Following Leinster’s 37-19 victory over the Glasgow Warriors in the United Rugby Championship semi-final, here’s how we rated Leo Cullen’s charges.
Leinster player ratings
- 15 Jimmy O’Brien: Elusive on attack and solid at the back. Provided a spark when needed and the same was true when he needed to be the calm head at the back. He filled Hugo Keenan’s void superbly. 7
- 14 Tommy O’Brien: Yet another livewire shift from the all-action winger. He was brilliant under the high ball and was relentless in defence with good reads and a couple of turnovers. A Test debut is just a formality but he will be more concerned about the final. 8
- 13 Jamie Osborne: Denied a try after overrunning his support line and received a forward pass from Gibson-Park but he quickly got on the board soon after. Regularly got over the advantage line and added a second score. 8
- 12 Jordie Barrett: Strong ball carries and excellent hands. Came close to scoring only to be held up over the line. He was solid overall as the All Blacks star extended his Irish stay for another week. 7
- 11 James Lowe: A fiery performance from the Lions squad member who set up a try, kicked well and was superb under the high ball. He was pivotal to Leinster’s success. 8
- 10 Sam Prendergast: Played a strong supporting role to his brilliant halfback partner. While he did have a solid enough outing, there were still soft moments and was poor defensively again making just one of his five tackle attempts. He also struggled off the tee which didn’t matter today but that could be the difference in the final – that will concern the coaches. 5
- 9 Jamison Gibson-Park: His forward pass aside, it was another world-class outing from the scrum-half who is surely the frontrunner to wear the British and Irish Lions number nine jersey in Australia. He dictated play and comfortably outplayed his opposing number. 8
- 8 Jack Conan: The stand-in captain simply got the job done with a stock-standard powerhouse shift on both sides of the ball. Nothing overly fancy as he executed the basics well. 7
- 7 Scott Penny: Leinster’s busiest defender with 15 tackles and was strong over the ball at the breakdown too. Josh van der Flier was not missed today which is an indication as to just how well Penny played. 7
- 6 Ryan Baird: The official man of the match and rightly so. It was a stunning performance from the athletic lock-blindside hybrid who was effective in every single facet of the game. 8
- 5 James Ryan: Outside of his penalty for a neck roll at the breakdown, it was a strong outing from the second rower who was relentless in the rucks. Ticked the boxes in the engine room as Leinster dominated up front. 7
- 4 Joe McCarthy: Much the same as his second-row partner as he also put the pressure on the Glasgow lineout including a steal in the opening 20 minutes. Effective with ball in hand too as he punched through the Warriors’ defence. 8
- 3 Thomas Clarkson: Scored a try and won the set-piece battle. Another excellent shift from the tighthead. 8
- 2 Dan Sheehan: He grabbed a brace scoring the first off a brilliant line. Sheehan was excellent around the park but his lineout throws weren’t of his usual standard and that has to improve next week. 8
- 1 Andrew Porter: Played his part in the demolition job of the Glasgow pack and did so brilliantly. 7
- Replacements: The bench simply picked up from where the starters left off with every player putting in solid performances. There was a late drop-off but the game was far out of Glasgow’s reach by that stage. 7
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Source: Planet Rugby.
