Leinster 38 – 7 Ulster
Leinster were dominant in a win against Ulster that saw them score 6 tries.
Jordan Larmour had a sensational game, and got the first of his two tries five minutes in, Fergus McFadden side stepped Andrew Trimble to play him in, Ross Byrne converted. The 2nd try came ten minutes later, Leinster went to the corner, Ulster turned the ball over of the resulting lineout but knocked on. Two scrums later Barry Daly got over in the corner. Ulster nearly got a try, Stockdale almost intercepting, but it was knocked on. Henderson got back in time to stop another Leinster try on the 40th minute. Leinster led 17 – 0 at the break.
Last week Ulster came back from 17 -0 down at halftime, but they weren’t able to up their game significantly. Leinster had a try disallowed for a forward pass, but got number 3 minutes later when Fergus McFadden got around Stockdale, Byrne converted. The bonus point was wrapped up with some excellent work from Andrew Porter, the prop made a great run before giving the ball to Gibson-Park, McFadden finished it off. Ross Byrne once again converted. Larmour got his second try when Sexton took out a few players with a pass, the fullback walked it in. Ulster would get a score, Tommy Bowe made a break which resulted in Jacob Stockdale getting over. Leinster would have the last say when Sexton got over the line and converted his own try. Leinster keep pace with Scarlets, Ulster are looking over their shoulder at Edinburgh.
Munster 39 – 13 Connacht
Munster put last weeks loss behind them, with a strong second half performance.
Jack Carty opened the scoring for Connacht with a penalty, that would be it for the scoring for the next 17 minutes, until Darren O’Shea got over the line for Munster. Ian Keatley converted. Carty and Keatley exchanged penalties, Munster lead 10 – 6 at the break. Another Keatley penalty and tries from Andrew Conway and Keith Earls had Munster in control, before Quinn Roux saw yellow for Connacht. Conor Murray got two more tries for Munster with Tom McCartney getting a late one for Connacht.
Scarlets 47 – 13 Dragons
Scarlets got 7 tries in an impressive win over Dragons. James Davies, Tom Prydie, and Dan Jones all touched down in the first half. Dragons only scores came from the boots of Arwel Robson and Carl Meyer. Scarlets led 19 – 6 at the break. Scarlets wrapped up the bonus point 11 minutes into the second half when Aled Davies crossed the line. Aaron Shingler, Will Boyde, and Geraint Rhys-Jones got further tries. Sarel Pretorius got one back for Dragons. Scarlets top Conference B, Dragons sit 6th.
Zebre 20 – 40 Glasgow
Glasgow picked up another 5 points to maintain their lead at the top of Conference A over last-placed Zebre. Matt Fagerson and Renato Giammaridi exchanged tries early on, before a try from Lee Jones and a penalty try put the visitors in control. Carlo Canna was shown yellow, but Zebre were the ones to score in that 10-minute period with Marcello Violi kicking a penalty. George Horne got a try with the clock in red to send Glasgow in 10 – 26 up.
Maxime Mbanda got an early second half try for the hosts. Glasgow hit back through Lee Jones. A further try each from Tommaso d’Alpice and Nick Grigg saw the game end with a 20-point win margin for the Scots.
Edinburgh 37 – 7 Southern Kings
Edinburgh blew Southern Kings away scoring 5 tries to keep the pressure on Ulster.
Jaco van der Walt kicked a penalty 21 minutes in, before Grant Gilchrist and Blair Kinghorn got over for the home side. Edinburgh went in 18 – 0 up.
Van der Walt kicked another penalty before Edinburgh got two further tries from Dulhan van der Merwe and Cameron Fenton. Southern Kings got one back through Ntabeni Dukisa. Edinburgh got the final score with 2 minutes to go through Dougie Fife.
Benetton 27 – 21 Toyota Cheetahs
Benetton came from behind to beat Toyota Cheetahs, who played 10 minutes with 13 players.
The away side took the lead with three Fred Zlinga penalties. Monty Ioane got a try late in the half, Cheetahs led 5 – 9 at the break.
Marty Banks cut the deficit to 1 point with a penalty, before Oupa Mohoje got over for the away side. Then Torsten van Jaarsveld and Shaun Venter were shown yellow, and the game changed. Tries from Hame Faiva, Federico Ruzza, but the hosts in front, with Faiva getting over for another one after the sinbinnings. Mohoje got a final try for the away side to secure a losing bonus point.
Ospreys 29 – 28 Cardiff
Ospreys held off a late Cardiff comeback to move off the bottom of Conference A.
Cardiff took the lead through a Gareth Anscombe penalty and Nick Williams try. Jeff Hassler and Rhys Webb both got first half tries for Ospreys, while Dan Biggar and Gareth Anscombe exchanged penalties. At halftime Ospreys led 17 – 14.
Ospreys extended their lead in the second half with a penalty from Biggar, and tries from Webb and Justin Tipuric. Cardiff were shown to yellow cards with Gareth Anscombe and Alex Cuthbert going to the bin. Cardiff mounted a comeback in the last ten minutes, Owen Lane and Garyn Smith getting tries. Ospreys were able to see the game out to keep their chances of a Champions Cup play-off spot alive.
Tables
Conference A
|
Pld
|
Pts
|
Wins
|
PD +/-
| |
1
|
Glasgow Warriors
|
13
|
58
|
12
|
+215
|
2
|
Munster
|
13
|
43
|
8
|
+150
|
3
|
Toyota Cheetahs
|
11
|
30
|
6
|
+8
|
4
|
Cardiff Blues
|
13
|
25
|
5
|
-47
|
5
|
Connacht
|
13
|
24
|
4
|
-25
|
6
|
Ospreys
|
13
|
21
|
4
|
-116
|
7
|
Zebre
|
13
|
17
|
3
|
-96
|
Conference B
|
Pld
|
Pts
|
Wins
|
PD +/-
| |
1
|
Scarlets
|
13
|
53
|
11
|
+163
|
2
|
Leinster
|
13
|
51
|
11
|
+186
|
3
|
Ulster
|
13
|
40
|
8
|
+9
|
4
|
Edinburgh
|
13
|
37
|
8
|
+56
|
5
|
Benetton
|
13
|
29
|
6
|
-40
|
6
|
Dragons
|
13
|
14
|
2
|
-205
|
7
|
Southern Kings
|
11
|
4
|
0
|
-258
|
Ciarán Duffy (@TheVoiceDepth) is a Leinster supporter and self-proclaimed ‘big cheese’ of Post To Post (@PostToPostSport). He’ll write about anything rugby under the condition he gets to take it too seriously.
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