Following an incredible 10-7 victory over the Sharks in the United Rugby Championship clash at Kings Park Stadium on Saturday, here are the player ratings for Leinster.
15 Jimmy O’Brien: Absolutely fantastic under the high ball as he defused the Sharks bombs. Injury has seen O’Brien move out of the Ireland reckoning but performances like this will certainly help him going forward. 8
14 Tommy O’Brien: Had to go off for a HIA and his replacement scored Leinster’s first try. Altogether it was a relatively quiet day for the wings but O’Brien did the basics very well. 6
13 Liam Turner: A solid day at the office from the centre as he did his defensive duties well before being taken off in the second period. 6
12 Charlie Tector: Missed a few too many tackles but that’s perhaps due to that Jacques Nienaber defensive system where the players fly up. Alongside Turner, they really got breached to any great effect. 6
11 Andrew Osborne: See O’Brien, although Osborne made a few more errors. He is a real talent with ball in hand but he didn’t see much of it. 5
Low on confience
10 Ciarán Frawley: Had an opportunity to prove himself after a pretty dreadful few months personally, but he struggled once again. Confidence is evidently low and, despite a nice assist for Scott Penny’s try and a great tackle on Ethan Hooker, there were so many errors from Frawley. Was rather bailed out by his lesser experienced team-mates. 4
9 Fintan Gunne: An impressive first start from the youngster whose box-kicking and general game control was excellent. Gunne is another off the superb Leinster production line and it won’t be a surprise if he is challenging Jamison Gibson-Park for that starting shirt soon. 8
8 Max Deegan (c): The captain led by example to inspire his team to victory. Deegan was physical throughout against a big Sharks pack as he carried incredibly hard and was resolute in defence. Superb. 9
7 Will Connors: Not quite as influential as last week but Connors was part of an effective back-row unit that continually frustrated the hosts. Connors is such a good tackler and that was important on Saturday. 6
👉 Sharks v Leinster: Five takeaways as the Jacques Nienaber’s effect ‘exposes’ Springboks-laden hosts’ soft underbelly
Great shifts
6 Alex Soroka: Put himself about as he always does when given an opportunity. Soroka was physical in the loose and was a useful option in the lineout in what was an excellent effort. 8
5 Brian Deeny: A fine shift from the lock, who continues to look at home in this esteemed company. Deeny did his job well in both the set-piece and the loose as he gave a good performance. 7
4 Diarmuid Mangan: Another who had a super shift at the coalface for the visitors. Mangan got around the field really well and never let the opposition relax. 7
3 Thomas Clarkson: Unsurprisingly, against the imposing Springbok Ox Nche, the scrum was a bit of an issue. He made up for it with his work around the field, but thankfully for Leinster, the set-piece did not cost them the game. 5
2 John McKee: Did the basics well with his lineout throwing very solid, but it was in defence where the hooker stood tallest. There were some excellent moments without the ball as Leinster restricted a very talented Sharks team to just one try. 7
1 Cian Healy: Like Clarkson, the scrum did not go smoothly, but it was not too much of a factor in the game as they managed to keep the number of set-piece opportunities down. 5
Replacements: Henry McErlean and Scott Penny managed to get themselves on the scoresheet, but they were holding on a bit at the end when the replacements came on, with the front-row particularly struggling. 5
Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/leinster-player-ratings-mammoth-effort-from-the-next-generation-bails-out-discarded-ireland-playmaker-as-struggles-continue
