Lions player ratings vs Leinster | 2025/26 URC

Lions player ratings: The third-placed Lions arrived in Dublin with plenty of edge and ambition but left the Aviva Stadium beaten 31-7 after Leinster’s bench power and late attacking burst eventually blew the scoreline open.

For long stretches this was anything but comfortable for the hosts. The South Africans battered Leinster physically, caused havoc at scrum time and repeatedly asked questions through the middle. But poor discipline, a disallowed try and a late collapse ultimately killed them off after a bruising arm wrestle.

Here how we rated the Lions players:

15. Quan Horn – 6
Fairly quiet overall but tidy enough under the high ball and linked reasonably well in broken field. Didn’t get a huge amount of space to work with as Leinster tightened up after half-time.

14. Erich Cronje – 6.5
Started superbly. Hammered Luke McGrath at the base of a ruck to create the opening for the disallowed Lions score and stayed pleasantly busy throughout. But the errors piled up in the second half and momentum slipped away from him a little.

13. Henco van Wyk – 7
Asked constant questions of the Leinster midfield and produced some excellent carries. A huge break on 15 minutes nearly created a score and he continued to punch holes through the gainline all evening. One of the Lions’ most threatening backs.

12. Richard Kriel – 6
Playing his 50th match and had moments where he looked sharp and direct, but also missed a few tackles defensively. Combined well enough with van Wyk in patches but lacked consistency.

11. Angelo Davids – 5.5
A frustrating enough outing. Barely involved during the opening forty and coughed up a few too many turnovers when he did get into the game. Never really managed to stretch Leinster out wide.

10. Chris Smith – 6.5
Some of his tactical kicking was excellent while other moments were wildly off radar. Threw up a few bombs that were comfortably diffused but also controlled territory reasonably well at stages. Knocked over the conversion to Francke Horn’s try and kept probing without fully taking control.

9. Morne van den Berg – 8
Probably the Lions’ best back. His box kicking was absolutely superb and repeatedly turned Leinster around. Also produced the assist for Francke Horn’s try with a clever feed. Sharp and influential throughout before being withdrawn late on.

1. SJ Kotze – 7
Part of a Lions scrum that increasingly got on top as the first half developed. Brought real physicality around the breakdown too and helped make life uncomfortable for Leinster’s front row.

2. PJ Botha – 7
Excellent darts all evening and brought proper nuisance value around the fringes. Clearly relished getting in Leinster faces and making things awkward. One of the emotional leaders of the pack.

3. Asenathi Ntlabakanye – 7.5
Absolutely enormous presence and increasingly destructive as the match wore on. Gave Ed Byrne serious problems at scrum time and somehow ended the first half as the Lions’ leading tackler. Looks to have regained much of the 13 kilos he lost in 2025 and carried it well too.

4. Etienne Oosthuizen – 6
A bruising physical presence while on the field and did plenty of heavy carrying. Looked distinctly unimpressed when hauled off after 46 minutes.

5. Reinhard Nothnagel – 6
At 6’8 he was impossible to ignore physically and got through plenty of abrasive work. Not flashy but certainly imposing.

6. Sibabalwe Mahashe – 8.5
Outstanding. Maybe the Lions’ standout forward. Thought he had scored after smashing through Sam Prendergast’s flimsy tackle attempt only for Hollie Davidson to rule it out for offside. Carried relentlessly and repeatedly won collisions.

7. Ruan Venter – N/A
Flattened by a huge Will Connors hit after just four minutes that left his leg seemingly dead. Cruelly short evening.

8. Francke Horn – 8
Led from the front and scored the Lions’ only try after busting through some dreadful Leinster defending. Carried hard all evening and never stopped competing physically.

Replacements – 5
Bathobele Hlekani was destructive bordering on terrifying after coming on early for the injured Venter. A massive physical presence who repeatedly smashed into contact and shifted momentum. Darrien Landsberg added size and grunt while the replacement front row initially kept the scrum pressure on. JC Pretorius brought energy late on. But once Leinster emptied the bench completely the Lions began to fade badly and could not contain the late Ioane-inspired surge that turned a tight contest into a harsh-looking scoreline.