Leinster came through a 12-try thriller at the Aviva Stadium on Sunday, beating Edinburgh 49-31 to progress to the next stage of the Investec Champions Cup.
Here’s how we rated the Leinster players:
Backs
15 Hugo Keenan: Was heavily involved throughout, making a team high of 14 carries and getting on the scoresheet shortly before half-time. He did have the ball turned over a couple of times, however, and missed the tackle on Ross Thompson in the lead-up to an Edinburgh try. Was solid under the high ball, though, marshalling the skies in both attack and defence. 7
14 Tommy O’Brien: A standout player within the Leinster ranks once again. He scored a nice early try, getting on the end of a clever attack, and soon scored a second with a superb diving finish. The 27-year-old was on fine attacking form, making three line breaks and beating as many men, making 58 metres in the process. 8
13 Rieko Ioane: His afternoon started awfully, with his first pass flying over Jimmy O’Brien’s head directly into touch. The day could improve from then on. He put in a great floated pass to set up O’Brien’s second try in the corner, and later scored the 12th try of the evening when he sold Darcy Graham a dummy to extinguish Edinburgh’s fire. He did look weak in defence at times, however. 6
12 Jamie Osborne: Attacked hard but failed to look after the ball, giving it away on a couple of occasions, including gifting Edinburgh an interception try. 5
11 Jimmy O’Brien: Made an impressive early break which led to Leinster’s opening try, and scored his own try down the left-hand side midway through the first half. 6
10 Harry Byrne: Not always picked to start at 10, but he took advantage of his selection straight away with a brilliantly held pass to put Tommy O’Brien through for his break before being involved in the finish also. He took the ball to the gainline impressively throughout, constantly putting the Edinburgh defence under pressure, and showed fantastic hands to set up Leinster’s third try. The 26-year-old kicked superbly from the tee, achieving a 100 per cent record with his seven attempts, and he used the high ball with purpose when kicking from hand. Certainly the form fly-half at Leinster. 8
9 Jamison Gibson-Park: His speed of ball and variety of passing were phenomenal as always, but in contact, he wasn’t on song. He, alongside Keenan, missed a tackle on Thompson for his try, and also had the ball picked off him for Edinburgh’s fourth try. Still, what he doesn’t give you in some areas, he always makes up for in others. The Ireland scrum-half worked well with his half-back partner to pick apart the Edinburgh defence with expert precision. 7
Forwards
8 Caelan Doris: The Leinster captain carried hard, often carving out the small gains which gave Gibson-Park a useful platform from which to work off. 7
7 Josh van der Flier: During the early stages, he was a far cry from the World Rugby Player of the Year he once was, losing the ball multiple times and failing to impact the game. But as the match wore on, his expertise showed in winning a couple of vital balls on the floor as well as collecting a try of his own. 6
6 Jack Conan: The versatile back rower had an unusually quiet game, but remained steadfast in the lineout, winning six of Leinster’s 11 throws. 6
5 Ryan Baird: Carried well and was useful in the lineout. However, he missed a couple of tackles, which otherwise sullied a solid game. 5
4 Joe McCarthy: Used his long, rangy legs to run around three would-be defenders, but, like his lock partner, he struggled defensively, missing more than one tackle. 5
3 Tadhg Furlong: Scrummed well, but his performance will be remembered for throwing a wayward pass that ended up in the hands of Charlie Shiel for Edinburgh’s first try. 5
2 Dan Sheehan: Lineout struggled, not reaching the intended target on more than one occasion. Did force an impressive penalty as a result of a turnover attempt, however. 6
1 Andrew Porter: Embarrassingly had the ball ripped as Leinster built up a head of speed early in the first half, but otherwise didn’t really see too much of the ball. A quiet, unremarkable day that was cut short at the half. 4
Replacements: Thomas Clarkson arrived on the scene to run a great line and, thanks to his powerful leg drive, he touched down just left of the posts. Luke McGrath made his 250th Leinster appearance, while the rest simply did their jobs, providing the freshness that saw Leinster home. 7