Leinster lost 25-20 to Toulon after a dogfight in Marseille and have missed out on a Champions Cup final.
Here is how we rated Matt O’Connor’s men after a 100-minute slog at Stade Veldrome.
Rob Kearney 6
Part of the butterfingers moment behind the Leinster goal-line in the sixth minute. Otherwise looked very solid under the high ball and was motoring on the kick chase. Rode a double tackle, early in the second half, and still presented clean ball.
Fergus McFadden 5
Blessed that Chris Masoe was offside after he spilled a dolly over his own line. Normally solid under high bombs. Not so today. Did not make a single tackle in the first half.
Ben Te’o 6
Combined with Mike McCarthy on one superb choke tackle turnover. Was used to shoot out of the line and put pressure on the Toulon backline.
Ian Madigan 4
Kicking from the tee was superb. Restarts – two out on the full – were iffy. His defence was a lot better than the Bath quarter final. Some questionable kicks out of hand. Missed a penalty to make it 12-9, on 63 minutes, and was then charged down after the restart. Regained his nerve to pop over a fourth penalty. Will have nightmares about that intercept pass.
Luke Fitzgerald 7
Quiet enough first half – a couple of carries and tackles – as the battle was fought up front. Easily turned over by the beastly Steffon Armitage at one stage and stepped by his brother, Delon, soon after. Nice hit on Delon from a 66th minute restart.
Jimmy Gopperth 6
String defence from the New Zealander. Pressed up on the Toulon line and made one excellent charge down on a clearing kick that eventually led to a penalty. Poor knock-on early in the second half. Missed a late drop goal and a conversion.
Isaac Boss 6
A safe option – did not take risks. Had a scrum moving forward for most of the match, which helps. One missed tackle on Bastareaud caused trouble down the right wing for his team.
Cian Healy 6
Got right up in Carl Hayman’s face and edged the scrum battle, winning a couple of penalties. His bravery won his team a penalty but he foolishly gave three points back by coming in from the side. Conceded a second penalty for collapsing a maul. His last play of the game was winning a turnover.
Sean Cronin 7
Solid line-out throwing, even if his darts were veering on crooked [and towards Blue jumpers]. Made some nice carries.
Mike Ross 7
The scrum did its job and Ross, as per usual, kept his side up while Healy put the squeeze on at loose-head.
Devin Toner 8
Dogged effort from Toner. Good ruck clearing, clean line-out takes and tackled any red shirt in his vicinity.
Mike McCarthy 8
Great outing from McCarthy. Combined with Te’o for a turnover and made another nice poach on the deck. Combative presence.
Jordi Murphy 8
Showed some nice gas on kick chases and was well used in the line-out. Was hungry for tackles all match. Pinged by Wayne Barnes for handling the ball on the deck, while off his feet. Halfpenny made it 12-9.
Sean O’Brien 9
Two turnovers and sheer, immense strength in the first-half. Was fortunate to avoid a penalty when driving Chiocci up in the scrum. In fact, Wayne Barnes actually awarded Leinster a penalty on that play so the risk paid off. Crashed over for an extra time try that gave Leinster hope.
Jamie Heaslip 7
One knock-on and another that was fortunate to bounce back. Was a menace to Toulon on the deck and won a crucial first half turnover. Gave away penalty in extra time for going off his feet.
Replacements
Richardt Strauss 6
[On for Cronin ’64] Lucky to still have his head still attached after
Jack McGrath 5
[On for Healy ’64] The scrum simply held its own after McGrath replaced Healy.
Marty Moore 6
[On for Ross ’55] Won his team a penalty with superb breakdown work.
Ben Marshall 5
[On for McCarthy ’89] Came on very late in the piece.
Dominic Ryan 5
[On for Murphy ’90] Too late to truly influence the result.
Eoin Reddan 4
[On for Boss ’66] Not as sharp as Boss. One poor kick out on the full.
Gordon D’Arcy 5
[On for Madigan ’90]
Zane Kirchner 5
[On for McFadden ’59] Stuggled to get himself into the game. Hearty tackles.
