Leinster 64 – 7 Southern Kings
Scarlets 34 – 10 Ulster
Scarlets came from behind to pick up a bonus point win against Ulster ahead of next weeks top of the table clash against Leinster. Ulster took the lead 2 minutes in with a Stuart McCloskey try, Cooney converted. Dan Jones kicked a penalty for Scarlets, Ulster led 3 – 7 at the break.
Early in the second half Ioan Nicholas touched down to put Scarlets in front, Jones converted. Cooney and Jones exchanged penalties before Scarlets took over. Ryan Conbeer, Paul Asquith, and Tadhg Beirne all crossed the line, Jones converted each try.
Munster 21 – 10 Glasgow Warriors
On a day Rob Harley broke the record for most Glasgow appearances Munster got an important win, in Simon Zebos last appearance at Irish Independent Park. All the scoring in the first half was done by Munster, Tyler Bleyendaal kicked two penalties and converted Niall Scannells try.
In the second half Glasgow got on the board, Hastings kicked a penalty, then converted George Hornes tries. Munster hit back immediately with a try from James Cronin, Bleyendaal converted.
Benetton 19 – 22 Connacht
Connacht edged a tight affair despite trailing at halftime. A try from Tito Tebaldi, converted by Marty Banks, had Benetton 7 – 0 up at halftime.
In the second half Finlay Bealham touched down for Connacht, before Monty Ioane got the home sides second try. Connacht drew level with a try from Jarrad Butler, converted by Jack Carty. Benetton went down to 14 when Tommasso Iannone was sent to the bin. Connacht took advantage, Jack Carty kicked the resulting penalty before converting Eoin Griffins try. With the clock in red Marco Fuser crossed over to ensure Benetton took a losing bonus point, Marty Banks converted.
Dragons 12 – 25 Edinburgh
Edinburgh remain 3rd in their conference after an away win at Dragons. Sam Hidalgo-Clyne kicked an early penalty, twenty minutes later he converted Neil Cochranes try.
In the second half Chris Dean crossed over to extent Edinburghs lead. Dragons fought back with two tries from Rynard Landman, the first of which was converted by Dorian Jones. Edinburgh held on and got two more late tries through Duncan Weir and Cameron Fenton.
Ospreys 27 – 26 Toyota Cheetahs
Ospreys came from behind to inflict Toyota Cheetahs 3rd defeat of the season. The South Africans took the lead with tries from Torsten van Jaarsweld and Reniel Hugo, Neil Marais converted the second. Sam Davies kicked a late penalty, Cheetahs led 3 – 12 at halftime.
The two sides exchanged sides early in the second half, Ashley Beck crossed for Ospreys, Davies converted, before Nico Lee got over for Cheetahs, Niel Marais converted. Ospreys got another through Sam Cross, converted y Davies, before Barry got one for Cheetahs, Marais converting. Davies kicked a penalty, and then kicked a last-minute conversion after Ifan Phillips went over to secure victory for Ospreys.
Zebre 7 – 10 Cardiff Blues
All the scoring was done in the first half as Cardiff beat Zebre. Owen Lane crossed over with Jarrod Evans converting. Just before halftime Giovanbattista Vendittis try, converted by Guglielmo Palazzani, levelled things up. Evans kicked a penalty with a minute left in the half, and that would be that.
Tables
Pos
|
Conference A
|
Pts
|
Wins
|
PD +/-
|
1
|
Glasgow Warriors
|
65
|
13
|
+218
|
2
|
Munster
|
53
|
10
|
+182
|
3
|
Toyota Cheetahs
|
43
|
8
|
+33
|
4
|
Cardiff Blues
|
37
|
8
|
-32
|
5
|
Connacht
|
32
|
6
|
-19
|
6
|
Ospreys
|
30
|
6
|
-112
|
7
|
Zebre
|
22
|
4
|
-119
|
Pos
|
Conference B
|
Pts
|
Wins
|
PD +/-
|
1
|
Leinster
|
62
|
13
|
+245
|
2
|
Scarlets
|
59
|
12
|
+170
|
3
|
Edinburgh
|
51
|
11
|
+75
|
4
|
Ulster
|
46
|
9
|
+33
|
5
|
Benetton
|
39
|
8
|
-30
|
6
|
Dragons
|
17
|
2
|
-221
|
7
|
Southern Kings
|
4
|
0
|
-423
|
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.
*****
Want to see your own rugby opinions on the web?
Click "Write for us" in the sidebar to find out how.
