Leinster player ratings vs Stormers | 2025/26 URC

Leinster player ratings: Leo Cullen’s Leinster got off to their worst URC start pontentially, suffering a humiliating 35-0 hammering at the hand of the Stormers.

The away side looked like rabbits in the headlights in the first half but somehow survived without conceding heavily. The second half was where it unravelled. Their set-piece collapsed, their forwards were bullied off the park, and very little functioned. This was as poor a Leinster display as we’ve seen in years.

1. Jack Boyle – 5.5
Worked hard in the loose and at least carried into contact with some venom. His scrummaging, however, was patchy. Did win an unlikely penalty against the head on 36 minutes but that was an outlier.

2. Gus McCarthy – 5
A mixed evening. Some promising involvements around the park but he was central to a lineout that malfunctioned badly. Carried gamely but couldn’t turn the tide.

3. Rabah Slimani – 2
Beasted in the early scrums by the Stormers and never recovered. Coughed up six penalties, spent most of the game walking between rucks, and offered virtually nothing in the loose. One of the worst Leinster performances in recent memory. Abject in fact.

4. Diarmuid Mangan – 4
Anonymous for long stretches and when he did feature it was usually in error. A lack of grunt and soft collisions summed up his evening. Subbed on 50 minutes.

5. Brian Deeny – 7
One of the few Leinster forwards who fronted up physically. Met Stormers carriers head-on and carried with aggression. Not faultless but certainly their standout lock.

6. Ryan Baird – 4
A peripheral figure, which is damning for a player of his athleticism. Drifted out of the contest and offered almost no impact in the contact zone.

7. Scott Penny – 6
A brightish spot? Fought ferociously on the deck and turned over key possession when Leinster were drowning. His doggedness was in stark contrast to teammates.

8. James Culhane – 6.5
Leinster’s leading carrier but every metre was hard-fought against a suffocating defence. Deserves credit for sheer graft but couldn’t break free.

9. Luke McGrath – 6
Box-kicking was accurate and gave Leinster territory, though the chase often let him down. Caught dawdling at the base once for a costly turnover and guilty of fluffing his lines under pressure.

10. Sam Prendergast – 4
Early kicking from hand was solid, pinning the Stormers back. But his defensive fragility was ruthlessly exposed: six missed tackles, a glaring weakness at this level. His vow to improve his defence clearly isn’t being backed up.

11. Jordan Larmour – 5.5
Very few opportunities. Fluffed a chance for a consolation score and just didn’t impose himself in any meaningful way.

12. Ciaran Frawley – 5
Hard to judge a centre starved of possession, but when he did get ball he failed to punch holes. Quiet, frustrated, and eventually subbed.

13. Robbie Henshaw – 6
Tried to get involved in the first half with strong carries but suffered the same famine as the rest of the backline. Effort was there, the platform wasn’t.

14. Tommy O’Brien – 7
Leinster’s only genuine attacking weapon. Beat defenders, broke tackles, and produced a superb chip-and-chase that carved open the Stormers. Unfortunately marred by a yellow card for a reckless high shot on Senatla.

15. Jimmy O’Brien – 6
A mixed bag. Pinged for an early tackle after a Stormers intercept and guilty of handling errors, but also produced attacking sparks including a dangerous chip-and-chase. Leinster’s most threatening broken-field runner behind Tommy.

REPLACEMENTS

16. John McKee – 5
Brought on to steady the set-piece but the scrum remained a circus. Did put himself about in the loose.

17. Paddy McCarthy – 6
Scrum was marginally more stable with him on but still second-best. Got dragged into some off-the-ball argy-bargy as frustration boiled over.

18. Andrew Sparrow – 5
Cameo with little influence. The game was gone by the time he entered.

19. Max Deegan – 5.5
Brought some directness to proceedings but undercut his impact by earning a yellow card. Leinster couldn’t afford that.

20. Will Connors – 5
Solid defender but unable to stem the bleeding against relentless Stormers momentum.

21. Fintan Gunne – 6
Didn’t significantly alter the trajectory. Box-kicked decently but Leinster were in disarray.

22. Harry Byrne – 6.5
One of the better bench impacts. Made a fine try-saving tackle on Senatla and at least injected some composure into the backline.

23. Hugh Cooney – 5
Thrown into a lost cause and struggled to get into the contest.