Leinster player ratings vs Toulouse | Heineken Champions Cup 2023

Leinster player ratings: Leo Cullen’s side were strong favourites with the bookies leading into the game, but the subplot to this Heineken Champions Cup semi-final suggested this was going to be close.

The talk this week was that Toulouse felt they mismanaged their selection heading into the same fixture last season and they weren’t going to make the same mistake twice.

If anything it was Leinster who looked undercooked in the initial exchanges but they found their grove soon after and started to motor through the French.

15. Hugo Keenan – 6
A rare lapse saw the Ireland fullback burned on the outside by Mattis Lebel in the opening 10 minutes. Was found out of position by Toulouse on several occasions, the away side finding plenty of changes in the corners. A game to forget for the world’s form fullback.

14. Jordan Larmour – 5.5
Went to the well a little too often with his inside step and as such didn’t cause too many headaches for the French, who seemed to be alive to his schtick.

13. Garry Ringrose – 7.5
The French struggled to marshall Ringrose all afternoon and he worked well with Larmour on his outside, who was hungry for work. His usual potluck of telling moments in both attack and defence, popping up to put someone through or pounce on a loose ball.

12. Charlie Ngatai – 8
The loss of Robbie Henshaw may have worried home fans but Ngatai was having none of it. A well-crafted break up the pitch in the opening exchanges suggested the All Black was right up for this one. Kicked well out of hand. A really strong showing here and was acknowledged by the crowd as he trudged off.

11. Jimmy O’Brien – 5.5
Didn’t see much ball in the first half. Had a lot to do to finish his try in the 24th minute and ultimately didn’t get it done. Failed to pop up around the pitch in the way that Irish rugby fans have become accustomed to seeing.

10. Ross Byrne – 7
A good kicking game was tempered by a handful of indecisive moments in attack. His aforementioned pass for O’Brien’s near miss showed he’s more than the plodding conservative his critics might have you believe. Grew into the game as Toulouse’s galactico halfbacks began to sulk.

9. Jamison Gibson-Park – 7.5
Facing Dupont is no small task but the Kiwi had a couple of half-breaks to his name with just two minutes on the clock. Didn’t look too sharp when trying to stop Pita Aki for Toulouse’s first and as with Bryne, got caught in two minds on occasion. For the most part it was all about him and very little about le petit general , which says a great deal.

1. Andrew Porter – 7
A rock-solid outing from Porter, if he wasn’t quite firing as a ball-carrying option.

2. Dan Sheehan – 7.5
Showed a barely believable injection of pace when pouncing on a Toulouse knock-on to score. The high point of a solid shift.

3. Tadhg Furlong – 7.5
Gave as good as he got with Toulouse’s heavies in the loose, folding a few of them. One of his best performances for some time.

4. Ross Molony – 6
The usual competent if workmanlike afternoon from Molony, who stayed in the fight before being replaced by the meatier Jason Jenkins after 53 minutes.

5. James Ryan – 6.5
If there was a criticism of Leinster’s second-row partnership is that they lack the ball carrier abilities that are increasingly been asked of the position at elite level. With that said Ryan got plenty of decent touches here.

6. Caelan Doris – 5.5
A relatively quiet shift from Doris, who did his job if not a hell of a lot more. You suspect he’ll need to dial it up in the final.

7. Josh van der Flier – 7
Had an anonymous first half if truth be told. A lot busier in the second and got a quasi-headbutt for his troubles from Rodrigue Neti who was clearly sick of his meddling. Scored shortly after.

8. Jack Conan – 8.5
Was good value for Leinster’s first 5-pointer and his second minutes later had them on the ropes. Won nearly every collision he was involved. This was Conan back to his ruthless, rampaging best.

REPLACEMENTS – 7.5
Jason Jenkins was an improvement on Molony, and McGrath brought an urgency to proceedings that suited a Leinster team very much on the front foot and wanting to put the ball through their hands. Frawley looked game at 12.