Some going from Dan Leavy.
The Leinster openside had a superb Six Nations and carried on from that Grand Slam-winning effort by stepping up in a big way for his province.
The 23-year-old took an almighty fight to Saracens and ran amok in his side’s 30-19 victory that now sees them paired against Scarlets in the Champions Cup semi finals.
DAN LEAVY'S GAME:
1 Try
16 carries
82 metres gained
3 line breaks
4 defenders beaten
2 offloads
14 tackles
1 MOTM award pic.twitter.com/9hzTunivpC— Pat McCarry (@patmccarry) April 1, 2018
Leavy caused trouble for a talented, physical Saracens side all afternoon but it was a beauty of a move that did the damage after 47 previous minutes of pure beast.
Subbing in, on the fly, for scrumhalf Luke McGrath, Leavy teamed up with his gym buddy James Ryan to break Sarries’ hearts.
Leavy sprang upon the Leinster ruck and passed to Ryan, who then drew in forwards Juan Figallo and Jackson Wray, before receiving a pass back and going through the gears. There was a desperate Maro Itoje ankle-tap lunge that he avoided and Richard Wigglesworth could only exhale in frustration as Leavy dotted down under the posts and pulled out a tumble for good measure.
Leinster head coach Leo Cullen praised the overall match contribution of both men before noting that they had teamed up with one-two passes to devastating effect a few times already this season. Every other team in Europe will now be on high alert for it but it was too late for Saracens.
Following the game, Leavy delivered a great comment about the damage he sustained. BT’s Martin Bayfield joked, “I know it’s Easter Sunday but it looks like you’ve got an egg on your head.” Leavy replied:
“I kind of look like Quasimodo more than usual, at the moment, which is great. But what an Easter Sunday it has been!
“We know what a strong team they are… if you’re not physical with them and you let them run over you, it’s going to be a long day at the office. So being physical ourselves was something we targeted.”
"I kind of look like Quasimodo more than usual, which is great…"
Dan Leavy's nasty shiner won't bother him as he scooped the man of the match award for his outstanding performance 👏 pic.twitter.com/4D9avH7aAZ
— Rugby on TNT Sports (@rugbyontnt) April 1, 2018
Quasimodo – that fictional caretaker and bell-wringer of Notre Dame – may be a stretch but he sure was banged up.
War wounds! Dan Leavy's face will be sore in the morning… #ChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/GvINYOlsyh
— sportsfile (@sportsfile) April 1, 2018
Another big performance from Leavy and another set of war wounds too.
