so many of his teammates were average. May have only carried about for metres for his three tries, but his ability to power towards the line while so low in the contact was the winning of this match. Was also supremely defiant in defence. 9
6 Max Deegan: He opened the scoring with his 13th-minute close-range finish, and while there were a couple of moments to forget, such as not being able to stop Malelili Satala from scoring with a last-ditch tackle, there was plenty to cheer. 7
5 Brian Deeny: Tough going for him in the opening half, but he influentially grasped the thread in the second. It was his super 44th-minute charge down of Ben Vellacott’s kick and gather to the loose ball that set up Penny’s game-changing try. 7
4 RG Snyman: It wasn’t until the 70th minute, after Leinster had finally hit the front, that we got to see a couple of his trademark offloads. That signalled how troubling a night it was for this Leinster XV. Those lapses included Snyman getting left grasping air in the 32nd minute when opposition lock Glen Young took off on a gallop. 6
3 Andrew Sparrow: Another making his first start, but there was no honeymoon as there were penalties given up at the scrum and minimal involvement of note elsewhere in his 52 minutes. 4
2 John McKee: A mixed bag. His forward pass cost Leinster the try that Tector thought he had scored, but he showed athletic ability, pace and dexterity to grab hold of a loose ball on halfway that would have otherwise spelt trouble on 30 minutes. Correctly exonerated of foul play with the head contact that gave Vellacott his bloody nose just before his substitution. 5
1 Jerry Cahir: The first of the front rowers to give way after a tricky night at the scrum, he exited on 51 minutes with Leinster still in arrears. 5
Replacements: Hugo McLaughlin was reliable after his late first-half introduction, the front row subs didn’t solve Leinster’s issues at the scrum, but they were busy at the breakdown, and Will Connors, who came into the fray less than three minutes into the second half, was useful in rescuing Leinster’s winter winning streak before getting hurt. 5