Player Ratings: Leinster 15-27 Scarlets
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Tonight we witnessed one of the most impressive performance from the Scarlets as they went down to 14 before half time but went on to defeat Leinster 27-15 at the RDS. We take a look at how each player performed for their side's tonight.
Leinster
1. Jack McGrath (N/A)
A premature end for the Irish & Leinster loose head. An injury worry for the Lions tour as he made way for Healy after 9 minutes.
2. James Tracey (5/10)
Tracey's workload output cannot be doubted but a number of handling errors and turnovers conceded let down his overall performance.
3. Tadhg Furlong (6/10)
Alongside his front row partner McGrath, Furlong left the field through injury with 20 minutes to go. Furlong was one of Leinster's more impressive players with 6 strong carries before his early end to the game.
4. Ross Molony (5/10)
A passenger for most of the game, Molony will be disappointed with his impact for Leinster over 80 minutes.
5. Hayden Triggs (5/10)
An RDS farewell for the 35 year old. Triggs showed passion in his play carrying hard and working from ruck to ruck endlessly. He will be disappointed he didn't get to stay on for longer but 7 tackles & 2 big carries was a solid performance
6. Rhys Ruddock (6/10)
Ruddock caused issues for Scarlets early on in the loose carrying hard and punching holes in the Scarlets defence. Made way for Leavy after 46 minutes as Leinster looked to put the pedal on the gas.
7. Josh Van der Flier (5/10)
A mixed bag for Van Der Flier. Always looking for spaces at the edge of rucks to make yards but some silly errors including a late high tackle sums his evening.
8. Jack Conan (7/10)
One of Leinster's better performers. Conan continues to grow into the #8 jersey and added anothet try to the collection tonight. A small positive in a poor team performance
9. Luke McGrath (N/A)
Looked almost certain to be away for a try early on but was caught by the pace of Steff Evans & Liam Williams. Left the game early on through injury.
10. Jonathan Sexton (5/10)
Involved in an early scuffle with Gareth Davies. Sexton tried & tried in wide play but never really took the game by the collar. Maybe would have put away the vital kick which Nacewa missed.
11. Isa Nacewa (5/10)
Usually a star performer in big games. The Leinster veteran produced an indifferent performance missing the easiest of conversions which could have kicked on a Leinster come back in the second half. Gratious in defeat in his interview after the game, Nacewa admitted his side were not at the races this evening.
12. Robbie Henshaw (6/10)
In a shaky start, there was a few early handling errors from Henshaw but the midlands man recovered to continue to make hard yards by crashing it up the middle. Ultimately the Leinster attack struggled to get through the brave Scarlets defence & Henshaw was shut out in the second half.
13. Garry Ringrose (7/10)
Caught lapsing in defence early on for the Scarlets' tries but redeemed himself with some line breaks & a try after some great work from Conan. Also at the centre of controversy as Steff Evans tip tackled Ringrose and correctly saw red.
14. Adam Byrne (5/10)
A quiet performance from the young flyer. A disappointing week for Byrne as he was left out of Ireland's summer squad but did not see enough ball to make an impression tonight apart from one break down the wing in the first half.
15. Joey Carbery (6/10)
The Leinster & PRO12 Young Player of the Year looked electric as usually with his brave running from deep and impressive footwork but didn't make any notable breaks for his side as the Scarlets' defence remained water tight.
Honourable mentions from the bench:
17. Cian Healy (5/10)
A rather early entrant to the game from the bench. Healy looked to carry and cause the Scarlets scrum hassle but will be unhappy with the team's performance.
20. Dan Leavy (5/10)
A much improved player this season, Leavy entered the field in place of Ruddock early in the second half but never really got into the game.
21. Jamison Gibson-Park (6/10)
Looked bright after coming on for McGrath early in the game. Gibson-Park looked to switch up play and keep the Scarlets defence guessing but handling errors from the backline all night let down his hard work.
Scarlets
- Rob Evans – (6/10)
Pretty quiet afternoon for the loosehead. Did reasonably well at scrum time but failed to really carry the ball enough.
- Ryan Elias – (6/10)
Very accurate at the lineout, posting an impressive success rate of 92%. Also failed to make an impression with ball in hand but put in some big tackles in defence.
- Samson Lee – (7/10)
Did well at the scrum under some big pressure from Leinster at times. Put in a good shift defensively and made some vital carries.
- Lewis Rawlins – (6/10)
Good option at lineout time. Put in a solid shift at the breakdown and stood up in defence to make some vital tackles. Failed to make much of an attacking impression with ball in hand.
- Tadhg Beirne – (7/10)
Put in a big defensive shift and carried well at times. Good option at the lineout and hit an impressive number of rucks.
- Aaron Shingler – (8/10)
Very solid work rate throughout. High tackle count and high number of rucks hit. Scorer of an excellent try in the first half.
- James Davies – (9/10)
Carried well and put in a good shift at the breakdown. Made 10 tackles at some crucial periods of the game and was the deserving winner of the man of the match award.
- John Barclay – (7/10)
Quiet enough afternoon for Barclay. Got through a solid amount of work at the breakdown and made some vital defensive tackles. However, he failed to make a real impact in an attacking sense.
- Gareth Davies – (6/10)
Another solid performance from the scrum-half. Controlled his backline well and executed some perfect box kicks. Substituted after just 50 minutes.
- Rhys Patchell – (7/10)
Made a few brilliant breaks and recorded a 100% success rate from the tee. However, some question marks over his defence.
- Steff Evans – (6/10)
Performed incredibly in the first half, scoring an excellent try and setting up another. Unfortunately he was sent off after a tip tackle on Garry Ringrose but he was lucky it didn’t cost his side in the end.
- Scott Williams – (7/10)
Solid defensively and hard working at the breakdown. Made a couple of incredible breaks and gave it his absolute all for 80 minutes. Posed a constant threat in attack both with ball in hand and with some accurate territorial kicking.
- Jonathan Davies – (8/10)
Put together some excellent phases of play. Kicked really well and poses a constant threat with ball in hand.
- Liam Williams – (8/10)
Another very impressive performance from the wide man. Posed a real threat with ball in hand, kicked well and competed bravely in the air. Caused the Leinster defence some real problems defensively.
- Johnny McNicholl – (7/10)
Consistent under the high ball. Put in a very solid defensive shift and kicked well when required. Failed to make much of an impression with ball in hand.
Honourable mentions from the bench:
- Wyn Jones – (6/10)
Struggled to make a significant impact off the bench. Put in a good shift and got through a respectable amount of work.
- Jonathan Evans – (7/10)
Put in a very good shift at scrum-half when called upon early in the second half. Marshalled the backline well and put in some excellent territorial box kicks.
- Hadleigh Parkes (7/10)
Continued the good work of Rhys Patchell when called upon from the bench. Kicked well out of hand and threw some excellent passes to set teammates into space in attack.
