Keelan Giles
The youngster once again showed that the hype surrounding his opening season should be believed as he went over for two tries. The first was a close-range effort, in which he showed-off his immense power, as he got on the end of an inside ball from his out-half to go over next to the uprights. The second showcased his rapid pace as he hacked a loose ball through and bet the whole field in the foot-race to dot down for another five pointer. The winger looked dangerous throughout the eighty minutes but also managed to show the crowd that he has a good understanding of the game as he prevented a couple of Dragons scores with clever sweeping in defence.
Dan Leavy
Leavy has staked a huge claim for a starting place in Leinster's pack after his performance against Connacht. The back rower showed his impressive strength as he slowed Connacht's ball down to a crawl at the breakdown, earning several penalties in the process. As well as his work at the breakdown, Leavy was a key man for Leinster in defense, putting in some massive hits as Connacht struggled to pierce the blue wall. Leavy's performance will certainly give Leo Cullen a few headaches when choosing his starting back row after the international break.
Sean O'Brien
O'Brien has come back from injury with a bang. The back row bulldozer appeared to be back to his best in Leinster's clash with Connacht. O'Brien displayed his incomparable strength in contact as he managed to power forward every time with an impressive leg drive. He also showed his versatility on the field as he earned a number of turnovers for Leinster at the breakdown. The one blip in his performance was the yellow card received for a dangerous clear out. However, despite the sin binning, O'Brien showed why he could potentially start for Ireland against the All Blacks.
Owen Farrell
In his first AVIVA Premiership game since his injury break the out-half was immediately back to his brilliant best. His kicking out of hand was exceptional as he found space and excellent touches time and time again. From the tee he was exemplary notching 4/5 successful place kicks including two beauties from the touchline. He was also very solid in defence making big tackles and securing important turnovers on several occasions. Saracens will be delighted to have their star man back in that number 10 jersey going forward both domestically and in Europe.
Billy Vunipola
Yet another fantastic performance from the big number 8 today at Allianz Park. He caused the Leicester defence all sorts of problems from start to finish with his pace and power. He made a few huge hits in defence forcing knock ons and securing turnovers. He even managed to score a try of his own following a huge maul from his forward team mates. A great performance by the big man who looks to be at his absolute best coming into the November internationals.
