Leinster player ratings vs Lions | URC 2026/27

Leinster player ratings: With a few exceptions, this was a Leinster B side, but they arrived at Ellis Park with a clear intent to upset the hosts, albeit in front of a pretty poor crowd. Leinster were brave, ambitious and willing to move the ball, but they ultimately made too many errors with ball in hand and the Lions punished them despite enjoying far less possession for large spells.

An appalling scrum once again hurt Leinster’s efforts repeatedly and remains a massive headache for Leo Cullen, particularly when the pressure started to mount in the second half.

It ended up 27-26, with Leinster bagging two losing bonus points in the dying moments.

15. Todd Lawlor – 5.5
A mixed afternoon. Missed a poor tackle on Kelly Mpeku on 20 minutes that nearly led to a Lions score and produced a poor touchfinder after the break. That said, there were still glimpses of promise, including a decent carry from deep before the interval. Patchy but not entirely unpromising before being withdrawn after giving everything.

14. Tommy O’Brien – 7
Typical TOB performance in many ways. Constantly looking to inject attacking intent and was unlucky not to score after a lovely chip ahead only for the bounce to defeat him. Produced a strong break before the Lions’ second try and made a superb aerial take on 59 minutes, although he was then penalised for not releasing.

13. Hugh Cooney – 6
Showed some really decent hands in midfield and linked nicely with Caspar Gabriel on a move that should probably have ended in a try. Unfortunately, when the chance came back to him he failed to finish in the corner. Also missed a midfield tackle before Erich Cronje’s second try. Plenty of endeavour, but not quite enough accuracy.

12. Charlie Tector – 7
Tasked with plenty of defensive work in the opening quarter and generally handled it well. Produced a huge clearance kick late in the first half to relieve pressure and was heavily involved in the move that led to Leinster’s third try. Knocked on attempting an intercept later on, but it was hard to blame him for backing himself.

11. Andrew Osborne – 6
Didn’t cause the Lions a huge amount of trouble out wide but largely kept his nose clean. Produced a nice break early in the second half when the defence opened up in front of him, but never quite imposed himself on proceedings.

10. Caspar Gabriel – 7.5
An imperfect but ultimately encouraging display on only his second Leinster appearance. Hooked an early conversion and was fairly pedestrian during the opening 20 minutes, but gradually grew into the contest. Started probing weak shoulders, created attacking moments throughout and his superb break and assist just before half-time completed Fintan Gunne’s hat-trick. Missed a long-range penalty but carried genuine threat whenever he had the ball.

9. Fintan Gunne – 8.5
The hat-trick hero. Sniped over from close range after five minutes, finished a superb team move for his second and completed the treble before half-time. His support lines were excellent all afternoon. Will be frustrated by one charged-down kick that handed the Lions territory, but he was comfortably one of Leinster’s most dangerous players.

1. Alex Usanov – 4.5
Won an early scrum penalty and initially looked capable of handling the occasion, but life became increasingly difficult as the game wore on. Sebastian Lombard repeatedly tested him and most of the Lions’ scrum pressure arrived on his side. A tough day at the office before Peter Dooley replaced him.

2. Gus McCarthy – 7
Got through a mountain of work around the park and was heavily involved in Leinster’s carrying game. His set-piece work held up reasonably well amid the wider scrum difficulties and he rarely took a backwards step physically.

3. Andrew Porter – 6
Back on the tighthead side after four seasons at loosehead and will probably be relatively satisfied with much of his scrummaging work, early doors at least. The majority of the first-half pressure came on the opposite side and he was also physical in the loose, carrying hard and resembling a brick wall defensively. However, the scrum picture deteriorated later in the game and he got dragged into the wider collapse.

4. Ryan Baird – 4
A day to forget. Back from injury and never really found any rhythm. Knocked on in attack during the first half, somehow knocked on at a ruck after the interval and then dropped another ball on 53 minutes. You felt for him. Usually so athletic and dynamic, but he genuinely couldn’t catch a cold at Ellis Park.

5. Conor O’Tighearnaigh – 6.5
Not quite as prominent physically as he has been at times, but quietly produced a solid shift. Benefited from Chris Smith accidentally passing him the ball after the break and generally did plenty of unseen graft in tight.

6. Max Deegan (c) – 5.5
Worked hard without ever really putting his head above the parapet. There was solid industry and effort, but the game felt like it passed him by at times. One of those performances where he was neither particularly good nor particularly poor.

7. Scott Penny – 5
A rare off day. Lost possession in contact during the first half and struggled to produce his usual influence around the breakdown. Failed to stamp himself on the contest in the way Leinster would have expected.

8. Josh Ericson – 8
Leinster’s standout forward. Produced a huge break through the middle to create Gunne’s second try and carried effectively throughout. The altitude appeared to catch up with him somewhat as the game wore on, but he was still comfortably Leinster’s most impactful ball-carrying forward.

Replacements – 6
Peter Dooley was a slight improvement, temporarily at least, at scrum time after replacing Usanov and Brian Deeny also made a positive contribution when introduced. Harry Byrne, Dylan McNeice, Stephen Smyth, Niall Smyth, Oliver Coffey and Ciaran Mangan all had moments without dramatically altering the direction of the contest.