mens
United-Rugby-Championship
Leinster player ratings: Leo Cullen’s Leinster arrived at the Aviva Stadium expected to make easy work of their old URC rivals, but with heavy rain lashing Dublin earlier in the day and Munster arriving with the confidence of a team unbeaten in three matches, this never seemed like the foregone conclusion the bookies suggested. Leinster monopolized much of the territory and possession before the break but repeatedly shot themselves in the foot through penalties and inaccuracies, allowing Munster to build a shock 13-5 lead. However, when the blue bench arrived and the pressure finally told, Leinster squeezed out the fightback from their visitors to come away with a score of 24-18.
15. Hugo Keenan – 8.5
He brought his kicking boots and then some. A brilliant early touchfinder grubber set the tone, while several massive outs kept Munster spinning. He added some dangerous half-breaks and was excellent in the broken field. His fumbling from Leinster’s lineout in the second half was about the only blemish.
14. Tommy O’Brien – 7.5
He won a series of tricky high balls to score Leinster’s first try after a brilliant long-range pass from Jamison Gibson-Park. He almost benefited from an earlier break from Joey Carbery. He went through a serious amount of work and his handling helped with Charlie Tector’s try.
13. Jamie Osborne – 8
He started steadily before exploding into the game after the interval. They beat six defenders in total, carried a real threat and crashed over for a deserved try. Some elegant distribution in front of Tector’s score as well. A strong display in the second half.
12. Robbie Henshaw – 7
His usual bruises, I’m busy. He came desperately close to scoring after a series of pick-and-goes only for the TMO to rule that he missed. He damaged the Leinster defense and won a few collisions in midfield.
11. Jimmy O’Brien – 6.5
A mixed night before half-time the HIA suspended his participation. Munster repeatedly sent traffic and shots down his corridor, and he surrendered too many possessions. Not catastrophic, but not one of his harsher nights either.
10. Joey Carbery – 8
The former Munster fly-half was instrumental in almost everything Leinster did well. He mixed the passing and running games intelligently, threatened the line on multiple occasions and produced some nice touches in attack. There were times when the Munster defenders looked like they had picked up his playbook and read him well, but his brilliant strike in the 71st minute and several other key interventions had him firmly in the eight territory.
9. Jamison Gibson-Park – 8
A different sauce. He returned to Leinster colors after a lengthy injury lay-off and looked as if he had never been away. His serve was sharp, his strokeplay excellent and sniping breaks constantly troubled Munster. The floated 30m pass for Tommy O’Brien’s try was outrageous. He added another assist late on for an Osborne try.
1. Andrew Porter – 6.5
A subpar first half by his standards. An opening scrum penalty went to Munster and he was also pinged for other points before the break. He improved as the game went on and eventually started to get a marginal edge over Kieran Brookes.
2. Rónan Kelleher – 7.5
Strongly carried throughout and provided plenty of progression. He never stopped looking for work and was a key figure during Leinster’s sustained second-half pressure. A very solid outing before departure in an hour.
3. Tadhg Furlong – 7
He made several signature carries, including one memorable dive with Munster defenders hanging off him. He helped Leinster struggle with more scrum control as the contest wore on.
4. Joe McCarthy – 7.5
Spent most of the evening in the trenches. He entered heavy traffic more than once and won more collisions than he lost. Not flawless, as shown by Gibson-Park’s ankle-high tackle and non-discharge penalty, but still a significant physical presence.
5. James Ryan – 6.5
He gifted Munster the first points with a high kick on Brookes and never imposed himself in the way some of Leinster’s other forwards did. Improved defensively, but not the old Ryan display.
6. Ryan Baird – 8
A deserved result capped off one of his better outings in quite some time. He squeezed the important line just before half-time, defended aggressively and carried the goal. Honestly, after some duff performances recently, this was a much needed answer.
7. Josh van der Flier – 6
Typically industrious. I missed one notable fight at Kendellen, but otherwise got through a mountain of unprecedented work around the park.
8. Dan Sheehan – 8
The No.8 Leinster captain looked remarkably at home there for the first time as well. He nearly snagged an interception, repeatedly dented the line of scrimmage and carried relentlessly. No one is mistaking him for Caelan Doris or Jack Conan, but this was a very fleeting impression of an elite number 8.
Substitutions – 7
Leinster’s bench arguably changed the game. Gus McCarthy and Charlie Tector stood out, with the former excellent at the breakdown and general play, while the latter chipped in for a crucial try. The collective impact brought urgency and energy just as Munster began to tire.
