Leinster beat Scarlets 33-21 in the URC playoffs this afternoon, knocking the Welsh side out on their way to the URC semi-finals.
Here is how we rated the Leinster team:
Leinster player ratings v Scarlets
15. Hugo Keenan: It was an afternoon to remember for the former sevens star, providing a top-level display in the backfield to help Leinster to victory. The most carries of any player on the field, his try midway through the second half proved vital in taking Leinster well out of reach of the travelling side. Defensively, he will be pleased with his display, most notably for knocking the rampaging Sam Lousi into touch. 8
14. Jimmy O’Brien: Caught out defensively a couple of times and had limited interaction with the ball in hand. Will wish to make more of an impact in his next match. 4
13. Jamie Osborne: Guilty of losing the ball on multiple occasions and caught out defensively when employing the blitz. He did take his try well, though, so will be looking for a more consistent appearance next time. 5
12. Jordie Barrett: His offload to set up Hugo Keenan’s try was quietly impressive. Although it didn’t have the flair of an ‘out the back’ flick or a Finn Russell-style ‘no-looker’, it was stylish all the same. Freeing his hands from the attempted tackle, Barrett calmly placed it into the basket of the onrushing Keenan. As always, Barrett looked cool, calm and collected with the ball in hand, adding that extra bit of class to an already deadly Leinster backline. 6
11. James Lowe: A typically impressive performance from the Leinster and Ireland winger. Heading off to Australia with the Lions in just over a month, Lowe will be pleased with his try and overall performance. The only issue he had was a particularly crazy attempt at getting under the high ball, which he missed and ended up looking like a panicked juggler. 7
10. Sam Prendergast: Guilty of losing the ball in contact on more than one occasion, and topped the charts with a remarkable six missed tackles. The public’s patience with the Irish prodigy is starting to wear thin. 4
9. Jamison Gibson-Park: Although not always particularly secure with ball-in-hand, his rapid movements from the base of the scrum proved vital for a side that were looking to ‘out-tempo’ their opposition. Another star that will be on the plane to Australia and is expected to start in the first Test. 6
Back row
8. Jack Conan: A busy day at the Aviva Stadium for the future Lions tourist. Although he didn’t beat many defenders, he carried hard, giving his Leinster teammates a solid foundation on which to work. 7
7. Josh van der Flier: Wearing his trademark red scrum cap and tackling everything that moved, it was a Van der Flier performance of old – for about a third of a game that is. Being taken off with an injury after just 28 minutes was not part of the plan, but with more challenging matches ahead, it’s important to keep the former World Player of the Year fresh. 6
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6. Ryan Baird: A solid performance by the flanker. Defensively, he didn’t have too much to do, but in attack, he looked incredibly threatening, beating four defenders from nine carries. 6
Front five
5. James Ryan: Although he had limited involvement in attack or defensively, he did help his side to secure an almost 100% set-piece win rate. 5
4. Joe McCarthy: Using his huge frame, McCarthy was able to dent the Scarlets’ defence at every possible opportunity, and even used his soft hand to put teammates in space on multiple occasions. 7
3. Tom Clarkson: Can’t argue with his scrum contributions, but he will wish that he had got involved in the rest of the game more, having only made the one tackle. 5
2. Ronan Kelleher: A 100% scrum win rate says it all, but like his front row teammates, very little action elsewhere. Can’t be too hard on them, though; set pieces need to be won for the rest of the game to flow. 5
1. Andrew Porter: Carried a lot more than his front row teammates, but remained low on the tackle counts. Will be proud of his scrum performance, however. 6
Replacements: Sheehan and Snyman stood out in what is arguably the most stacked bench in the world. Sheehan charged down kicks, popped up flicks and generally dominated in the contact area. Snyman was instrumental in adding power to the gainline attack, throwing himself into challenges, thus regaining Leinster’s momentum. 8
Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/leinster-player-ratings-lions-fullback-shines-as-the-out-of-sorts-irish-side-scrape-past-scarlets
