Leinster player ratings vs La Rochelle | Investec Champions Cup

Leinster overcame La Rochelle 16 – 14 in a titanic struggle at the Stade Marcel-Deflandre.

Scraping home on the back of a heroic defensive shift in the final twenty minutes, Leinster proved unequivocally that they are a different beast this season.

Billed as a heavyweight showdown, the fixture had all of the drama of a title fight slugfest, which felt more like the first of a two-match series this season.

Here is how the Leinster players fared.

1. Cian Healy – 3
Conceded three penalties early on, which put his side under pressure, albeit he held on when it was really necessary under the weight of Uini Antonio. He would depart in the 19th minute in what appeared to be a tactical substitution similar to Jack Boyle’s against Munster.

2. Ronan Kelleher – 6
Defensively the hooker was immense, making double-digit tackles in the first half alone. At line-out time, he had a mixed day with La Rochelle contesting every through with venom. This pressure saw him miss his mark on multiple occasions costing his side dearly.

3. Tadhg Furlong – 6
Forced into uncharacteristic mistakes, which is not surprising given he has spent the past few months on the sideline. This being said, he was exceptional defensively, in particular during a maul in the 43rd minute, where he brought a halt to a promising La Rochelle drive.

4. Joe McCarthy – 7
Scorched away for the opening try was just rewards for a monstrous thirty-minute defensive shift. Clearly relishing the challenge of La Rochelle’s physicality, in the tight exchanges, he managed to wrap carries up, ensuring a slow breakdown. Departing the action six minutes into the second half, having emptied the tank with his team holding a narrow lead, brought to an end an efficient afternoon.

5. James Ryan – 7.5
Got through a ton of work around the breakdown, forcing La Rochelle to commit bodies to secure the ball. His efforts, combined with his fellow forwards, by and large, limited La Rochelle’s ability to get on the front foot.

6. Ryan Baird – 8
He went off on one of his gallivanting runs for Leinster’s first real breakthrough, but it was his nastiness in defence which caught the eye. He followed this up with a superb deft pass to send Jamie Osborne through a hole for Joe McCarthy’s opening try.

7. Josh van der Flier – 9
Exceptional from the off as he wreaked havoc at the breakdown, taking an extra second to roll away at every opportunity. Bursting free in the 53rd minute to put his side in a try-scoring position only to have to dive at the feet of Dillyn Leyds to deny him going the other way for a try seconds later offered a snapshot of his work rate. Further emphasising this effort was a durcell bunny like fizzing effort to charge down a late Antoine Hastoy drop goal attempt from right in front.

8. Caelan Doris – 9.5
Firmly got the better of his opposite number Alldritt as he barrelled over La Rochelle defenders. On the other side of the ball, he targeted the ball in the tackle, winning three turnovers in the first half.

Going the full eighty, the skipper ended his day with 29 tackles, 13 carries, 3 turnovers and 2 offloads for what might’ve been the most impressive forward performance through the opening three rounds.

9. Jamison Gibson-Park – 7.5
Buying into his side’s new identity as a defensive juggernaut, the scrumhalf caught his opposite number Kerr-Barlow in the 19th minute to bring an end to the home side’s promising early attack.

10. Sam Prendergast – 5
Renowned for his time on the ball, the youngster was clearly targeted by La Rochelle, who flustered him with two first-half kick charge downs that put his side under immense pressure. This was followed by a near pass charge down try which was ultimately called back for a knock-on.

This lack of time and space in the first half dulled his effectiveness and caused the Leinster backline to stutter. Defensively, Leinster did a decent job of hiding him from big collisions, but it was noticeable that he slipped a few tackles. Unlike previous outings, he was removed relatively early, with Ciaran Frawley and Ross Byrne coming in with twenty minutes to play.

On the positive of things, his ability to get every inch out of kicks for touch put his pack in promising positions whilst his kicking for goal was effortlessly smooth.

11. Jamie Osborne – 6
Caught narrow on a number of occasions which is not entirely unsurprising given he was playing out of position. To the credit of both himself and his teammates, they hustled hard to track back despite immense pressure. of Regrouping to show his quality with his first real opportunity as he put Joe McCarthy over for the opening try.

12. Robbie Henshaw – 8.5
Built for occasions like this, the veteran centre’s ability to cover Prendergast and shut down the space left by Ringrose’s blitz kept the structural integrity of the defensive system. A key example of this was his effort to stop a La Rochelle attack in the 64th minute when Ringrose missed Leyds one-on-one.

13. Garry Ringrose – 8
Six missed tackles in the opening half is the new norm for Ringrose, but unlike previous fixtures, he was caught in no man’s land at times. Fortunately, the Nienaber system stood firm, with players around him covering the space.

When the tackles did stick, he caught La Rochelle carriers deep behind the gain line, namely when he battered UJ Seuteni in the 57th minute, halting La Rochelle’s best-attacking effort to that point. Three minutes later, he clattered for a tickling tackle into Antoine Hastoy, which had the flyhalf out of action for a few minutes.

14. Jimmy O’Brien – 6.5
Running brilliant lines off the ball and covering the gaps left when Osborne and Ringrose rushed up, O’Brien served a timely reminder of what he brings to the party ahead of the Six Nations. Despite limited opportunities, he beat defenders

15. Jordie Barrett – 8.5
Given his ‘welcome to the Champions Cup’ moment courtesy of a big hit from Uini Antonio inside the first five minutes, the All Black unsurprisingly bounced back magnificently. Outside of a few positioning mishaps, he generally returned kicks with interest both in the carry and from the boot. His physicality in defence covered for a few breakdowns in the system when Leinster were caught narrow.

Topping the carry charts with 14 for 72 meters to go with his long-range kicks kept Leinster in the right areas.

Substitutes
16. Gus McCarthy – 7.5
He put his body on the line for what was a brutal ten-minute shift to close out the contest when his team were firmly under the pump. At line-out time, he found his jumpers in what a promising showing following a difficult run-up to that point.

17. Andrew Porter – 6
Another mixed showing at scrum time: Porter struggled to hold up George Henri-Colombes when the Leinster pack made the concerted effort to really go after the La Rochelle scrum. Porter looked more comfortable than when they simply looked to lock things out.

18. Rabah Slimani – 6
Battered at scrum time on a few occasions by Alexandre Kaddouri who drove him skyward. Fortunately for the French veteran, he recovered to hold his own when La Rochelle had a scrum on full-time, which denied the hosts a chance at a late penalty.

19. RG Snyman – 6.5
Assumed the enforcer role when he replaced McCarthy, the big Bok proved he could do the hard yards to go with his flash play. Utilising all of his 6’9″ frame to reach through rucks and put his feet in awkward positions, his employment of the dark arts was subtle but effective.

20. Jack Conan
Brought his trademark punch from the bench as

21. Luke McGrath – 8
Came on for the final nine minutes and immediately a fire cauldron of a clash where the home side was gaining the ascendancy. His box kicking was good, given the circumstances where bodies were piling through the breakdown. Defensively, the experienced halfback was monstrous with some big-time open field tackles, one of which he was the last man facing two La Rochelle defenders in the 81st minute.

22. Ross Byrne – 6.5
He brought a calm head in a chaotic environment, putting himself about defensively, notably targeting the ball before his support arrived. His missed penalty in the 68th minute was out of character but fortunately for his side wasn’t costly.

23. Ciaran Frawley – 4
Slotted in at fullback and was brutally exposed by a superb Antoine Hastoy crossfield kick to Dillyn Leyds who chipped forward to score.