Leinster Rugby came from 7-0 down, with two players in the sin bin, to win 35-12 against Bristol Bears in the first round of the Investec Champions Cup. The hosts dominated possession for the entirety of the first half and were eventually rewarded with a try for Max Lahiff in the 31st minute.
However the introduction of Jordie Barrett at half time, in addition to a ‘bomb squad’ led by Springbok, RG Snyman, in the 44th minute, turned the game on its head.
The Dublin outfit ran in four second half tries, with young fly half Sam Prendergast scoring a couple, in an entrancing game of rugby at Ashton Gate.
BRISTOL BEARS: 12
TRIES: 1 (Lahiff 31’, Ibitoye 73’)
CONVERSIONS: 1 (Janse van Rensburg 32’)
PENALTIES: 0
DROP GOALS: 0
YELLOW CARDS: 1 (Lahiff 47’)
RED CARDS: 0
LEINSTER RUGBY: 35
TRIES: 5 (Larmour 33’, Prendergast 52’, 58’, Barrett 57’, van der Flier 64’)
CONVERSIONS: 5 (Prendergast 35’, 53’, 57’, 59’, 65’)
PENALTIES: 0
DROP GOALS: 0
YELLOW CARDS: 3 (Kelleher 28’, Deegan 30’, Porter 47’)
RED CARDS: 0
Player Ratings
BRISTOL BEARS
15. Rich Lane – 7 – Lane put in an assured performance providing the stars around him with the opportunities to have ball in hand. A remarkable 50/22 kick on the move, in the ninth minute, was certainly a highlight in Lane’s game but his inability to retrieve the ball from Prendergast’s clever kick in behind in the 33rd minute, which directly led to Larmour’s try, meant he could only get a rating of 7.
14. Jack Bates – 6 – The youthful winger had a few nice touches in the first half but struggled to get properly involved in the game which was dominated by play through the middle.
13. Kalaveti Ravouvou – 6 – Similarly to his openside winger, Ravouvou was unable to have a big impact on the game as he struggled to get the ball into his hands. That said, the Fijian fulfilled his role in the Bears squad, passed well and didn’t miss any noticeable work in defence.
12. Benhard Janse van Rensburg – 5 – Janse van Rensburg was given the difficult challenge of covering the fly half position after MacGinty was replaced by Jenkins in the fourth minute. The South African, who qualifies for England in 2026, looked uncomfortable out of position but still managed to throw a few brilliant passes, helping to get players in the wider channels into the game. His penalty which was kicked dead in the last play of the game encapsulated his unfamiliarity with the role he was asked to fill in at.
11. Gabriel Ibitoye – 7 – A couple of loose passes hindered Ibitoye’s game as he was well dealt with by the Leinster defence for long stages of the game. In the second half the winger had two opportunities to show his raw pace, beating Prendergast on the outside in the 63rd minute and getting onto the end of Marmion’s kick ten minutes later to score his try.
10. AJ MacGinty – 6 – The American fly half was replaced after just four minutes for Joe Jenkins, initially for a temporary head injury assessment, but that turned into a permanent switch shortly after.
9. Harry Randall – 8 – As expected Randall’s return to the Bristol squad after a stint with the national team massively improved his game as it gave him the freedom to express himself and play the way he wanted to. A brilliant pick and go before passing to Fitz Harding could have led to a try if he was not tripped by Max Deegan in the 30th minute showed just one example of the Randall magic that we have become accustomed to seeing at Ashton Gate.
1. Ellis Genge – 7 – Genge engaged in a riveting battle with Slimani, probably dominating in the first half. The Bristolian loosehead won two penalties from the Frenchman and conceded one, he also carried the ball strongly giving the Bears gain line success before being replaced by Woolmore in the 47th minute.
2. Harry Thacker – 4 – It was a rare poor game for Thacker who was replaced by Oghre in 54th minute, a dummy throw at a lineout in the 21st minute and a deliberate knock on in the 36th gave Leinster possession of the ball cheaply. The hooker also made a high tackle early in the second half on Larmour, giving his opposition possession and territory in the Bears red zone.
3. Max Lahiff – 6 – With Leinster down to 13, Lahiff was the man to carry the ball over in the 31st minute to give Bristol a well earnt lead, rewarding him for a number of hard earned yards throughout the game. In a bizarre point of the game, the tighthead was shown a yellow card in the 47th minute at the same time as Andrew Porter for his part in the collapsing of numerous scrums.
4. James Dun – 6 – Dun put in a key performance for the Bears this evening, getting through a lot of unseen work throughout his time on the pitch. He put a massive shot on player of the match Josh van der Flier in the 37th minute before being replaced by Steven Luatua early in the second half.
5. Joe Owen – 7 – Similarly to his partner in the second row, Owen got through lots of unseen work making numerous carries and tackles until being replaced in the 80th minute. The youngster managed the Bears lineout really well in the absence of Joe Batley, stealing the ball on multiple occasions.
6. Santiago Grondona – 7 – The Argentinian got plenty of reward for his work over the ball, turning the ball over on numerous occasions by jackaling and forcing his opposition to infringe over the ball. On one occasion in the 50th minute he was penalised for hands in the ruck but that was one of just a few mistakes that he made this evening. He was replaced by his brother with five minutes remaining.
7. Fitz Harding (c) – 6 – It was a quiet performance from Harding however he responded to everything he was asked to do throughout the game. A big shot on Ringrose in the 22nd minute forced a knock on, alleviating the pressure that the Irish side were putting on the Bears.
8. Viliame Mata – 6 – Similarly to Harding, Mata answered every question he was asked throughout the game and carried well, regularly making gain line success. A brilliant carry in the 18th minute saw Mata make crucial metres from the back of a scrum deep in Bears territory.
Replacements
16. Gabriel Oghre – 7 – The replacement hooker made an impact when he came on, making a multitude of carries.
17. Jake Woolmore – 6 – Woolmore came on midway through the second half and struggled to make an impact as Leinster looked to run away with the game.
18. Lovejoy Chawatama – 6 – Chawatama was similar to his partner in that he struggled to properly impact the game after replacing the carded Lahiff. The replacement tighthead went off for a head injury assessment in the 77th minute for Lahiff who was injured in the 79th, forcing the Bears to go to an uncontested scrum in the last play.
19. Steven Luatua – 6 – The veteran forward came on for Dun in the second row and tackled well against a relentless Leinster attack in the second half but was unable to properly influence the game in a way he would have liked to.
20. Benjamin Grondona – 6 – Grondona junior came on for his older brother Santiago with just under five minutes to play so had little opportunity to make an impact.
21. Kieran Marmion – 7 – The Irish scrum half came on with the challenging task of improving the intensity that Randall had when he was on, despite playing against a vastly superior bench, Marmion did well. A pinpoint grubber kick in behind gave Ibitoye the opportunity for his try, which he took.
22. Joe Jenkins – 6 – Jenkins was introduced to the game a lot earlier than he would have expected and played a supporting role to Janse van Rensburg. Despite a huge shot following the restart late in the half, Jenkins was unable to have a large impact on the game, but did well to keep the international centre partnership against him relatively quiet.
23. Benjamin Elizalde – 6 – Elizalde had little opportunity to influence the game but a scrum at number eight in the last play with Mata and Owen retired seemed a novelty situation for the young Argentinian.
LEINSTER RUGBY
15. Ciaran Frawley – 6 – Frawley was replaced at half time after taking a knock but played sufficiently well while he was on the pitch. He did brilliantly to recover a kick and clear the ball long in the 24th minute.
14. Jordan Larmour – 8 – Larmour had a brilliant game before being replaced midway through the second half, offering himself as a dominant force in both attack and defence. He put the big defensive shot which removed MacGinty from the game which put Bristol under pressure in the moment as the ball spilled into the Bristol 22 but also for the rest of the game with Janse van Rensburg at fly half. The Irish winger also did well to take his try, capitalising on a Lane mistake to pluck the ball from the air and score between the posts.
13. Garry Ringrose – 5 – Ringrose struggled to make a significant impact on the bench with the majority of action taking place through the middle of the pitch. A couple of knock-ons before being replaced emphasised the difficult afternoon that the centre had.
12. Robbie Henshaw – 6 – Henshaw was similar to his centre partner, although with his greater size he was able to make an impact carrying the ball. Kelleher threw long with his first lineout to Henshaw at the tail, enabling him to run at full speed into MacGinty.
11. Jimmy O’Brien – 6 – The winger made a few nice touches off his wing but was unable to significantly influence the game.
10. Sam Prendergast – 9 – The man many predict will become Johnny Sexton’s long tern successor in both a Leinster jersey and an Irish jersey put in a performance that the Ireland great would have been proud of. A range of pinpoint kicks in the first half put Bristol under pressure with gale force winds pinning the ball back in the Bears 22. In the second half with the safety of Barrett next to him Prendergast turned it up a gear scoring brilliantly on two occasions. For the first, he ran a looping move pioneered by Sexton to run through a gaping hole to cross the line and for the second he showed his speed, receiving the ball from Snyman before motoring 30 metres to the try line, dummying Bates on the way.
9. Jamison Gibson-Park – 7 – The Irish scrum half did well to keep the game at an intensity that suited his side throughout and made a huge line break in the 56th minute which got Leinster to within four metres of the Bristol line, on route to Barrett’s try.
1. Jack Boyle – 6 – It was a challenging day for Boyle, scrummaging against Lahiff before being replaced by Porter in the 44th minute. He carried and tackled adequately, answering most questions that were given to him.
2. Ronan Kelleher – 5 – Kelleher had a disappointing performance; he was shown a yellow card for collapsing a Bristol maul which was rumbling towards the Leinster line. Upon his return, the hooker had his side marched back 10 yards for commentating on the referee’s decision after a scrum penalty in the 45th minute.
3. Rabah Slimani – 6 – Slimani was the other part of the interesting engagement with Genge, he conceded multiple penalties at scrum time but also managed to put some pressure on his England international opponent. The veteran French prop made a number of strong carries while he was on the pitch.
4. Joe McCarthy – 5 – McCarthy was another Irish international who had a disappointing evening despite imposing himself physically on the game in a way you would expect, a trip on Randall early in the second half was a moment that underpinned his performance, giving the Bears an easy exit during a period of pressure.
5. James Ryan – 6 – Ryan quietly went about his work in the game, making numerous tackles but did nothing particularly noticeable, nonetheless a sufficient performance.
6. Max Deegan – 5 – The blindside flanker had a similar game to McCarthy. For vast periods of play he was able to fulfil his role in the Leinster team, carrying and tackling regularly however his yellow card for a trip on Harding in the 30th minute is the standout moment from his performance.
7. Josh van der Flier – 9 – van der Flier was named player of the match, which was probably a fair assessment of his performance, he carried brilliantly throughout the game particularly in the first half when he needed to step up. A great piece of interplay with Kelleher got him to within a metre of the Bears line where he unfortunately spilled the ball was an example of the tireless work that the flanker put into the game. In the 64th minute, he was rewarded with a try as he bundled over with a monstrous carry. The 2022 World Player of the Year showed his fitness, making a brilliant half break as late as the 76th minute before putting an ‘out-the-back-door’ pass to McGrath who made a line break.
After great interplay with Kelleher (front peel move), knocked ball on a yard away from Bears line, brilliant carry 33’, another great carry 64’ saw him bundle his way over the line, brilliant half break 76 and out the backdoor pass to McGrath, named man of the match
8. Jack Conan (c) – 7 – The Leinster captain played well carrying regularly throughout the game but settled into a role which enabled the players around him to thrive. A strong counter ruck in the 17th minute saw him turn Bristol over during a period of play where they looked dangerous.
Replacements
16. Gus McCarthy – 6 – McCarthy had a short cameo late in the first half, replacing Kelleher while he was in the sin bin and came on to the field permanently mid-way through the second half. Although not one of the big games, McCarthy was part of the group of players that came on and made a huge impact in the game.
17. Andrew Porter – 7 – The replacement loosehead was another component of the Leinster ‘bomb squad’ which came on in the 44th minute and he managed to have a similar impact, working hard either side of the ball. At the same time as Lahiff, Porter was told to sit out for 10 minutes in bizarre circumstances but was able to lift the intensity of the game when he returned.
18. Thomas Clarkson – 6 – The young prop came on later than others on the bench and struggled to influence it on an individual level, that said he steadied the scrum for Leinster when he came on as they dominated in the latter stages of the game.
19. RG Snyman – 8 – Snyman epitomised the South African joy of making an impact from the bench. He made a monster carry which led to a line break in the buildup to Pendergrast’s second try, the second rower was another player that really lifted the intensity in the second half.
20. Caelen Doris – 8 – Doris had a massive impact when he came onto the field, making a huge number of carries and significantly lifting the intensity and the physicality in the game. An unreal rip of the ball on Ibitoye in the 62nd minute underpinned his strength, proving that the calls for him to be the British and Irish Lions captain are more than justified.
21. Luke McGrath – 7 – McGrath did well to maintain the intensity of the game when he came on for Gibson-Park and showed his pace breaking away from defenders after van der Flier’s half break.
22. Ross Byrne – 6 – Byrne had a few nice touched when he came on, controlling the game nicely with a couple of clever kicks in behind the Bristol defence into the wind.
23. Jordie Barrett – 8 – The New Zealand superstar was introduced at half time and made a huge impact giving Prendergast more freedom to play. Barrett sliced through the Bristol defence in the 57th minute to score on his debut, proving why he is one of the worlds best.
