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Leinster player ratings vs Munster | 2023 URC semi-final

By Liam Heagney
(Photo by Harry Murphy/Sportsfile via Getty Images)

Leinster players ratings live from Aviva Stadium: The expectation was that this semi-final fixture would deliver its traditional Munster beating in Dublin, a pattern that has been in existence in this tournament since October 2014.

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Dramatically not so as a Leinster XV that contained just three starters who ran out for the Champions Cup semi-final win over Toulouse a fortnight earlier were on duty here and it left the hosts exposed for a dramatic 16-15 ambush sealed with a 78th-minute Jack Crowley drop goal.

Not since December 2018 had Munster eclipsed Leinster in a PRO16/URC league fixture, a dastardly sequence that included two lost semi-finals and also defeat in the March 2021 final of a pandemic-shortened campaign.

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But having picked off a 14-man Glasgow on the road last weekend, the visitors went on to ask this curious Leinster XV selection more questions than it ultimately could answer.

Rugby needs uncertainty, not foregone conclusions, and with this all-Irish contest demanding that Munster have a cut, royally entertaining jeopardy materialised in a rip-roaring encounter.

Munster led 6-3 for 14 first-half minutes and then 13-10 for 17 minutes before it looked like a defiant Leinster would sneak the win with their 63rd-minute Joe McCarthy try. However, a missed conversion crucially left the door ajar.

Graham Rowntree’s team pounced at the death to secure a final away to the Stormers in Cape Town and leave the hosts ruing an undercooked performance from an understrength XV ahead of next weekend’s Heineken Champions Cup final. Here are the Leinster player ratings:

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15. Jimmy O’Brien – 6 (Ciaran Frawley – 5)
Shunted into touch five metres out with an early carry but grew from there, exhibiting some sound defensive judgement and demonstrating a slick kick chase. Pity he only lasted a half, his place taken by Frawley who crucially missed the conversion that set up Munster for their last-gasp winner.

14. Tommy O’Brien – 6
Back from an ACL, he started with a fine catch but an unfortunate deflection under another dropping ball was enough to scrub out a Ryan Baird try. Defended well and had the crowd on its feet for one chase to the line but he couldn’t gather cleanly to score.

13. Robbie Henshaw – 7
First action in five weeks since injury against Leicester, he got stuck into the rough and tumble and it was his assist, a sweet pass out of the contact on the 22, that created the first-half Jason Jenkins try. Lifted the crowd with a tackle in the dying stages on Keith Earls but it wasn’t enough.

12. Charlie Ngatai – 6.5
Came into his own in recent weeks and on his third consecutive start, he maintained that industry. Ran his socks off – look at one chase back to tidy, step out of danger and kick clear – but his 78 minutes of effort couldn’t make the key difference. Liam Turner finished in the role.

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11. Dave Kearney – 5.5
Having announced in midweek his exit from the club after 14 years, he initially reveled in the occasion and put his immense experience to first-half use shutting down space on defence and being evasive with mazy attacking carries. Much quieter in the second half.

10. Harry Byrne – 6.5
Demonstrated encouraging maturity in easing Leinster past the Sharks, this was a much tougher assignment. Swing lead-taking momentum his team’s way with a canny kick that put the pressure on for the McCarthy try, but ultimately couldn’t close the deal.

9. Luke McGrath – 6
Another old stager whose experience initially came to the fore, especially when Leinster were under the first-half cosh. Munster will argue he should have been yellow carded for a deliberate knock-on at the 22 by the captain for the day dodged that sanction. Played 68 minutes before Nick McCarthy came on.

1. Michael Milne – 5
A try-scorer in the quarters, this was a more testing occasion with tit-for-tat in the first-half scrum exchanges before he was hooked for Cian Healy seven minutes into the second half.

2. Ronan Kelleher – 7
His first start since January endured a difficult start with penalties and a crooked lineout, but he didn’t roll over and his huge tackle count was rewarded when he was at the heart of a crucial try-saving spill with Munster 6-3 up and pressing hard. Kept trucking after the interval, lasting until the 65th minute before John McKee was called on.

3. Michael Ala’alatoa – 5.5
He won’t like it being said but Stephen Archer was the better, all-round tighthead. Young Thomas Clarkson was busy after his 71st-minute entry, even helping to win a scrum.

4. Ryan Baird – 8
Massively athletic, a deflection off Tommy O’Brien scrubbed out the try that he ran in from halfway at 3-all. Got through a mountain of grunt work but not enough teammates in the forwards matched his standard.

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5. Jason Jenkins – 6.5
Up against his old club, his defensive work in the first half was eye-catching as was his excellently taken try. Played 59 before McCarty entered, the impressive sub quickly scoring a try and winning a breakdown penalty.

6. Max Deegan – 6
Went the 80 but didn’t stand out in the battle of inches.

7. Will Connors – No rating (Josh van der Flier – 8)
Sadly lasted just a single minute as his head jarringly crashed off the floor after carrying into the double tackle of Diarmuid Barron and John Hodnett. World player of the year van der Flier made a handy replacement, quickly winning a turnover penalty and thriving from there. His snagging of Craig Casey to deny a break for a likely try was class. Like Baird, didn’t deserve to lose.

8. Jack Conan – 7
Some good defensive interventions and a high tackle count, especially in the first half.

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Jon 4 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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j
john 7 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

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A
Adrian 9 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

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T
Trevor 12 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

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