After their 31-14 defeat in their United Rugby Championship clash against Munster at Croke Park, here’s how Leinster’s players performed on Saturday.
Leinster player ratings v Munster
15 Jamie Osborne: The 23-year-old showed some good touches with ball in hand during the game’s early stages but became quieter as the match progressed and had little influence on the game in the second half. 5
14 Jordan Larmour: The experienced outside back came into Leinster‘s starting line-up as a replacement for Tommy O’Brien mere hours before kick off and made some good attacking runs but only saw just 23 minutes of action before being forced off after for an HIA which he failed. 6
13 Garry Ringrose: The Ireland international was a willing ball carrier, especially in the second half when the home side were chasing the game but did not make much headway and came off second best in his direct duel with Tom Farrell. 5
12 Robbie Henshaw: The experienced centre looked lively on attack early on and won a crucial turnover for his team late in the opening half but was less influential after half-time. 6
11 James Lowe: The British and Irish Lions flyer gave his all on attack but like most of his team-mates, his efforts were in vain. Committed a plethora of unforced errors and missed some tackles on defence. 4
10 Sam Prendergast: Ireland’s first choice fly-half’s battle with Jack Crowley was one of the main talking points in the build-up to this game and the Leinster man was upstaged by his opponent. Prendergast left the field just before half-time for an HIA, which he passed, but did not have much influence on proceedings when he returned. 5
9 Jamison Gibson-Park: Like the vast majority of Leinster’s Ireland stars, the experienced fly-half failed to fire during his stint on the field. Conceded a crucial turnover after being caught in possession by Tadhg Beirne at a ruck in the second half while his decision making was not of its usual high standards. 5
Front-row’s fine scrummaging prove too strong for Munster
8 Max Deegan: Like Larmour, the 29-year-old was also promoted to the run-on side in the build-up to this match after Jack Conan withdrew on the day. Deegan toiled manfully, especially as a ball carrier, but Munster‘s defence kept him at bay throughout. 5
7 Josh van der Flier: Took over the Leinster captaincy when Conan withdrew and although he emptied the tank on attack and defence for the full 80 minutes, it was nothing more than an average performance. 5
6 Alex Soroka: He gave his all as a ball carrier but his efforts were not good enough and he was kept in check. 5
5 James Ryan: As usual, Ryan was prominent in the lineout and provided valuable possession from the set-piece while he also put his body on the line on defence. 6
4 RG Snyman: The Springboks star showed some deft touches on attack as he tested Munster’s defence with some excellent offloads in contact. Also did what was expected of him in the lineouts but was forced off the field early in the second half with a leg injury. 6
3 Tadhg Furlong: Showed why he is still amongst the world’s best tighthead props with a strong scrummaging display where he had his direct opponent Michael Milne in all sorts of trouble on several occasions. Furlong also did his bit as a ball carrier at close quarters before leaving the field in the 63rd minute. 7
2 Ronan Kelleher: The Ireland hooker made a bright start on attack when he crossed for the opening try after just seven minutes and also impressed in the execution of his core duties, especially the scrums, before being replaced by Dan Sheehan early in the second half. 6
1 Paddy McCarthy: The 22-year-old was only on the field for 17 minutes before being forced off due to injury with Andrew Porter coming on to replace him. N/A
Replacements: The likes of Dan Sheehan, Andrew Porter and Scott Penny gave their side some impetus on attack in the forward exchanges when they entered the fray and the latter was rewarded with a consolation try but, like most Leinster players, they were kept at bay by a resilient defensive effort from their opponents. Like Furlong and Kelleher, Sheehan and Porter, as well as Thomas Clarkson, also did well at scrum-time. Amongst the backs, Jimmy O’Brien looked dangerous with ball in hand out wide as he made some barnstorming runs when Leinster were chasing the game. 6
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