Leinster player ratings vs Harlequins | Investec Champions Cup 2025/26

Leinster player ratings: A 45-28 scoreline that suggests a one-sided affair, but anyone who watched this scruffy, rain-smeared affair at the Aviva will know it wasn’t quite that.

Leinster were the better team by a street yet somehow managed to be deeply frustrating, drifting in and out of rhythm despite dominating the set-piece, contact zone and territory. Harlequins, light on star power were gutsy, awkward opponents who refused to furnish Leinster with the 60-point walkover many had pencilled in.

Here’s how we rated the players:

1. Paddy McCarthy – 6
A proper stress test for the 22-year-old against 132 kilos of Harry Williams, and he didn’t shrink from it. Carried with real intent, pinched a breakdown steal, and contributed to early scrum ascendancy. Also conceded two set-piece penalties, but the net outcome was positive. A decent night’s education until replaced on 50 minutes.

2. Dan Sheehan – 6.5
The throwing radar, which malfunctioned spectacularly during Ireland’s November horror show, seemed to have been rebooted. Slick over the top, sharp timing with Joe McCarthy, and one trademark gallop in open play. Defensively secure. Off on 50.

3. Thomas Clarkson – 6.5
The game he needed, and probably the one Andy Farrell most wanted to see. Won the first scrum penalty (a 50:50 call but he’ll take it), backed it up with some at times untidy set-piece control, but looked calm in his work. Conceded the third scrum penalty but by then had established dominance. A relatively encouraging audition ahead of the Six Nations.

4. RG Snyman – NA
Gone after 17 minutes. The big South African looked ginger and the Leinster medical staff pulled him quickly. No rating.

5. Joe McCarthy – 8
Returned from a post-Lions injury block with the energy of a man who’d had a month of forcibly repressed gym fury to unload. Absolutely monstered Zach Carr in one collision, bossed the maul, and made Harlequins carriers deeply uncomfortable. A bully-boy performance in the best possible sense. Leinster have missed him.

6. Jack Conan – 6
A graft-over-glamour outing. Drifted in and out of the contest but got through plenty of unseen work. Nearly got mauled over in the 14th minute, then later forced his way over for the try that sealed the game. A curious performance: understated until suddenly very important.

7. Josh van der Flier – 8.5
Won the first turnover of the match, a tone-setter, then spent the rest of the night detonating Quins carriers like a polite wrecking ball. T-boned multiple attackers, popped up in support, and repeatedly rescued broken-phase sequences. Leinster’s standout back-rower by distance.

8. Caelan Doris – 6
Quiet by his standards. Hit his tackles, made the right shapes, and didn’t spill possession in the wet, but never quite imposed himself. A functional rather than flourishing performance.

9. Jamison Gibson-Park – 7
Looked a totally different creature from the man who spent the last weekend of November Tests being dug out from beneath South African bodies. Leinster’s front-foot dominance let him play at snappy tempo, highlighted by the slick assist for Larmour’s opener. Urgent passing and decent game feel throughout.

10. Sam Prendergast – 6.5
The full Prendo experience. Two gorgeous early touchfinders, a sumptuous crossfield kick for Larmour’s second, and some genuinely thrilling passing sequences. Also: one sliced touchfinder, several high-risk decisions that had the coaches chewing lanyards, and the usual air of mild chaos.

11. Jordan Larmour – 8.5
A menace from the off. Barrelling over for the opener, taking his second like candy from a baby via Prendergast’s crossfield bomb, and terrorising Harlequins in the air and on the deck. Fought a brilliant, bruising duel with Murley. Sadly left the field seven minutes from time and it looked serious.

12. Ciaran Frawley – 8
Looked comfortable at 12 and burst onto a loose lineout ball to slice through Quins before half-time for a decisive try. His hands helped fixed defenders and facilitated Ringrose’s score. A clever, industrious outing.

13. Garry Ringrose – 7
Slick catch-pass for his 16th-minute try. Defensively reliable as ever. One of those Ringrose displays where nothing is flashy but everything is tidy.

14. Tommy O’Brien – 8
The wandering minstrel of the Leinster backline was everywhere, hunting kicks, chasing lost causes, and showing outrageous skill for his solo grubber-and-gather try in the 60th minute. Proved a constant irritation for Quins defenders and earned every decibel of applause.

15. Jimmy O’Brien – 5.5
Good kick-chase combinations with Prendergast, calm under the high ball, and finished his late try well. However, the yellow card for a one-handed intercept attempt gave Quins a penalty try and briefly flipped momentum. A mixture of quality and costly.

REPLACEMENTS

16. Ronan Kelleher – 6
Solid darts, good tempo. Did what was required without frills.

17. Jack Boyle – 5
Carried hard but ball security wobbled and he conceded a scrum penalty after Leinster had held ascendancy.

18. Tadhg Furlong – 6
The scrum continued with Leinster holding the edge over Quins for the most part.

19. Diarmuid Mangan – 7.5
Made a real impression. Dominated collisions, worked tirelessly, and ensured Leinster kept momentum after Snyman’s early exit.

20. Max Deegan – NA
A late cameo, tidy enough in contact.

21. Luke McGrath – 6
Kept tempo high and made no errors. A nice straight line in the lead-up to Tommy O’Brien’s try.

22. Harry Byrne – 8
Excellent cameo. Calmed everything down after Prendergast’s scattergun adventure, kicked three conversions, and showed he too can drop in the crossfield kick when required. Mature, composed, authoritative.

23. Rieko Ioane – 7
Not a blockbuster debut, but a promising one. Looked like a man still learning the playbook, but carried sharply, defended honestly, and delivered an unselfish assist for Jimmy O’Brien’s try. Once he syncs with Leinster’s structures, the fun begins.