Player Ratings - Leinster vs Saracens
- 4040
Leinster
- Rob Kearney - 8
Looks to have taken his form from the Six Nations back to club rugby. Solid under the high ball and threatening in the attacking line.
- Fergus McFadden - 7
Silly penalty for hands on the floor gave Sarries the opportunity to score just before the break. Looks to be of a different mould to the rest of the Leinster backline as his first instinct is always to take the ball into contact. His defence was immense and he even got on the scoreboard as he slotted a conversion.
- Garry Ringrose - 8
Got over for the first try of the game with a good support line. Ran hard and fast at the Sarries defence, causing them real problems. His clever grubbers in behind put Sarries’ cover defence under pressure.
- Isa Nacewa - 8
Set up Garry Ringrose’s early try with a great break and pass inside. Was unlucky not to glide through the defence in the 2nd half, when Farrell just managed to dislodge the ball from his grasp.
- James Lowe - 7
Got a big fend on and a good offload inside to Nacewa, which created Leinster’s opening try. Good play in the corner to clear as well. Challenged for box kicks well in the air.
- Johnny Sexton - 8
Ran the game well from stand-off. Made some great tackles throughout the game. Gave away a stupid penalty late in the first period that gave Sarries the opportunity to cancel out his earlier effort. However, he kicked well at goal which made up for that lapse in concentration.
- Luke McGrath – 7
Great box-kicking helped win field position. Created a couple of linebreaks with good passes to his forwards around the ruck.
- Jordi Murphy - 8
Great hands out wide created the Sexton break that led to Lowe’s try. He then assisted the winger by driving him towards the try-line. Did a lot of hard graft that will go unnoticed.
- Dan Leavy - 9
Went over for a great try early in the 2nd half. Made another clean break later in the half that led to Leinster’s 3rd try. His great counter-rucking won the ball back for his side on a couple of occasions.
- Scott Fardy - 7
Did well to disrupt Sarries lineout in the dying moments of the first period. Made some dominant hits throughout the game, stopping Sarries in their tracks.
- James Ryan - 9
Played with great attrition in every action. Making aggressive tackles and carrying with intent. Showed how good his skills are to setup Leavy’s try with a deft inside pass. His fantastic carrying created the space which led to Lowe’s try in the 2nd half. He also helped the winger over the try-line with a powerful drive.
- Devin Toner - 6
Performed well at the lineout which is his primary role. Made some great chop tackles, which is impressive for such a tall man. However he was sent to the bin for a silly infringement late on.
- Tadhg Furlong - 7
Solid in the scrum, up against his Lions partner Vunipola. Great tackles in the loose gave Leinster opportunities to get the ball back.
- Sean Cronin - 6
His lineout throwing was on point today and it gave Leinster a good platform to attack off of.
- Cian Healy - 7
Great work to turnover the ball and win a penalty 5m from the Sarries try-line after 30 mins.
Saracens
- Alex Goode – 8
Entered the attacking line at pace, asking questions of Leinster’s backline. Was effective on the counter-attack as well on a day when the Saracens fans didn’t have a lot to shout about.
- Liam Williams - 5
Wasn’t as involved in the game as much as he would have liked prior to his substitution due to a head injury.
- Marcelo Bosch - 5
Effortlessly slotted a kick from halfway to bring the deficit back to just one point. Was relatively quiet other than that and was outclassed by his opposite number.
- Brad Barritt - 6
Served his purpose of straightening and fixing Leinster defenders on the hit line. Nacewa was a class above him today though.
- Sean Maitland - 7
Chased kicks well, winning the ball back for Sarries on a couple of occasions. Was one of Sarries most involved backs on the field.
- Owen Farrell - 7
His distribution was a joy to behold, as he threw pinpoint-accurate skip passes that put Sarries on the outside of Leinster. Had a perfect success rate off the tee. Was caught out of position on a couple of occasions in defence.
- Richard Wigglesworth - 6
Fantastic box kicking put pressure on the Leinster back-three and gave Maitland great chances to win the ball back. Was lucky to stay on the field after a shoulder-charge on Sexton in the first half.
- Jackson Wray - 5
Ineffective in attack as a ball carrier, as he was chopped low. Made one good break in the 2nd half after he caught the restart but it looked like the Leinster forwards got inside his head, as he dropped the ball on a couple of occasions before contact.
- Schalk Burger - 6
Was visibly frustrated as he failed to get a single turnover at the breakdown, up against an international standard Leinster pack.
- Nick Isiekwe - 6
Stood up and was counted on the biggest day of his young career. Good takes from the restarts but was caught out badly in defence on a couple of occasions, as he was caught ball-watching and was beaten on the outside.
- George Kruis - 5
Was poor today. Didn’t carry as often as usual and was beaten in the lineout.
- Maro Itoje - 7
Did a great job making a nuisance of himself and disrupting Leinster’s maul and rucks. Won his lineout ball up against a very tall Leinster second-row pairing.
- Juan Figallo - 5
Was at fault for Leinster’s 2nd try as he left his post at the pillar of the ruck, leaving a massive hole for Leavy to go through. Healy really ripped him to pieces at scrum-time.
- Jamie George - 7
Good carrying in the first half as he beat a number of defenders. Made a big hit on Healy that forced a knock on. It’s a pity that Sarries can’t have both him and Brits on the field at the same time.
- Mako Vunipola - 7
Made some great carries and dominant hits throughout the game. Again, worked well as a link man, feeding the ball to Farrell on a plate on screen plays.
Replacements
- Schalk Brits - 7
Made some great carries after his introduction in the 2nd half.
