Player Ratings: Leinster v Scarlets

Player Ratings: Leinster v Scarlets

Leinster edged Scarlets 22-17 in a replay of last season's PRO14 Final. 

We ranked every starting player's performance out of a possible 10 from clash:

Leinster Rugby

1. Jack McGrath - 7.5

Solid at the scrum and as per usual did not take a step back on defence or on attack making 6 carries and 9 tackles. He did, however, miss three tackles. 


2. James Tracy - 8

Excellent at the set pieces from the first minute of the game until he was taken off in the 60th minute. Made 11 tackles without missing a single one. 


3. Michael Bent - 8

Gave Phil Price a bit of a hard time at the scrums. Also made 9 tackles before taking a breather in the 69th minute.

4. Ross Molony - 9



Put in a man of the match performance with strong carries, hard tackles and enjoyed a stellar evening at lineout time. 

Contested well on Scarlets ball at the lineouts making it incredibly difficult for the visitors to get good first phase ball.

5. Mick Kearney - 8 

Worked well with Molony at lineout time and made 14 tackles while being aggressive with carries.

6. Max Deegan - 7.5

Another great ball carrying option for the Leinster pack, Deegan was also solid on defence and worked well with Penny to disrupt the Scarlets attacking ball. 

7. Scott Penny - 8.5

Got stuck into just about every ruck he was near and made a match-high of 20 tackles. The battle between him and Dan Davis at the ruck was worth the gate fee. 

8. Caelan Doris - 7.5

Solid and made some great runs. Did well to link up play and had one or two good offloads from the ground to O'Sullivan.

9. Hugh O'Sullivan - 8 

Got some great height on his kicks that were brilliantly chased by Daly and Lowe. He dictated play and linked up with Frawley before making way for Gibson-Park who just picked off from where O'Sullivan left off.

10. Ciaran Frawley - 7.5

Another solid outing for the youngster who looks more and more at home in the Blue number 10 jersey. He made all of his tackles and tested the Scarlets defensive line with the odd dummy.

11. James Lowe - 8



Went looking for work whether he was chasing kicks, cleaning on the other side of the pitch or mixing it up in the midfield. Finished off a try nicely from close range and barely looked a step off the pace having not played this year. 

12. Conor O'Brien - 8

Another youngster who looks more and more at home in a starting jersey. He carried well from the outset, especially from set pieces and showed off his offloading ability. 

13. Rory O'Loughlin - 7.5 

Combined well with O'Brien running some neat lines while defending well and showing his off his strength to score just before the half time whistle. 

14. Barry Daly - 9 

Excellent performance both offensively and defensively. He was unlucky not walk away with the man of the match award as he chased down box kick after box kick and was finally rewarded with a try in the 72nd minute.

15. Rob Kearney - 6.5

A quiet evening for Kearney who made a rare handling error in the first half. He was solid as ever under the high ball and kicked well but was subbed off in the 60th minute.

Scarlets

1. Phil Price - 6

Battled well with Bent but the Leinster man ultimately got the upper hand. He was busy around the park making 6 carries and 9 tackles.

2. Marc Jones - 7.5

Was able to keep a 100% lineout completion despite the pressure applied by Leinster. Like his opposite number he hit double digits in the tackles department and made 7 carries. 

3. Werner Kruger - 6

Solid at scrum time. Criminally gave possession away in the 20th minute with a knock on while Scarlets were applying the pressure. 

4. Jake Ball - 8

Strong carries and tackles looking fresh which will be a positive sign for the Welsh coaching staff. 

5. David Bulbring - n/a

Was taken off after just 4 minutes.

6. Tom Price - 7 

Got stuck into the big Leinster pack making 7 tackles and battling well at the breakdown. 

7. Dan Davis - 8.5

Cut off Leinster's attack in the early stages of the game with some brilliant breakdown work. Continued to battle hard throughout the game and was one of the best Scarlets on the night.

8. Josh Macleod - 8

Was defensive rock making 16 tackles which allowed his fellow looseforwards the freedom to attack the breakdown.

9. Kieran Hardy  - 8.5



Made a great break inside the opening 10 minutes that was wasted by a penalty against Scarlets. Consantly test the fringe defenders and finished the match with over 100 metres.

10. Dan Jones - 7 

Good with ball in hand and made some clever clearance kicks. Made a few questionable calls with a few cross kicks but an otherwise solid performance.

11. Paul Asquith - 7.5


Made a great intercept but failed to dot the ball down. Besides that Asquith was one of the biggest threats to the Leinster defence making 107 running metres beating 4 defenders.

12. Steffan Hughes - 6.5

Worked hard with Fonotia defensively to keep O'Brien and O'Loughlin relatively quiet. Spread the ball well but was taken off in the 53rd minute.

13. Kieron Fonotia - 8

Looked lively from the kickoff, constantly looking to keep the ball alive which did lead to one or two poor/ forward passes. He sparked a number of Scarlets attacks and beat 7 defenders. 

14. Ioan Nicholas - 7

Saw little ball but made the most of it when he did making 48 running metres and beating 6 defenders. 

Early intercept and soon after made a great run deep into the Leinster 22 that was only stopped by a great tackle and turnover. 

15. Johnny McNicholl - 8.5

Constantly kept the Leinster defence of their toes with some blistering runs from fullback. Contested well in the air and kicked well. He also beat 6 defenders and made 2 clean breaks making 75 running metres. 

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