Next Newport Gwent Dragons 21-26 Connacht Connacht leave Rodney Parade with a bonus point win after a hard battle against a resilient Dragons team. The home side looked strong throughout the first half, but two late tries from Connacht secured the win for the Irish side. Dragons were the first to get points on the board, looking the much stronger side, as Jason Tovey kicked over a penalty in front of the posts. Dragons looked to have pinned Connacht again with an excellent kick into their 22′. Connacht responded well however, managing to return a kick at their opponents, who only able to clear to their own 22′. The ball was swept out to the backs, reaching the hands of Matt Healy, who made a break down the middle from 20 metres out for Connacht’s first try. The returning Craig Ronaldson kicked the conversion. Dragons were quick on the turn-around, scoring a try of their own within two minutes. The home side played deep into Connacht’s half and an attempted clearance from Connacht was blocked down for Dragons to get over their line in the hands of Adam Hughes. Rhys Jones missed the conversion for Dragons to only lead by one. Connacht retook their lead at the 20 minute mark with a textbook try. The ball was spread wide through the backs from a lineout for fullback Tiernan O’Halloran to cross the line in the corner. Ronaldson converted again to go two from two. It took Dragons seven minutes to form a response this time. A well placed offload into the hands of Ashton Hewitt sent the winger over the line. Angus O’Brien was the third Dragons player to step up to the kicking tee in the match, having earlier replaced Tovey, and did enough to give Dragons a one point lead going into the second half. O’Brien pushed Dragons into a four point lead just four minutes into the half from a kick just inside the Connacht 22′. He extended the lead with another three points entering the last quarter with a penalty from the scrum. Connacht looked incapable of stringing two phases of play together until a lineout in the 65th minute. The Irish side secured possession before driving over the line with a superior maul, the ball in the hands of Eoghan Masterson. Connacht turned over possession with ten minutes remaining, now only one point behand, and won a penalty before kicking deep into the Dragons half and securing territory in the their 22′. The men in green pushed within metres of the Dragons line before the ball was passed to Bundee Aki crashed over the line in his usual fashion for the bonus point try. The visitor defended well for the final ten minutes to secure another win and a three match winning streak. Connacht move back into second place, kept out of first due to points difference, while Dragons hold firm at third from the bottom.

Previous Next Leinster 52-0 Zebre Leinster come away with a very convincing win in the RDS, playing with a young team. Leinster went to halftime with a bonus point secured due to some great running play from the backs. Leinster didn’t waste any time getting a first try on the board. A strong carry from Ben Te’o off the back of a 22 metre scrum before a powerful surge over the line from Hayden Triggs for Leinster’s first try with just eight minutes gone. Isa Nacewa stepped up to the tee, with Leinster’s other usual kickers on international duty, and added the conversion. Zebre missed a chance to get some points on the board 14 minutes in. Leinster were pinged for not rolling away but Malcol Azzolini but couldn’t find the posts. With 18 minutes passed, Leinster found the try-line again. A break from Cathal Marsh before the ball was passed wide to Isa Nacewa, who added a try and a conversion to put Leinster 14 points clear. Leinster looked in total control throughout the first half but a period of good defence from Zebre kept Leinster at bay momentarily. They failed to see out the first half however, and Leinster scored again in the 36st minute. A lineout maul was stopped several metres short but replacement scrumhalf Luke McGrath managed to find a gap to sneak in for a try. Leinster refused to settle down nearing halftime as another break from Marsh and the ball was sent wide, in a similar fashion to the Nacewa try, this time with Adam Bryne on the receiving end, for the 21 year old cross the line for his first Leinster try. Nacewa missed the conversion this time, leaving the Leinster 26 points clear at the break. Leinster continued their dominance in the second half but had trouble finding the try-line, mainly due to their own mistakes rather than an increase in defensive play from Zebre. Just before entering the final quarter Leinster found scoring form again. After a few phases in the Zebre 22′, Jordi Murphy managed to worm his way through the Zebre defence and touch down. Marsh took over kicking duty but missed the conversion. Leinster added tries six and seven in quick succession, in the 68th and 70th minutes. The first from Sean Cronin and the second from man of the match, Garry Ringrose. Marsh converted both to leave Leinster 45 points in the lead. Similar to the first half however, not content to coast, Leinster managed to squeeze one more try out in the closing minutes. Substitute Cian Kelleher made a break through the Zebre defence, side-stepping the last man to score under the posts for the final score of the game. Leinster retake the third place spot on the table while Zebre remain at eleventh.

Previous Next Ulster 13-10 Glasgow Warriors Ulster finish with a narrow victory over the Warriors in the Kingspan Stadium to make it four wins in a row for the Belfast based team. Ulster looked more on the front foot than their opposition from the kick off. Early attacking pressure gave Ulster the first scoring opportunity but Ruan Pienaar’s attempted swung far wide from a rather straightforward looking kick. The Glasgow counter-attack proved very effective, a lineout maul brought the Warriors as far as the Ulster 22′ leaving them in a good position. A scything run from Sam Johnson left the Ulster defence backpedaling. A ball through the hands saw Lee Jones over the line for Glasgow’s first score. Gregor Hunter, making his first start for the Warriors, couldn’t find the posts to give full points. Pienaar was given another chance at goal after a breakdown infringement from Glasgow. He made better use of this kick, adding the three points and leaving a two point difference. Pienaar was forced to leave the game with just 30 minutes played for a Head Injury Assessment, replaced by Paul Marshall. Despite the loss of Pienaar and the points deficit, Ulster looked confident throughout the remainder of the half, Craig Gilroy a standout participant, but a strong Glasgow defence held them at bay. Ulster came close to a try in the hands of Nick Williams but was deemed not to be grounded by the TMO. Hunter missed another chance 10 minutes into the second half, which would have put the Warriors at a trys distance from the home side. However, a try is what Ulster found. A fantastic break from Gilroy, who pushed away Jones with ease before dancing through a horde of defenders, to bring play into the Glasgow 22′. An attacking stint in front of the Glasgow line ended when Callum Black wiggled over the line for his first try in 100 appearances for Ulster. Paddy Jackson, who replaced Sam Windsor at half time, added the conversion to take the lead. Jackson brought Ulster to a two score lead from a penalty entering the final ten minutes. Things began to look dire for Glasgow as Ryan Wilson was sent to the sin bin, where he would spend the remainder of the game, for taking out Alan O’Connor in the air. Not disheartened, Glasgow found one more try to take home a losing bonus point. A chip across the Ulster defence was collected by Taqele Naiyaravoro, beating Stuart Olding in the air, to score in the corner in the final minute of play. Ulster keep their top spot, moving there after their catch-up game last weekend, while the title-holders remain in eight place.

Previous Next Scarlets 22-21 Edinburgh A thrilling game with a tense finish as Scarlets end their losing streak. Edinburgh held the majority of the possession but Scarlets took their chances when they came to walk away with a narrow win. Scarlets pulled away early with a try from Man of the Match, Morgan Allen. Morgan showed great speed to get Scarlets ahead early. Shingler started his kicking strong, adding points from the conversion. Scarlets had gained a 10 point lead after 17 minutes. Another successful kick from Shingler, who was looking on top form but was forced to leave play several minutes later with a knee injury and was replaced by Aled Thomas. Nathan Fowles finally was given the chance to add points for Edinburgh at the midpoint of the first half, putting them within a try of the home side. With 24 minutes played, Thomas was given his first kick at goal and didn’t disappoint, returning Scarlets’ 10 point lead and steadying a few supporters’ nerves. Both sides came within metres of the others try-line as the half progressed but neither could execute on the momentum they had built. Fowles had another shot on the posts in the final minute of the half but the tough kick came of the post for Scarlets to lead by 10 entering the break. Fowles made up for the lost kick entering the second half. An Edinburgh hand in the ruck disrupted play and Fowles lined up the ball again, this time hitting his target. Thomas, once again, restored the home side’s 10 point lead after Allan Dell was penalised in the scrum. With 55 minutes played, Thomas showed his talent again, this time a long kick but it failed to faze the experienced outhalf. Edinburgh responded quickly, a fast piece of play, switching from their usual tactic of playing with a deep back-line, putting Scarlets on the back foot. Cornell du Preez swept in for the try, while Greig Tonks took over kicking duty but couldn’t convert. With 66 minutes played the Scarlets scrum was penalised. Tonks steadied himself this time to slot over the resulting penalty. The home side looked to be suffering from international fatigue entering the final ten minutes. Edinburgh took full advantage and found their way through the Scarlets defence for a try in the hands of Alex Toolis to draw level. Tonks split the posts in the conversion to put Edinburgh in front for the first time in the game. The lead was short lived however, as Edinburgh carelessly gave away a penalty from an offside at the ruck. Thomas went four from four to retake a slim lead for the Scarlets, which they managed to cling onto to see the game out. Despite their win, Scarlets descend to fourth place and Edinburgh stay put one place below them in fifth.

Previous Next Treviso 13-7 Cardiff Blues A great performance from Treviso saw them take their first win of the season against Cardiff. Treviso looked strong from the start, almost beginning the scoring with a try but Dan Fish held the Italian side off with a huge try saving tackle . Treviso still managed to draw first blood, however. The Blues were pulled for an offside and Jayden Hayward made easy work of the kick. Treviso very much looked like the team in control, several attacking plays in the first 20 minutes fell just short off the mark. With 22 minutes played and more pressure on Cardiff from the home side, Cardiff were pulled once more for offside, allowing Hayward to double Treviso’s score. Cardiff looked to build momentum from a lineout deep in Treviso’s territory but a strong defensive effort from the home side kept them at bay for most of the half. Treviso’s defence held until the the 34th minute when the Blues won a scrum on the home 10 metre line. Cardiff managed to hold possession and worked the ball wide for Blaine Scully to cross the line. Rhys Patchell converted to give Cardiff a one point lead going to the break. Treviso began the second half with the same determination and drive as the first and were rewarded in the 47th minute. The home side won a scrum on their opponents’ five metre line and were awarded a penalty for the bind. They opted to scrum again and after unrelenting pressure were awarded a penalty try. Hayward hit the mark for Treviso to go six points in front. Cardiff were set to take three points back after a penalty against Treviso but the home side were let off after the TMO drew the referee’s attention back to an earlier infringement against Cardiff and Treviso cleared their line. Entering the last 10 minutes, Cardiff were dominating both possession and territory. Cardiff very nearly went in front after a brilliant break from Ethan Lewis, pushing aside two defenders before passing the ball out to Manoa Vosawai who got over the line but was held up. The resulting 5 metre scrum was reset three times but Treviso luckily escaped a penalty try on the third attempt. Another wave of attack started as Cardiff won a scrum against the head. Fish made another break for the corner but his pass back inside failed to find friendly hands. Cardiff won a second scrum against the head in the closing minutes. Vosawai made a charge for the line but was held up once more as Treviso made every effort to hang on, eventually seeing the game out for their first victory of the tournament. Treviso’s win did little to change their standing on the table, still rooted in the bottom spot. Cardiff see little change also, remaining at tenth.