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MUNSTER RUGBY vs SCARLETS

Aviva Stadium - Saturday 27 May 2016
KO: 18:15 HT: tbc

15 Simon Zebo 14 Andrew Conway 13 Francis Saili 12 Rory Scannell 11 Keith Earls 10 Tyler Bleyendaal 9 Conor Murray 8 CJ Stander 7 Tommy O'Donnell 6 PETER O'MAHONY (C) 5 Billy Holland 4 Donnacha Ryan 3 John Ryan 2 Niall Scannell 1 Dave Kilcoyne BENCH:  16 Rhys Marshall 17 Brian Scott 18 Stephen Archer 19 Jean Deysel 20 Jack O'Donoghue 21 Duncan Williams 22 Ian Keatley 23 Jaco Taute

SCORERS

15 Johnny McNicholl 14 Liam Williams 13 Jonathan Davies 12 Scott Williams 11 Steffan Evans 10 Rhys Patchell 9 Gareth Davies  8 JOHN BARCLAY (C) 7 James Davies 6 Aaron Shingler 5 Tadhg Beirne 4 Lewis Rawlins 3 Samson Lee 2 Ryan Elias 1 Rob Evans BENCH: 16 Emyr Phillips 17 Wyn Jones 18 Werner Kruger  19 David Bulbring 20 Will Boyde 21 Jonathan Evans 22 Hadleigh Parkes 23 DTH Van der Merwe

SCORERS

Referee: Nigel Owens Asst Referees: David Wilkinson, Ian Davies TMO: Neil Paterson

 

 

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SF1
LEINSTER RUGBY 15 - 27 SCARLETS

RDS Arena - Saturday 19 May 2017
KO: 19:45 HT: 10-21

SCARLETS made the Guinness PRO12 final for the first time after a brave defensive display in the second half was enough to see off Leinster. The Welsh side became the first away team to win a PRO12 semi-final and they had to do it for the majority of the game with 14 men after Steff Evans was sent off at the end of the first half.

Scarlets ran in three tries in the first half to take a commanding lead but were forced to defend in the second half as Leinster failed to take advantage of the extra man. Liam Williams scored two late penalties to take the game away from Scarlets and book their place at the Aviva Stadium next week where they will play the winner of the second semi-final between Munster and Ospreys.

LEINSTER: 15 Joey Carbery 14 Adam Byrne 13 Garry Ringrose 12 Robbie Henshaw 11 ISA NACEWA (C) 10 Johnny Sexton 9 Luke McGrath 8 Jack Conan 7 Josh van der Flier 6 Rhys Ruddock 5 Hayden Triggs 4 Ross Molony 3 Tadhg Furlong 2 James Tracy 1 Jack McGrath BENCH: 16 Richardt Strauss 17 Cian Healy 18 Michael Bent 19 Devin Toner 20 Dan Leavy 21 Jamison Gibson-Park 22 Ross Byrne 23 Zane Kirchner

SCORERS T: Ringrose, Conan C: Nacewa P: Nacewa

SCARLETS: 15 Johnny McNicholl 14 Liam Williams 13 Jonathan Davies 12 Scott Williams 11 Steff Evans 10 Rhys Patchell 9 Gareth Davies 8 JOHN BARCLAY (C) 7 James Davies 6 Aaron Shingler 5 Tadhg Beirne 4 Lewis Rawlins 3 Samson Lee 2 Ryan Elias 1 Rob Evans BENCH: 16 Emyr Phillips 17 Wyn Jones 18 Werner Kruger 19 David Bulbring 20 Will Boyde 21 Jonathan Evans 22 Hadleigh Parkes 23 DTH van der Merwe

SCORERS T: Steffan Evans, Shingler, Gareth Davies C: Patchell (3) P: Liam Williams (2) Steffan Evans

Referee: Marius Mitrea

 

SF2
MUNSTER RUGBY 23 - 3 OSPREYS

Thomond Park - Sunday 20 May 2017
KO: 18:15 HT: 8-3

MUNSTER will play Scarlets in the final of the Guinness PRO12 after getting the better of Ospreys in a tense semi-final at Thomond Park. Munster had led at the break following Frances Saili’s 26th-minute score, while Dan Biggar and Tyler Bleyendaal traded penalties as both sides took stock of what was at stake.

Indeed that mentality carried right through to the second half, right until a moment of Munster magic saw Simon Zebo make it 15-3 with just 18 minutes left on the clock. And it proved too much for Ospreys to come back from as Andrew Conway scored late on, with the Guinness PRO12 table-toppers now through to face another Welsh outfit in Scarlets, bidding for their fourth title against the final debutants.

MUNSTER: 15 Simon Zebo 14 Andrew Conway 13 Francis Saili 12 Rory Scannell 11 Keith Earls 10 Tyler Bleyendaal 9 Conor Murray 8 CJ Stander 7 TOMMY O’DONNELL (C) 6 Peter O’Mahony 5 Billy Holland 4 Donnacha Ryan 3 John Ryan 2 Niall Scannell 1 Dave Kilcoyne BENCH: 16 Rhys Marshall 17 James Cronin 18 Stephen Archer 19 Jean Deysel 20 Jack O’Donoghue 21 Duncan Williams 22 Ian Keatley 23 Jaco Taute.

SCORERS T: Saili, Zebo, Conway C: Bleyendaal P: Bleyendaal (2)

OSPREYS: 15 Dan Evans 14 Keelan Giles 13 Kieron Fonotia 12 Ashley Beck 11 Tom Habberfield 10 Dan Biggar 9 Rhys Webb 8 James King 7 Justin Tipuric 6 Sam Underhill 5 ALUN WYN JONES (C) 4 Bradley Davies 3 Rhodri Jones 2 Scott Baldwin 1 Nicky Smith BENCH: 16 Scott Otten 17 Paul James 18 Dan Suter 19 Lloyd Ashley 20 Olly Cracknell 21 Brendon Leonard 22 Sam Davies 23 Josh Matavesi

SCORERS P: Biggar

Referee: Luke Pearce

 

 

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GLASGOW WARRIORS secured the 1872 Cup for the first time in three years but were given an almighty scare after Edinburgh Rugby produced a stunning 29-18 victory at Scotstoun. Gregor Townsend signed off as Warriors boss with a defeat after Edinburgh rallied in the second half with tries from Damien Hoyland and Glenn Bryce that trimmed the aggregate score to just two points. But a classy try from British and Irish Lions 15 Stuart Hogg on his 100th club appearance and captain Jonny Gray’s first half try ensured Warriors snatched 1872 Cup away from Edinburgh in the final Guinness PRO12 match.

MUNSTER secured top spot in the PRO12 table courtesy of a dominant final-day 50-14 win over Connacht at Thomond Park. The home side ran in seven tries, four in the second half, as Connacht had no answer to their power and pace in a far-from-perfect end to their regular season campaign. Keith Earls, Jack O’Donoghue and Andrew Conway scored a try apiece in the first half, with Conway adding a second after the break, with Conor Oliver, James Cronin and Francis Saili completing the rout, while Cian Kelleher and Naulia Dawai could only muster two scores in the second half.

A superb performance from Willis Halaholo helped Cardiff Blues edge to a 26-24 victory at Newport Gwent Dragons to end their campaign on a high. In front of a sell-out crowd of 5,167 at Constructaquote Stadium – the first time Caerphilly has hosted a PRO12 clash since the visit of Ulster in October 2002 – inside centre Halaholo thrilled, scoring a try and making big yards with almost every carry. Carl Meyer crossed early on for the Dragons, but scores from Wales international Matthew Morgan and Halaholo put the visitors in control, while Gareth Anscombe’s boot also kept the scoreboard ticking over, meaning Sam Beard’s late score was no more than consolation. The result means the hosts –who have not beaten a fellow Welsh region in the PRO12 since December 2014– finish 11th in the table, having been leapfrogged by Treviso on the final day, while the Blues end seventh.

TWO tries just before the interval were key for Scarlets as they ran out convincing 40-17 winners over the Ospreys to seal third place in the PRO12 standings. A home semi-final was always going to be out of the region’s reach heading into the final round, but that did not stop Scarlets putting in an imperious performance against their Welsh rivals. They led 23-10 at the break despite Keelan Giles grabbing the first try of the day, as the boot of Rhys Patchell kept them in touch before Will Boyde and Steff Evans crossed the whitewash while Rhys Webb was in the sin bin. And two more tries after the interval from Aaron Shingler, Johnny McNicholl, and the superb Jonathan Davies put the hosts out of sight – and regardless of Dan Baker’s consolation score, Scarlets will travel to Leinster for their semi-final full of heart.

ULSTER gave club legend Ruan Pienaar a winning send off at Kingspan with a 17-13 victory over Leinster, but it was not enough for them to sneak into the semi-finals. The home side needed a bonus point victory at least but were unable to get the four-tries against a Leinster side who slipped to second after Munster’s victory. Roger Wilson, on his 221nd and last Ulster appearance, and Andrew Trimble got the vital scores for Ulster while Leinster responded with a penalty try. An emotional Pienaar led out the Ulster side with his son Jean Luc at the Kingspan Stadium in what was in final appearance for the club.

BENETTON TREVISO rounded their season off on a high by defeating Italian rivals Zebre 19-3 and secure Champions Cup rugby next season. With both sides tied on 19 points going into round 22 of the PRO12, victory for either would have earned a spot playing among the continent’s best sides in the next campaign. And it proved to be Treviso who came out on top as Marco Fuser’s early try set them on the way before a faultless kicking display from Ian McKinley secured the win.

RESULTS

GLASGOW WARRIORS 18 - 29 EDINBURGH

Scotstoun Stadium - Saturday 06 May 2017
KO: 17:15 HT: 11-9

WARRIORS: 15 Stuart Hogg 14 Tommy Seymour 13 Alex Dunbar 12 Peter Horne 11 Lee Jones 10 Finn Russell 9 Ali Price 8 Matt Fagerson 7 Chris Fusaro 6 Rob Harley 5 JONNY GRAY (C) 4 Scott Cummings 3 Zander Fagerson 2 Fraser Brown 1 Gordon Reid BENCH: 16 Pat MacArthur 17 Alex Allan 18 Sila Puafisi 19 Tim Swinson 20 Adam Ashe 21 Henry Pyrgos 22 Nick Grigg 23 Sean Lamont

SCORERS T: Gray, Hogg C: Russell P: Russell (2)

EDINBURGH: 15 Glenn Bryce 14 Damien Hoyland 13 Chris Dean 12 Phil Burleigh 11 Blair Kinghorn 10 Duncan Weir 9 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne 8 Cornell du Preez 7 John Hardie 6 Jamie Ritchie 5 Ben Toolis 4 GRANT GILCHRIST (C) 3 Simon Berghan 2 Ross Ford 1 Allan Dell BENCH: 16 Neil Cochrane 17 Murray McCallum 18 Kevin Bryce 19 Fraser McKenzie 20 George Turner 21 Sean Kennedy 22 Junior Rasolea 23 Rory Scholes

SCORERS T: Hoyland, Glenn Bryce C: Weir (2) P: Weir (5) Ford, Hidalgo-Clyne

Referee: Mike Adamson

 

MUNSTER RUGBY 50 - 14 CONNACHT RUGBY

Thomond Park - Saturday 06 May 2017
KO: 17:15 HT: 24-0

MUNSTER: 15 Andrew Conway 14 Alex Wootton 13 Jaco Taute 12 Dan Goggin 11 Keith Earls 10 Ian Keatley 9 Angus Lloyd 8 Jack O’Donoghue 7 Conor Oliver 6 Jean Deysel 5 BILLY HOLLAND (C) 4 Darren O’Shea 3 Stephen Archer 2 Rhys Marshall 1 James Cronin BENCH: 16 Niall Scannell 17 Dave Kilcoyne 18 John Ryan 19 Peter O’Mahony 20 Tommy O’Donnell 21 Conor Murray 22 Tyler Bleyendaal 23 Francis Saili

SCORERS T: Earls, O'Donoghue, Conway (2), Cronin, Saili, Oliver C: Keatley (6) P: Keatley

CONNACHT: 15 Tiernan O’Halloran 14 Danie Poolman 13 Tom Farrell 12 Craig Ronaldson 11 Cian Kelleher 10 Jack Carty 9 Kieran Marmion 8 JOHN MULDOON (C) 7 James Connolly 6 Eoin McKeon 5 Andrew Browne 4 Quinn Roux 3 Conor Carey 2 Shane Delahunt 1 Denis Buckley BENCH: 16 Dave Heffernan 17 JP Cooney 18 Finlay Bealham 19 Sean O’Brien 20 Naulia Dawai 21 John Cooney 22 Marnitz Boshoff 23 Darragh Leader

SCORERS T: Kelleher, Dawai C: Ronaldson (2) 

Referee: David Wilkinson

 

DRAGONS 24 - 26 CARDIFF BLUES

Constructaquote Stadium - Saturday 06 May 2017
KO: 17:15 HT: 11-14

DRAGONS: 15 Carl Meyer 14 Adam Hughes 13 Tyler Morgan 12 Sam Beard 11 Pat Howard 10 Angus O’Brien 9 Charlie Davies 8 Ollie Griffiths 7 Nic Cudd 6 LEWIS EVANS (C) 5 Cory Hill 4 Matthew Screech 3 Brok Harris 2 Thomas Rhys Thomas 1 Sam Hobbs BENCH: 16 Ellis Shipp 17 Phil Price 18 Craig Mitchell 19 Rynard Landman 20 Harrison Keddie 21 Sarel Pretorius 22 Geraint Rhys Jones 23 Jack Dixon

SCORERS T: Meyer, Beard C: O'Brien P: O'Brien (2), Meyer Thomas

BLUES: 15 Matthew Morgan 14 Alex Cuthbert 13 Rey Lee-Lo 12 Willis Halaholo 11 Rhun Williams 10 Gareth Anscombe 9 Lloyd Williams 8 Nick Williams 7 ELLIS JENKINS (C) 6 Sion Bennett 5 Macauley Cook 4 Jarrad Hoeata 3 Taufa’ao Filise 2 Matthew Rees 1 Corey Domachowski BENCH: 16 Ethan Lewis 17 Anton Peikrishvili 18 Kieron Assiratti 19 Seb Davies 20 Kirby Myhill 21 Tomos Williams 22 Steve Shingler 23 Tom James

SCORERS T: Morgan, Halaholo C: Anscombe (2) P: Anscombe (4)

Referee: Ben Whitehouse

 

SCARLETS 40 - 17 OSPREYS

Parc y Scarlets - Saturday 06 May 2017
KO: 17:15 HT: 23-10

SCARLETS: 15 Johnny McNicholl 14 Liam Williams 13 Jonathan Davies 12 Scott Williams 11 Steff Evans 10 Rhys Patchell 9 Gareth Davies 8 Will Boyde 7 Josh Macleod 6 Aaron Shingler 5 Tadhg Beirne 4 Lewis Rawlins 3 Samson Lee 2 KEN OWENS (C) 1 Rob Evans BENCH: 16 Ryan Elias 17 Wyn Jones 18 Werner Kruger 19 David Bulbring 20 Tom Price 21 Jonathan Evans 22 Hadleigh Parkes 23 DTH van der Merwe

SCORERS T: Boyde, Steffan Evans, Shingler, McNicholl, Jonathan Davies C: Patchell (3) P: Patchell (3)

OSPREYS: 15 Dan Evans 14 Keelan Giles 13 Kieron Fonotia 12 Josh Matavesi 11 Tom Habberfield 10 Dan Biggar 9 RHYS WEBB (C) 8 James King 7 Justin Tipuric 6 Sam Underhill 5 Tyler Ardron 4 Bradley Davies 3 Rhodri Jones 2 Scott Baldwin 1 Nicky Smith BENCH: 16 Scott Otten 17 Paul James 18 Dan Suter 19 Lloyd Ashley 20 Dan Baker 21 Brendon Leonard 22 Jonathan Spratt 23 Dafydd Howells

SCORERS T: Giles, Baker C: Biggar, Evans P: Biggar Webb

Referee: Nigel Owens

 

ULSTER RUGBY 17 - 13 LEINSTER RUGBY

Kingspan Stadium - Saturday 06 May 2017
KO: 17:15 HT: 10-6

ULSTER: 15 Craig Gilroy 14 ANDREW TRIMBLE (C) 13 Luke Marshall 12 Stuart McCloskey 11 Charles Piutau 10 Paddy Jackson 9 Ruan Pienaar 8 Roger Wilson 7 Sean Reidy 6 Robbie Diack 5 Alan O’Connor 4 Kieran Treadwell 3 Rodney Ah You 2 Rob Herring 1 Andrew Warwick BENCH: 16 John Andrew 17 Kyle McCall 18 Wiehahn Herbst 19 Chris Henry 20 Nick Timoney 21 Paul Marshall 22 Peter Nelson 23 Jacob Stockdale

SCORERS T: Wilson, Trimble C: Jackson (2) P: Jackson

LEINSTER: 15 ISA NACEWA (C) 14 Adam Byrne 13 Garry Ringrose 12 Noel Reid 11 Fergus McFadden 10 Joey Carbery 9 Luke McGrath 8 Jack Conan 7 Josh van der Flier 6 Rhys Ruddock 5 Hayden Triggs 4 Devin Toner 3 Tadhg Furlong 2 James Tracy 1 Jack McGrath BENCH: 16 Richardt Strauss 17 Cian Healy 18 Andrew Porter 19 Ross Molony 20 Dan Leavy 21 Jamison Gibson-Park 22 Ross Byrne 23 Rory O’Loughlin

SCORERS T: PT C: Carbery P: Carbery (2)

Referee: Andrew Brace

 

ZEBRE RUGBY 3 - 19 BENETTON RUGBY

Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi - Saturday 06 May 2017
KO: 18:15 HT: 3-10

ZEBRE: 15 Edoardo Padovani 14 Kurt Baker 13 Giulio Bisegni 12 Tommaso Castello 11 Kayle van Zyl 10 Carlo Canna 9 Marcello Violi 8 Andries Van Schalkwyk 7 Jacopo Sarto 6 Maxime Mbanda 5 GEORGE BIAGI (C) 4 Gideon Koegelenberg 3 Pietro Ceccarelli 2 Tommaso D’Apice 1 Andrea Lovotti BENCH: 16 Oliviero Fabiani 17 Andrea De Marchi 18 Guillermo Roan 19 Federico Ruzza 20 Johan Meyer 21 Guglielmo Palazzani 22 Tommaso Boni 23 Mattia Bellini

SCORERS P: Canna

TREVISO: 15 David Odiete 14 Angelo Esposito 13 Tommaso Iannone 12 Alberto Sgarbi 11 Tommaso Benvenuti 10 Ian McKinley 9 Tito Tebaldi 8 Robert Barbieri 7 Abraham Steyn 6 Francesco Minto 5 DEAN BUDD (C) 4 Marco Fuser 3 Simone Ferrari 2 Luca Bigi 1 Federico Zani BENCH: 16 Davide Giazzon 17 Alberto Porolli 18 Tiziano Pasquali 19 Filo Paulo 20 Marco Lazzaroni 21 Edoardo Gori 22 Tito Tebaldi 23 Andrea Pratichetti

SCORERS T: Fuser C: McKinley P: McKinley (4) Fuser, Pasquali

Referee: Marius Mitrea

 

 

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GARETH ANSCOMBE scored 20 points as Cardiff Blues beat Italian side Zebre 30-24 in a thrilling Guinness PRO12 encounter, as the Italian side picked up a late bonus point. It was a special day for Zebre centre Tommaso Castello – who led his side for the first time. Cardiff Blues were without veteran skipper Gethin Jenkins, who was ruled out through injury – with fellow Wales international Rhys Gill taking over in the pack. Summerhill returned to start on the wing, while Tomos Williams and also starting in place of Lloyd Williams. The Blues ran away with a 23-3 lead by half time, but Zebre hit back in the second half with tries from Maxime Mbandà and Andries van Schalkwyk after referee Murphy awarded them a penalty try. Anscombe was a cut above with both boot and ball-in-hand as Cardiff tightened their grip on seventh place. Tomos Williams was also supreme for Cardiff as he scored, while Aled Summerhill scored one of the Blues’ best tries of the season. Cardiff finish their campaign against Newport Gwent Dragons next week, while Zebre host Benetton Treviso – in a contest that will decide who finishes 12th in the table.

EDINBURGH RUGBY scored three tries in the final ten minutes to snatch a thrilling 24-20 victory over Newport Gwent Dragons. Edinburgh made four changes to their side, including an entirely new front row with George Turner making his first start of the season at hooker. The Dragons also made changes, with props Thomas Davies and Brok Harris drafted into the side – making the battle up front intriguing. The referee awarded captain Grant Gilchrist a last-gasp try with the ball buried under a pile of bodies, as Edinburgh surged forwards from a scrum – sensing blood after being seemingly dead and buried. They had trailed for much of the match against a well-organised Dragons side, who led through tries from Pat Howard and Carl Meyer. But Blair Kinghorn and Damien Hoyland hit back, before Edinburgh’s pack did the rest – shunting the Dragons back for a famous comeback.

LEINSTER took another step towards finishing on top spot come the end of this PRO12 campaign after getting the better of Glasgow Warriors in one of the most dramatic finales of the season at the RDS Arena. Dominic Ryan and Rory O’Loughlin scored within the first ten minutes as the hosts enjoyed an electric start in their final home game of the regular season – an effort that included a record-breaking score. Peter Dooley ensured a third came before the break, but Warriors fought back with Adam Ashe’s try early in the second half while Lee Jones and Finn Russell crossed to put the Scots into the lead. But it proved not enough in the most dramatic of circumstances as Leinster moved eight points clear ahead of Munster as Joey Carbery kicked the decisive penalty, with a home semi-final already guaranteed in their bid to lift the trophy – all after the lights went out in Dublin from a power failure.

OSPREYS closed in on a PRO12 semi-final spot with a convincing 24-10 victory over Ulster at the Liberty Stadium in Round 21. The Welsh side went five points clear of their rivals in the league standings after first-half tries from Tom Habberfield and Tyler Ardron was followed up by a robust second-half defensive display. Replacement Brendon Leonard added Osprey’s third as they went in search of a bonus point but Ulster’s Jacob Stockdale responded in the dying minutes for the visitors, but the damage was done.

MUNSTER finished strongly in Italy to secure a 34-14 bonus-point win over Benetton Treviso that keeps the pressure on Leinster in the battle for top spot. Darren Sweetnam and Simon Zebo crossed for Munster in a scrappy first-half display laced with errors. Treviso’s David Odiete responded for the hosts in the second half, Munster burst into life scoring two quick-fire tries courtesy of Alex Wootton and Jack O’Donoghue to seal the win. Sweetnam completed the Italian job adding his second late on to add some gloss to the scoreline in a tough battle in Italy but Treviso had time to respond with their second try in the final play.

SCARLETS confirmed their place in the top four with a fine first-half display against Connacht in Galway. Scarlets welcomed back fly-half Rhys Patchell and flanker Aaron Shingler – with Wales duo Scott Williams and Gareth Davies dropping out. Connacht made ten changes, with Darragh Leader starting on the right wing for the first time in 18 months. Four first-half tries saw the Scarlets wrap up the game by the break, as the Welsh side produced some exhilarating rugby to down the defending champions 30-8. Connacht tightened up in the second half and scored a try of their own, but it was not enough to prevent the Scarlets from winning their 16th game of the league campaign. The defeat leaves Connacht in eighth ahead of their final-day visit to Munster.

RESULTS

CARDIFF BLUES 30 - 24 ZEBRE RUGBY

BT Sport Cardiff Arms Park - Friday 28 April 2017
KO: 19:05 HT: 23-3

BLUES: 15 Rhun Williams 14 Alex Cuthbert 13 Rey Lee-Lo 12 Willis Halaholo 11 Aled Summerhill 10 Gareth Anscombe 9 Tomos Williams 8 Nick Williams 7 ELLIS JENKINS (C) 6 Josh Navidi 5 Macauley Cook 4 Jarrad Hoeata 3 Taufa’ao Filise 2 Kristian Dacey 1 Rhys Gill BENCH: 16 Kirby Myhill 17 Corey Domachowski 18 Scott Andrews 19 James Down 20 Sion Bennett 21 Lloyd Williams 22 Steve Shingler 23 Matthew Morgan

SCORERS T: Anscombe, Summerhill, Tomos Williams C: Anscombe (3) P: Anscombe (3) Nick Williams, Bennett

ZEBRE: 15 Edoardo Padovani 14 Kayle Van Zyl 13 Giulio Bisegni 12 TOMMASO CASTELLO (C) 11 Mattia Bellini 10 Carlo Canna 9 Marcello Violi 8 Derick Minnie 7 Jacopo Sarto 6 Maxime Mbandà 5 Federico Ruzza 4 Gideon Koegelenberg 3 Pietro Ceccarelli 2 Oliviero Fabiani 1 Andrea Lovotti BENCH: 16 Tommaso D’Apice 17 Guillermo Roan 18 Dario Chistolini 19 Joshua Furno 20 Andries van Schalkwyk 21 Guglielmo Palazzani 22 Kurt Baker 23 Matteo Pratichetti

SCORERS T: PT, Mbanda, van Schalkwyk C: Canna (2), Palazzani P: Canna Chistolini

Referee: Frank Murphy

 

EDINBURGH RUGBY 24 - 20 DRAGONS

Myreside - Friday 28 April 2017
KO: 19:35 HT: 3-10

EDINBURGH: 15 Glenn Bryce 14 Damien Hoyland 13 Chris Dean 12 Junior Rasolea 11 Rory Scholes 10 Jason Tovey 9 Nathan Fowles 8 Cornell du Preez 7 Hamish Watson 6 Viliame Mata 5 Ben Toolis 4 GRANT GILCHRIST (C) 3 Simon Berghan 2 George Turner 1 Allan Dell BENCH: 16 Ross Ford 17 Murray McCallum 18 Kevin Bryce 19 Fraser McKenzie 20 John Hardie 21 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne 22 Duncan Weir 23 Blair Kinghorn

SCORERS T: Kinghorn, Hoyland, Gilchrist C: Tovey (3) P: Tovey Dell

DRAGONS: 15 Carl Meyer 14 Adam Hughes 13 Sam Beard 12 Jack Dixon 11 Pat Howard 10 Angus O’Brien 9 Charlie Davies 8 Ollie Griffiths 7 Nic Cudd 6 LEWIS EVANS (C) 5 Cory Hill 4 Matthew Screech 3 Brok Harris 2 Thomas Rhys Thomas 1 Thomas Davies BENCH: 16 Rhys Buckley 17 Phil Price 18 Craig Mitchell 19 Rynard Landman 20 Harrison Keddie 21 Owain Leonard 22 Geraint Rhys Jones 23 Tom Prydie

SCORERS T: Howard, Meyer C: O'Brien (2) P: O'Brien (2) Davies, Cudd

Referee: Dan Jones

 

LEINSTER 31 - 30 GLASGOW WARRIORS

RDS Arena - Friday 28 April 2017
KO: 19:35 HT: 23-6

 

LEINSTER: 15 Zane Kirchner 14 Adam Byrne 13 Rory O’Loughlin 12 Tom Daly 11 Fergus McFadden 10 Ross Byrne 9 Nick McCarthy 8 Dan Leavy 7 Josh van der Flier 6 Dominic Ryan 5 Mick Kearney 4 ROSS MOLONY (C) 3 Mike Ross 2 James Tracy 1 Peter Dooley BENCH: 16 Richardt Strauss 17 Jack McGrath 18 Michael Bent 19 Ian Nagle 20 Peadar Timmins 21 Jamison Gibson-Park 22 Joey Carbery 23 Noel Reid

SCORERS T: Ryan, O'Loughlin, Dooley, Kirchner C: Ross Byrne P: Ross Byrne (2), Carbery

WARRIORS: 15 Tommy Seymour 14 Leonardo Sarto 13 Nick Grigg 12 Sam Johnson 11 Lee Jones 10 Peter Horne 9 HENRY PYRGOS (CC) 8 Adam Ashe 7 Chris Fusaro 6 Tim Swinson 5 JONNY GRAY (CC) 4 Brian Alainu’uese 3 Sila Puafisi 2 Fraser Brown 1 Alex Allan BENCH: 16 Pat MacArthur 17 Gordon Reid 18 Zander Fagerson 19 Rob Harley 20 Matt Fagerson 21 Ali Price 22 Finn Russell 23 Alex Dunbar

SCORERS T: Ashe, Jones, Russell C: Horne, Russell (2) P: Horne (3) Sarto

Referee: Marius Mitrea

 

OSPREYS 24 - 10 ULSTER RUGBY

Liberty Stadium - Saturday 29 April 2017
KO: 15:00 HT: 17-3

 

OSPREYS: 15 Dan Evans 14 Keelan Giles 13 Kieron Fonotia 12 Ashley Beck 11 Tom Habberfield 10 Dan Biggar 9 RHYS WEBB (C) 8 James King 7 Justin Tipuric 6 Sam Underhill 5 Tyler Ardron 4 Bradley Davies 3 Brian Mujati 2 Scott Baldwin 1 Nicky Smith BENCH: 16 Scott Otten 17 Paul James 18 Rhodri Jones 19 Lloyd Ashley 20 Dan Baker 21 Brendon Leonard 22 Sam Davies 23 Josh Matavesi

SCORERS T: Habberfield, Ardron, Leonard C: Biggar (3) P: Biggar

ULSTER: 15 Craig Gilroy 14 ANDREW TRIMBLE (C) 13 Luke Marshall 12 Stuart McCloskey 11 Charles Piutau 10 Paddy Jackson 9 Ruan Pienaar 8 Robbie Diack 7 Sean Reidy 6 Iain Henderson 5 Alan O’Connor 4 Kieran Treadwell 3 Wiehahn Herbst 2 Rory Best 1 Andrew Warwick BENCH: 16 Rob Herring 17 Callum Black 18 Rodney Ah You 19 Franco van der Merwe 20 Nick Timoney 21 Paul Marshall 22 Stuart Olding 23 Jacob Stockdale

SCORERS T: Stockdale C: Jackson P: Jackson

Referee: George Clancy

 

BENETTON RUGBY 14 - 34 MUNSTER RUGBY

Stadio Monigo - Saturday 29 April 2017
KO: 19:05 HT: 0-15

 

TREVISO: 15 David Odiete 14 Angelo Esposito 13 Tommaso Benvenuti 12 Alberto Sgarbi 11 Luca Sperandio 10 Ian McKinley 9 Edoardo Gori 8 Robert Barbieri 7 Abraham Steyn 6 Francesco Minto 5 DEAN BUDD (C) 4 Marco Fuser 3 Simone Ferrari 2 Luca Bigi 1 Federico Zani BENCH: 16 Davide Giazzon 17 Alberto Porolli 18 Tiziano Pasquali 19 Jean-Francois Montauriol 20 Marco Lazzaroni 21 Giorgio Bronzini 22 Tito Tebaldi 23 Andrea Pratichetti

SCORERS T: Odiete, Montauriol C: McKinley, Tebaldi

MUNSTER: 15 Simon Zebo 14 Darren Sweetnam 13 Francis Saili 12 Jaco Taute 11 Ronan O’Mahony 10 Tyler Bleyendaal 9 Duncan Williams 8 Jack O’Donoghue 7 Conor Oliver 6 Dave O’Callaghan 5 BILLY HOLLAND (C) 4 Darren O’Shea 3 Stephen Archer 2 Rhys Marshall 1 James Cronin BENCH: 16 Kevin O’Byrne 17 Brian Scott 18 Rory Burke 19 Donnacha Ryan 20 CJ Stander 21 Angus Lloyd 22 Ian Keatley 23 Alex Wootton

SCORERS T: Sweetnam (2), Zebo, Wootton, O'Donoghue C: Bleyendaal (3) P: Bleyendaal

Referee: Ian Davies

 

CONNACHT RUGBY 8 - 30 SCARLETS

Sportsground - Saturday 29 April 2017
KO: 19:35 HT: 3-22

 

CONNACHT: 15 Tiernan O’Halloran 14 Darragh Leader 13 Tom Farrell 12 Eoin Griffin 11 Cian Kelleher 10 Marnitz Boshoff 9 Caolin Blade 8 Eoghan Masterson 7 Jake Heenan 6 Sean O’Brien 5 ANDREW BROWNE (C) 4 James Cannon 3 Dominic Robertson-McCoy 2 Dave Heffernan 1 Finlay Bealham BENCH: 16 Shane Delahunt 17 Denis Buckley 18 JP Cooney 19 Quinn Roux 20 John Muldoon 21 John Cooney 22 Craig Ronaldson 23 Danie Poolman

SCORERS T: Ronaldson P: Boshoff

SCARLETS: 15 Johnny McNicholl 14 Liam Williams 13 Jonathan Davies 12 Hadleigh Parkes 11 Steff Evans 10 Rhys Patchell 9 Jonathan Evans 8 John Barclay 7 Will Boyde 6 Aaron Shingler 5 Tadhg Beirne 4 Jake Ball 3 Samson Lee 2 KEN OWENS (C) 1 Rob Evans BENCH: 16 Ryan Elias 17 Wyn Jones 18 Werner Kruger 19 David Bulbring 20 Josh Macleod 21 Gareth Davies 22 Scott Williams 23 DTH van der Merwe

SCORERS T: McNicholl, Steffan Evans (2), Liam Williams, van der Merwe C: Patchell P: Patchell

Referee: Mike Adamson

 

 

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A free-scoring Glasgow Warriors put pay to Zebre’s attempts for a third successive Guinness PRO12 win as Gregor Townsend’s men outscored the Italians by seven tries to two. Scores for Nick Grigg, Rob Harley, Peter Murchie, Matt Fagerson, Sam Johnson and a double for Matt Smith meant Zebre’s efforts from van Zyl and Baker were in vain on a perfect night for running rugby at Scotstoun.

CARDIFF BLUES romped to a bonus point 35-17 win over the Ospreys at Principality Stadium on Judgement Day leaving Steve Tandy’s men with it all to do to reach the PRO12 play-offs. In the first of two matches in the Welsh capital, Cardiff were in inspired form, running in five tries to hand the Ospreys their first-ever defeat on Judgement Day. Having lost three straight games in all competitions, including heartbreaking defeats to Stade Français in Europe and then Leinster last weekend, the Ospreys needed a response against their regional rivals. Instead it was the Blues who dominated proceedings in the opening half at Principality Stadium, racing into a 21-3 half-time lead. Kristian Dacey got the ball rolling just six minutes in, and while Sam Davies got the Ospreys on the board with a penalty, further tries from two Williams, Lloyd then Nick, put Cardiff in complete control. Blues’ dominance continued at the start of the second half as Tau Filise secured their bonus point with a fourth try from close range before Gareth Anscombe ran in number five as things unravelled for the Ospreys. The Ospreys mounted something of a late fightback with tries from Dan Evans and Paul James but it was too little too late on a tough afternoon.

DAVE O’CALLAGHAN’S decisive try handed Munster a 22-20 dramatic victory over Irish rivals Ulster, ending their seven-match unbeaten streak, and booked their place in the play-offs with two games remaining. Heading into the Thomond Park clash lying second in the table, Munster knew victory would guarantee a top-four spot, while in-form Ulster’s own semi-final hopes were also in the balance as they were level on points with fourth-placed Scarlets. Rory Best and Angus Lloyd traded early tries but an otherwise cagey first half saw the sides head to the dressing room locked at 10-10. However, an enthralling second period saw the momentum swing back and forth – the lead changed hands on four occasions – before Munster eventually prevailed to preserve their record of just one loss in any competition since mid-December. An early second-half penalty put Ulster ahead, before the impressive Keith Earls’ try made it advantage Munster, Luke Marshall then restored the visitors’ lead but O’Callaghan found the try-line late on and Tyler Bleyendaal nailed the conversion for the win.

IN front of 60,642 fans and for referee’s Nigel Owens’ 150th Guinness PRO12 game, for an hour the Scarlets struggled to find their best form, but a moment of inspiration from Jonathan Davies set them on their way to a 21-16 win over Newport Gwent Dragons in the second game of Judgement Day. Defeats for the Ospreys and Ulster earlier in the day meant the Scarlets could take a giant step towards a semi-final spot provided they saw off the Dragons at Principality Stadium. But against a team who had never before won on Judgement Day, they were outplayed in the first 40 minutes, trailing 6-3 at the break. They got back to 6-6 but it was only after a Davies break on the hour, leading to a sin-bin for Adam Hughes, that they really took control. Davies got the first try two minutes later and Liam Williams, who had also taken over the kicking duties, followed suit to finally put the Dragons to bed, although Hughes did cross with the final play for a deserved losing bonus point. The win pushes the Scarlets up third in the table, and with the two teams behind them, Ospreys and Ulster, meeting in a fortnight, a win at Connacht next time out will likely see them into the play-offs.

LEINSTER head coach Leo Cullen took a huge risk to rest his big-name stars but the gamble paid off in style with a hard-fought bonus point win over Connacht. The league leaders made 11 changes from the side that started last weekend’s narrow win against the Ospreys, with a totally new-look front five. However, they certainly did not have it all their own way in an entertaining encounter that remained close until the screw was turned mid-way through the second half after a narrow 20-19 lead going into the break. The homeside ran in tries from Danie Poolman and Dave Heffernan either side of halftime, and Craig Ronaldson kept the scoreboard ticking over with just one conversion and four penalties. But Leinster replied with scores from Zane Kirchner, Adam Byrne, Rory O'Loughlin, Rhys Ruddock and Tom Daly. This 37-24 away victory guarantees Leinster a prized home semi-final in the quest to go one better this season.

ROBERT BARBIERI and Angelo Esposito scored tries either side of half-time as Benetton Treviso leapfrogged Zebre in the PRO12 table thanks to a 21-6 victory over Edinburgh. The Italians were dominant at the set-piece for the majority of the game and No.8 Barbieri scored his from the scrum to put the hosts in control at halftime, 13-3. Eagle-eyed kicking from Ian McKinley also helped Treviso’s cause and Gori made victory certain on the hour mark, while Edinburgh only had two Jason Tovey penalties to show for their efforts.

RESULTS

GLASGOW WARRIORS 45 - 10 ZEBRE RUGBY

Scotstoun Stadium - Friday 14 April 2017
KO: 19:35 HT: 28-0

WARRIORS: 15 Peter Murchie 14 Leonardo Sarto 13 Nick Grigg 12 Sam Johnson 11 Rory Hughes 10 Peter Horne 9 HENRY PYRGOS (C) 8 Matt Fagerson 7 Chris Fusaro 6 Rob Harley 5 Scott Cummings 4 Greg Peterson 3 D’arcy Rae 2 Pat MacArthur 1 Alex Allan BENCH: 16 Cammy Fenton 17 Jamie Bhatti 18 Sila Puafisi 19 Brian Alainu’uese 20 Lewis Wynne 21 Matt Smith 22 George Horne 23 Sean Lamont

SCORERS T: Grigg, Murchie, Harley, Fagerson, Johnson, Smith (2) C: Peter Horne (5)

ZEBRE: 15 Guglielmo Palazzani 14 Kayle Van Zyl 13 Giulio Bisegni 12 Tommaso Castello 11 Mattia Bellini 10 Serafin Bordoli 9 Carlo Engelbrecht 8 Federico Ruzza 7 Johan Meyer 6 Maxime Mbandà 5 VALERIO BERNABÒ (C) 4 Gideon Koegelenberg 3 Guillermo Roan 2 Oliviero Fabiani 1 Bruno Postiglioni BENCH: 16 Sidney Tobias 17 Andrea De Marchi 18 Pietro Ceccarelli 19 Derick Minnie 20 Jacopo Sarto 21 Marcello Violi 22 Kurt Baker 23 Matteo Pratichetti

SCORERS T: van Zyl, Baker

Referee: David Wilkinson

 

CARDIFF BLUES 35 - 17 OSPREYS

Principality Stadium - Saturday 15 April 2017
KO: 14:45 HT: 21-3

BLUES: 15 Matthew Morgan 14 Alex Cuthbert 13 Rey Lee-Lo 12 Willis Halaholo 11 Rhun Williams 10 Gareth Anscombe 9 Lloyd Williams 8 GETHIN JENKINS (C) 7 Kristian Dacey 6 Taufa’ao Filise 5 Jarrad Hoeata 4 Macauley Cook 3 Josh Navidi 2 Ellis Jenkins 1 Nick Williams BENCH: 16 Matthew Rees 17 Rhys Gill 18 Anton Peikrishvili 19 James Down 20 Sion Bennett 21 Tomos Williams 22 Steve Shingler 23 Aled Summerhill

SCORERS T: Dacey, Lloyd Williams, Nick Williams, Filise, Anscombe C: Anscombe (5) Cuthbert, Anscombe

OSPREYS: 15 Dan Evans 14 Keelan Giles 13 Ashley Beck 12 Josh Matavesi 11 Dafydd Howells 10 Sam Davies 9 RHYS WEBB (C) 8 Dan Baker 7 Justin Tipuric 6 James King 5 Rory Thornton 4 Bradley Davies 3 Brian Mujati 2 Scott Baldwin 1 Nicky Smith BENCH: 16 Scott Otten 17 Paul James 18 Rhodri Jones 19 Lloyd Ashley 20 Tyler Ardron 21 Tom Habberfield 22 Luke Price 23 Kieron Fonotia

SCORERS T: Evans, James C: Sam Davies (2) P: Sam Davies

Referee: Andrew Brace

 

MUNSTER RUGBY 22 - 20 ULSTER RUGBY

Thomond Park - Saturday 15 April 2017
KO: 15:00 HT: 10-10

 

MUNSTER: 15 Simon Zebo 14 Darren Sweetnam 13 Francis Saili 12 Rory Scannell 11 Keith Earls; 10 Tyler Bleyendaal 9 Duncan Williams 8 Jack O’Donoghue 7 Tommy O’Donnell 6 PETER O’MAHONY (C) 5 Billy Holland 4 Donnacha Ryan 3 John Ryan 2 Niall Scannell 1 Dave Kilcoyne BENCH: 16 Rhys Marshall 17 James Cronin 18 Stephen Archer 19 Dave O’Callaghan 20 Jean Deysel 21 Angus Lloyd 22 Ian Keatley 23 Andrew Conway

SCORERS T: Lloyd, Earls, O'Callaghan C: Keatley, Bleyendaal P: Keatley

ULSTER: 15 Jacob Stockdale 14 ANDREW TRIMBLE (C) 13 Luke Marshall 12 Stuart Olding 11 Charles Piutau 10 Paddy Jackson 9 Ruan Pienaar 8 SEAN REIDY 7 Chris Henry 6 Ian Henderson 5 Alan O’Connor 4 Kieran Treadwell 3 Wiehahn Herbst 2 Rory Best 1 Andy Warwick BENCH: 16 Rob Herring 17 Callum Black 18 Rodney Ah You 19 Robbie Diack 20 Clive Ross 21 Paul Marshall 22 Stuart McCloskey 23 Craig Gilroy

SCORERS T: Best, Luke Marshall C: Jackson (2) P: Jackson (2)

Referee: Marius Mitrea

 

DRAGONS 16 - 21 SCARLETS

Principality Stadium - Saturday 15 April 2017
KO: 17:15 HT: 6-3

 

DRAGONS: 15 Carl Meyer 14 Adam Hughes 13 Tyler Morgan 12 Sam Beard 11 Adam Warren 10 Angus O’Brien 9 Charlie Davies 8 Lewis Evans 7 Nic Cudd 6 Ollie Griffiths 5 Cory Hill 4 Matthew Screech 3 Lloyd Fairbrother 2 Rhys Buckley 1 Sam Hobbs BENCH: 16 Thomas Rhys Thomas 17 Phil Price 18 Brok Harris 19 Ashley Sweet 20 Harrison Keddie 21 Dorian Jones 22 Tom Prydie 23 Jack Dixon

SCORERS T: Hughes C: O'Brien P: O'Brien (3) Hughes

SCARLETS: 15 Johnny McNicholl 14 Liam Williams 13 Jonathan Davies 12 Scott Williams 11 Steff Evans 10 Dan Jones 9 Gareth Davies 8 John Barclay 7 James Davies 6 Tadhg Beirne 5 Tom Price 4 Jake Ball 3 Samson Lee 2 Ken Owens 1 Rob Evans BENCH: 16 Emyr Phillips 17 Wyn Jones 18 Werner Kruger 19 David Bulbring 20 Will Boyde 21 Jonathan Evans 22 Hadleigh Parkes 23 DTH van der Merwe

SCORERS T: Jonathan Davies, Liam Williams C: Liam Williams P: Dan Jones (2), Liam Williams

Referee: Nigel Owens

 

CONNACHT RUGBY 24 - 37 LEINSTER RUGBY

Sportsground - Saturday 15 April 2017
KO: 19:35 HT: 19-20

 

CONNACHT: 15 Tiernan O’Halloran 14 Niyi Adeolokun 13 Bundee Aki 12 Craig Ronaldson 11 Danie Poolman 10 Jack Carty 9 Kieran Marmion 8 JOHN MULDOON (C) 7 Jake Heenan 6 Eoin McKeon 5 Andrew Browne 4 Quinn Roux 3 Finlay Bealham 2 Dave Heffernan 1 Denis Buckley BENCH: 16 Shane Delahunt 17 JP Cooney 18 Dominic Robertson-McCoy 19 Sean O’Brien 20 Naulia Dawai 21 Caolin Blade 22 Steve Crosbie 23 Eoin Griffin

SCORERS T: Poolman, Heffernan C: Ronaldson P: Ronaldson (4)

LEINSTER: 15 Zane Kirchner 14 Adam Byrne 13 Rory O’Loughlin 12 Noel Reid 11 Dave Kearney 10 Ross Byrne 9 Luke McGrath 8 RHYS RUDDOCK (C) 7 Josh van der Flier 6 Dominic Ryan 5 Hayden Triggs 4 Ross Molony 3 Mike Ross 2 James Tracy 1 Cian Healy BENCH: 16 Sean Cronin 17 Peter Dooley 18 Michael Bent 19 Ian Nagle 20 Peadar Timmins 21 Nick McCarthy 22 Tom Daly 23 Barry Daly

SCORERS T: Kirchner, Adam Byrne, O'Loughlin, Ruddock, Daly C: Ross Byrne (3) P: Ross Byrne (2)

Referee: Ian Davies

 

BENETTON RUGBY 21 - 6 EDINBURGH RUGBY

Stadio Monigo - Saturday 15 April 2017
KO: 20:05 HT: 13-3

 

TREVISO: 15 Luke McLean 14 Angelo Esposito 13 Tommaso Iannone 12 Alberto Sgarbi 11 Luca Sperandio 10 Ian McKinley 9 Edoardo Gori 8 Robert Barbieri 7 Abraham Steyn 6 Francesco Minto 5 DEAN BUDD (C) 4 Marco Fuser 3 Simone Ferrari 2 Luca Bigi 1 Federico Zani BENCH: 16 Davide Giazzon 17 Alberto Porolli 18 Tiziano Pasquali 19 Jean-Francois Montauriol 20 Marco Lazzaroni 21 Giorgio Bronzini Tito Tebaldi 23 Tommaso Benvenuti

SCORERS T: Barbieri, Esposito C: McKinley P: McKinley (3)

EDINBURGH: 15 Glenn Bryce 14 Damien Hoyland 13 Chris Dean 12 Phil Burleigh 11 Rory Scholes 10 Jason Tovey 9 Nathan Fowles 8 Viliami Fihaki 7 Hamish Watson 6 Viliame Mata 5 Ben Toolis 4 Fraser McKenzie 3 Simon Berghan 2 ROSS FORD (C) 1 Murray McCallum BENCH: 16 Stuart McInally 17 Derrick Appiah 18 Kevin Bryce 19 Grant Gilchrist 20 Cornell du Preez 21 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne 22 Duncan Weir 23 Junior Rasolea

SCORERS P: Tovey (2)

Referee: Frank Murphy

 

 

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EDINBURGH RUGBY’S frustrating Guinness PRO12 run continued as they slipped to a seventh straight league defeat despite a brave fightback against Connacht. The Irish side returned to form after back-to-back away league defeats at Glasgow Warriors and Zebre, with fly-half Steve Crosbie a menace off the tee, scoring 17 points, while Eoin McKeon touched down for an all-important try. But it could have been so different for Edinburgh who scored three tries in the final 20 minutes thanks to a penalty score, Hamish Watson and Glenn Bryce but it proved too little too late as Duncan Weir missed the vital kick off the tee to level things late on.

REY LEE-LO struck what could prove to be a decisive blow in the race for the PRO12 semi-finals, as his double helped Cardiff Blues draw 24-24 at Ulster. The hosts were looking to go third in the league standings with a win over the mid-table Blues, and made a great start as Paddy Jackson grabbed the game’s opening score, before going ahead again with a penalty try after Sam Warburton had pegged them back. But while the visitors came out firing after half-time, centre Lee-Lo crossed twice in 13 minutes to send the Blues clear. Ulster were not down and out as Luke Marshall surged through to level ahead of a frantic – but scoreless – final ten minutes.

ZEBRE won back-to-back matches in the PRO12 for the first time since Christmas 2015 as they beat Newport Gwent Dragons 29-14. The last six meetings between these two sides have now been won by the home side on the day with the Dragons winless in Parma since their first ever visit, back in February 2013. Federico Ruzza and Derick Minnie crossed the whitewash in the first half with Edoardo Padovani and Johan Meyer securing the bonus point after the break. Cory Hill and Adam Hughes touched down for the Dragons either side of half-time, but the visitors were unable to match the Italians for much of the game.

ROSS BYRNE held his nerve to slot a last-gasp drop goal as Leinster moved to within touching distance of the play-offs with a 20-18 win over the Ospreys at the Liberty Stadium. On his 200th appearance for the Ospreys, Dan Biggar could have won it with the final kick of the game after a late Leinster infringement, but he pushed his penalty attempt wide as Leinster held on. Justin Tipuric’s try looked set to give the Welsh side the perfect response to their European disappointment but Byrne stepped up with a minute to go to knock over the crucial drop goal to win it. The Ospreys had led earlier thanks to a Sam Davies try, and even after Leinster struck back thanks to scores from Sean Cronin and Dan Leavy, Tipuric responded to give the Ospreys the lead heading into the final seconds. However they could not hold on, and instead Leinster stretch their lead at the top of the table with the Ospreys now looking over their shoulder in the race for a top four spot.

KEN OWENS marked his 200th Scarlets appearance with a try as he helped his side climb into the top four with an impressive 51-5, eight-try victory over Benetton Treviso at Parc y Scarlets. Steffan Evans and DTH van der Merwe, twice, had already crossed the whitewash when Owens benefitted from an inexorable driving maul in the 24th minute to secure the Welsh region a four-try bonus point. They did not let up from there as Evans grabbed a second, Tom Price went over, van der Merwe completed his hat-trick and Aled Davies touched down – with Ornel Gega getting Treviso’s lone points. The victory means the Scarlets leapfrog Ulster into a play-off place with just three games remaining in the season, as they maintained an unbeaten home record in the PRO12 that stretches back to September. Wayne Pivac’s troops now have seven wins from their last eight and are hitting top form at just the right time, with the business end of the campaign beckoning.

STUART HOGG scored a late try but it was not enough for Glasgow Warriors as Munster held on to claim a vital 10-7 victory to move a step closer to the semi-finals. James Cronin crossed early for the Irish side in a tense, low-scoring affair – but it was Glasgow who enjoyed possession for large parts of the first half without adding to the scoreboard. Munster pushed for a vital try in the second half, but they squandered two golden opportunities. And when Hogg crossed, it looked they would be made to pay, but some expert defending secured another major victory this season.

RESULTS

EDINBURGH 19 - 22 CONNACHT

Myreside - 07 April 2017
KO: 19:35 HT: 0-16

EDINBURGH: 15 Glenn Bryce 14 Damien Hoyland 13 Chris Dean 12 Phil Burleigh 11 Rory Scholes 10 Duncan Weir 9 Nathan Fowles 8 Cornell du Preez 7 Hamish Watson 6 Viliame Mata 5 Ben Toolis 4 Fraser McKenzie 3 Simon Berghan 2 ROSS FORD (C) 1 Murray McCallum BENCH: 16 Stuart McInally 17 Derrick Appiah 18 Kevin Bryce 19 Grant Gilchrist 20 Jamie Ritchie 21 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne 22 Tom Brown 23 Junior Rasolea

SCORERS T: PT, Watson, Glenn Bryce C: Weir (2)

CONNACHT: 15 Tiernan O'Halloran 14 Niyi Adeolokun 13 Eoin Griffin 12 Bundee Aki 11 Danie Poolman 10 Steve Crosbie 9 Kieran Marmion 8 JOHN MULDOON (C) 7 Jake Heenan 6 Eoin McKeon 5 Andrew Browne 4 Quinn Roux 3 Dominic Robertson-McCoy 2 Tom McCartney 1 Denis Buckley BENCH: 16 Shane Delahunt 17 JP Cooney 18 Finlay Bealham 19 James Cannon 20 Sean O’Brien 21 Caolin Blade 22 Jack Carty 23 Josh Rowland

SCORERS T: McKeon C: Crosbie P: Crosbie (5) O'Halloran

Referee: Dan Jones

 

ULSTER RUGBY 24 - 24 CARDIFF BLUES

Kingspan Stadium - 07 April 2017
KO: 19:35 HT: 14-10

ULSTER: 15 Jared Payne 14 Craig Gilroy 13 Luke Marshall 12 Stuart Olding 11 Charles Piutau 10 Paddy Jackson 9 Ruan Pienaar 8 Roger Wilson 7 Sean Reidy 6 Iain Henderson 5 Alan O'Connor 4 Kieran Treadwell 3 Wiehahn Herbst 2 RORY BEST (C) 1 Andrew Warwick BENCH: 16 Rob Herring 17 Callum Black 18 Rodney Ah You 19 Robbie Diack 20 Nick Timoney 21 Paul Marshall 22 Jacob Stockdale 23 Andrew Trimble

SCORERS T: Jackson, PT, Luke Marshall C: Jackson (3) P: Jackson

BLUES: 15 Rhun Williams 14 Alex Cuthbert 13 Rey Lee-Lo 12 Willis Halaholo 11 Blaine Scully 10 Gareth Anscombe 9 Lloyd Williams 8 Josh Navidi 7 Sam Warburton 6 Ellis Jenkins 5 Jarrad Hoeata 4 George Earle 3 Taufa’ao Filise 2 Matthew Rees 1 Gethin Jenkins BENCH: 16 Kirby Myhill 17 Corey Domachowski 18 Kieron Assiratti 19 James Down 20 Nick Williams 21 Tomos Williams 22 Steve Shingler 23 Matthew Morgan

SCORERS T: Warburton, Lee-Lo (2) C: Anscombe (3) P: Anscombe

Referee: Ian Davies

 

ZEBRE RUGBY 29 - 14 DRAGONS

Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi - 08 April 2017
KO: 14:30 HT: 15-7

 

ZEBRE: 15 Edoardo Padovani 14 Kayle Van Zyl 13 Giulio Bisegni 12 Tommaso Boni 11 Lloyd Greeff 10 Carlo Canna 9 Marcello Violi 8 Federico Ruzza 7 Derick Minnie 6 Johan Meyer 5 GEORGE BIAGI (C) 4 Gideon Koegelenberg 3 Dario Chistolini 2 Tommaso D’Apice 1 Andrea Lovotti BENCH: 16 Oliviero Fabiani 17 Bruno Postiglioni 18 Pietro Ceccarelli 19 Joshua Furno 20 Maxime Mbandà 21 Guglielmo Palazzani 22 Tommaso Castello 23 Serafin Bordoli

SCORERS T: Ruzza, Minnie, Padovani, Meyer C: Canna (3) P: Canna Bordoli

DRAGONS: 15 Carl Meyer 14 Adam Hughes 13 Tyler Morgan 12 Sam Beard 11 Pat Howard 10 Angus O’Brien 9 Charlie Davies 8 LEWIS EVANS (C) 7 Ollie Griffiths 6 Nick Crosswell 5 Rynard Landman 4 Cory Hill 3 Brok Harris 2 Rhys Buckley 1 Phil Price BENCH: 16 Darran Harris 17 Sam Hobbs 18 Lloyd Fairbrother 19 Nic Cudd 20 Harrison Keddie 21 Dorian Jones 22 Adam Warren 23 Tom Prydie

SCORERS T: Hill, Hughes C: O'Brien (2)

Referee: Frank Murphy

 

OSPREYS 18 - 20 LEINSTER RUGBY

Liberty Stadium - 08 April 2017
KO: 15:00 HT: 11-10

 

OSPREYS: 15 Sam Davies 14 Keelan Giles 13 Kieron Fonotia 12 Josh Matavesi 11 Dan Evans 10 Dan Biggar 9 RHYS WEBB (C) 8 Dan Baker 7 Justin Tipuric 6 Olly Cracknell 5 Rory Thornton 4 Lloyd Ashley 3 Brian Mujati 2 Scott Baldwin 1 Nicky Smith BENCH: 16 Scott Otten 17 Paul James 18 Ma’afu Fia 19 Bradley Davies 20 Tyler Ardron 21 Sam Underhill 22 Tom Habberfield 23 Jonathan Spratt

SCORERS T: Sam Davies, Tipuric C: Sam Davies P: Biggar (2)

LEINSTER: 15 ISA NACEWA (C) 14 Rory O’Loughlin 13 Zane Kirchner 12 Robbie Henshaw 11 Fergus McFadden 10 Joey Carbery 9 Jamison Gibson-Park 8 Jack Conan 7 Josh van der Flier 6 Rhys Ruddock 5 Mick Kearney 4 Devin Toner 3 Tadhg Furlong 2 Sean Cronin 1 Jack McGrath BENCH: 16 James Tracy 17 Peter Dooley 18 Mike Ross 19 Ian Nagle 20 Dan Leavy 21 Nick McCarthy 22 Ross Byrne 23 Dave Kearney

SCORERS T: Cronin, Leavy C: Nacewa (2) P: Nacewa DG: Byrne

Referee: John Lacey

 

MUNSTER 10 - 7 GLASGOW WARRIORS

Irish Independent Park - 08 April 2017
KO: 19:35 HT: 7-0

 

MUNSTER: 15 Andrew Conway 14 Darren Sweetnam 13 Francis Saili 12 Jaco Taute 11 Ronan O’Mahony 10 Tyler Bleyendaal 9 Duncan Williams 8 Jack O’Donoghue 7 Conor Oliver 6 Jean Deysel 5 BILLY HOLLAND (C) 4 Dave O’Callaghan 3 Stephen Archer 2 Rhys Marshall 1 James Cronin BENCH: 16 Niall Scannell 17 Dave Kilcoyne 18 John Ryan 19 Donnacha Ryan 20 Peter O’Mahony 21 Angus Lloyd 22 Rory Scannell 23 Simon Zebo

SCORERS T: Cronin C: Bleyendaal P: Rory Scannell

WARRIORS: 15 Stuart Hogg 14 Tommy Seymour 13 Nick Grigg 12 Alex Dunbar 11 Lee Jones 10 Finn Russell 9 Ali Price 8 Adam Ashe 7 Ryan Wilson 6 Rob Harley 5 JONNY GRAY (C) 4 Brian Alainu’uese 3 Sila Puafisi 2 Fraser Brown 1 Gordon Reid BENCH: 16 Pat MacArthur 17 Alex Allan 18 D’arcy Rae 19 Scott Cummings 20 Chris Fusaro 21 Henry Pyrgos 22 Peter Horne 23 Rory Hughes

SCORERS T: Hogg C: Russell

Referee: Nigel Owens

 

SCARLETS 51 - 5 BENETTON RUGBY

Parc y Scarlets - 08 April 2017
KO: 19:35 HT: 30-0

 

SCARLETS: 15 Johnny McNicholl 14 DTH van der Merwe 13 Hadleigh Parkes 12 Scott Williams 11 Steff Evans 10 Dan Jones 9 Gareth Davies 8 John Barclay 7 James Davies 6 Aaron Shingler 5 Tadhg Beirne 4 Jake Ball 3 Samson Lee 2 Ken Owens 1 Rob Evans BENCH: 16 Emyr Phillips 17 Wyn Jones 18 Werner Kruger 19 Tom Price 20 Josh Macleod 21 Aled Davies 22 Aled Thomas 23 Liam Williams

SCORERS T: van der Merwe (3), Steffan Evans (2), Owens, Price, Aled Davies C: Dan Jones (2), Aled Thomas (2) P: Dan Jones James, Davies

TREVISO: 15 David Odiete 14 Angelo Esposito 13 Tommaso Benvenuti 12 Alberto Sgarbi 11 Luca Sperandio 10 Ian McKinley 9 Tito Tebaldi 8 Robert Barbieri 7 Marco Lazzaroni 6 Francesco Minto 5 DEAN BUDD (C) 4 Filippo Gerosa 3 Tiziano Pasquali 2 Luca Bigi 1 Federico Zani BENCH: 16 Ornel Gega 17 Alberto Porolli 18 Simone Ferrari 19 Marco Fuser 20 Filo Paulo 21 Abraham Steyn 22 Edoardo Gori 23 Luke McLean

SCORERS T: Gaga Zani, Minto, Gori

Referee: Andrew Brace

 

 

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ZEBRE RUGBY 25 - 22 CONNACHT RUGBY

Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi - 01 April 2017
KO: 15:30† HT: 13-12

 

ZEBRE recorded their first home win of the season with a 25-22 victory over Connacht in their re-arranged Round Three fixture in Parma. Tries from Stacey Ili and Craig Ronaldson had Connacht two tries to the good after just 13 minutes but Zebre were ahead by half-time after Derick Minnie’s try and two Carlo Canna penalties. Tommaso Boni and Edoardo Padovani added second half tries for the hosts who earned their first win over an Irish opponent since September 2014. With the PRO12 finally back on an even keel, the Italian win has not affected the pecking order of the standings from week 18.

ZEBRE:  15 Dion Berryman 14 Kayle Van Zyl 13 Giulio Bisegni 12 Tommaso Boni 11 Lloyd Greeff 10 Carlo Canna 9 Marcello Violi 8 Federico Ruzza 7 Derick Minnie 6 Joshua Furno 5 GEORGE BIAGI (C) 4 Gideon Koegelenberg 3 Dario Chistolini 2 Tommaso D’Apice 1 Andrea Lovotti BENCH: 16 Sidney Tobias 17 Andrea De Marchi 18 Pietro Ceccarelli 19 Valerio Bernabò 20 Oliviero Fabiani 21 Guglielmo Palazzani 22 Matteo Pratichetti 23 Edoardo Padovani

SCORERS T: Minnie, Boni, Padovani C: Canna (2) P: Canna Minnie, Pratichetti

CONNACHT: 15 Josh Rowland 14 Danie Poolman 13 Tom Farrell 12 Bundee Aki 11 Stacey Ili 10 Jack Carty 9 John Cooney 8 JOHN MULDOON (C) 7 Eoin McKeon 6 Sean O’Brien 5 Andrew Browne 4 Quinn Roux 3 Finlay Bealham 2 Tom McCartney 1 Denis Buckley BENCH: 16 Dave Heffernan 17 Ivan Soroka 18 Dominic Robertson-McCoy 19 James Cannon 20 Eoghan Masterson 21 Caolin Blade 22 Craig Ronaldson 23 Eoin Griffin

SCORERS T: Ili, Ronaldson, Rowland C: Cooney, Ronaldson P: Cooney

Referee: Mike Adamson

* * * * * * *

†Match rescheduled from Week 3

 

 

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A dream return for Rhys Patchell saw the fly-half help Scarlets to a bonus point win over Edinburgh and saw the Welsh side earn a 13th Guinness PRO12 win in their last 15 matches. A try double from Patchell, as well as efforts from Wyn Jones and James Davies, meant Phil Burleigh’s effort for the visitors was in vain as all the points were scored in the first half.

ULSTER overcame a dogged Newport Gwent Dragons to maintain their place in the top four of the PRO12 with a hard-fought victory at Rodney Parade. The home side never let Ulster out of sight until the dying minutes as they went in search of what would have been just a fifth league win of the season. Craig Gilroy gave Ulster an early lead but Rynard Landman cancelled out their arrears before Jared Payne once again put the visitors ahead. An Ollie Griffiths try allowed Dragons to equalise once again, but, despite a red card for Rodney Ah You, Ulster broke clear in the final minutes with a Paddy Jackson penalty and a try for John Andrew.

LEINSTER extended their winning run to seven games but were made to work extremely hard for a 22-21 victory over Cardiff Blues. The Irish province have now won their last 13 games against the Blues in all competitions with Ross Molony’s try proving to be the crucial try at the RDS Arena. Twice Leinster took the lead with tries from Dan Leavy and Luke McGrath but those times they were pegged back by Tomos Williams’ completing Blues counter-attacks. Sion Bennett put the visitors ahead for the first time with a third counter-attacking score but Molony’s try took Leinster back in front with the Blues taking home a losing bonus point.

RONAN O’MAHONY maintained his try-scoring form as Munster made sure to keep the pressure on their title rivals with convincing bonus-point victory over Zebre. Munster’s leading try scorer in the Guinness Pro12 this season, O’Mahony took his tally for the season to nine with a double against Italians. The returning James Cronin similarly crossed twice with brothers Niall and Rory Scannell also on the scoreboard alongside Tommy O’Donnell as Munster not only maintained their 100 per cent record versus Zebre but kept pace with Ospreys and Leinster.

GLASGOW WARRIORS were sixth in the PRO12 at start of play, and knew any more slip-ups could be costly in their quest for a top-four place, and powered to a bonus point victory over Connacht to keep their hopes of a top four finish alive. The visitors and defending champions were ahead at the break thanks to tries from Niyi Adeolokun and John Muldoon. But a roaring second-half performance from the Warriors sealed an entertaining win as Finn Russell and man of the match Ali Price went over to add to Corey Flynn’s first-half score. And there was still time – despite losing Tim Swinson to a red card for a high tackle – for the hosts to grab an all-important fourth as Sean Lamont burst over at the death to leave them ten points behind fourth-placed Ulster in the standings.

THE Ospreys left Italy empty handed after a disastrous evening in Treviso, failing to pick up even a losing bonus point as their play-off hopes took a blow at Stadio Comunale di Monigo from Benetton Rugby. Neither side showed their full capabilities in a low-scoring game, but a try from Alberto Sgarbi and penalties from Tito Tebaldi and Ian McKinley were enough to secure the win. Ospreys slip to third in the PRO12 after suffering a fifth championship defeat of the season. Keelan Giles scored his team's only points of the night. The eight point deficit means the Ospreys failed to even secure a losing bonus point. It was 80 minutes of frustration, the Ospreys never managing to take control of a contest, Treviso having the upper hand from start to finish.

RESULTS

SCARLETS 26 - 10 EDINBURGH RUGBY

Parc y Scarlets - Friday 24 March 2017
KO: 19:05 HT: 26-10

SCARLETS: 15 Johnny McNicholl 14 Liam Williams 13 Jonathan Davies 12 HADLEIGH PARKES (C) 11 Steff Evans 10 Rhys Patchell 9 Aled Davies 8 Will Boyde 7 James Davies 6 Aaron Shingler 5 Tadhg Beirne 4 Tom Price 3 Samson Lee 2 Ryan Elias 1 Wyn Jones BENCH: 16 Emyr Phillips 17 Rob Evans 18 Werner Kruger 19 Lewis Rawlins 20 John Barclay 21 Gareth Davies 22 Dan Jones 23 DTH van der Merwe

SCORERS T: Patchell (2), Wyn Jones, Jonathan Davies C: Patchell (3)

EDINBURGH: 15 Blair Kinghorn 14 Damien Hoyland 13 Chris Dean 12 Phil Burleigh 11 Tom Brown 10 Duncan Weir 9 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne 8 Cornell Du Preez 7 Jamie Ritchie 6 Viliame Mata 5 Ben Toolis 4 Anton Bresler 3 Simon Berghan 2 ROSS FORD (C) 1 Allan Dell BENCH: 16 Stuart McInally 17 Murray McCallum 18 Kevin Bryce 19 Grant Gilchrist 20 Viliami Fihaki 21 Nathan Fowles 22 Jason Tovey 23 Glenn Bryce

SCORERS T: Burleigh C: Weir P: Weir Mata

Referee: Gary Conway

 

DRAGONS 17 - 27 ULSTER RUGBY

Rodney Parade - Friday 24 March 2017
KO: 19:35 HT: 3-10

DRAGONS: 15 Carl Meyer 14 Adam Hughes 13 Tyler Morgan 12 Sam Beard 11 Tom Prydie 10 Angus O’Brien 9 Charlie Davies 8 LEWIS EVANS (C) 7 Nic Cudd 6 Ollie Griffiths 5 Rynard Landman 4 Nick Crosswell 3 Brok Harris 2 Rhys Buckley 1 Sam Hobbs BENCH: 16 Darran Harris 17 Phil Price 18 Lloyd Fairbrother 19 Matthew Screech 20 Harrison Keddie 21 Sarel Pretorius 22 Dorian Jones 23 Adam Warren

SCORERS T: Landman, Griffiths C: O'Brien (2) P: O'Brien

ULSTER: 15 Jared Payne 14 Craig Gilroy 13 Luke Marshall 12 Darren Cave 11 Charles Piutau 10 Stuart Olding 9 Ruan Pienaar 8 Sean Reidy 7 Chris Henry 6 Iain Henderson 5 Alan O’Connor 4 Kieran Treadwell 3 Wiehahn Herbst 2 ROB HERRING (C) 1 Andrew Warwick BENCH: 16 John Andrew 17 Callum Black 18 Rodney Ah You 19 Robbie Diack 20 Clive Ross 21 Paul Marshall 22 Paddy Jackson 23 Jacob Stockdale

SCORERS T: Gilroy, Payne, Andrew C: Pienaar (2), Jackson P: Pienaar, Jackson Gilroy Ah You

Referee: Mike Adamson

 

LEINSTER RUGBY 22 - 21 CARDIFF BLUES

RDS Arena - Saturday 25 March 2017
KO: 15:00 HT: 14-7

 

LEINSTER: 15 Joey Carbery 14 Adam Byrne 13 Rory O’Loughlin 12 Noel Reid 11 ISA NACEWA (C) 10 Ross Byrne 9 Luke McGrath 8 Rhys Ruddock 7 Josh van der Flier 6 Dan Leavy 5 Hayden Triggs 4 Ross Molony 3 Michael Bent 2 Richardt Strauss 1 Cian Healy BENCH: 16 James Tracy 17 Peter Dooley 18 Mike Ross 19 Mick Kearney 20 Max Deegan 21 Jamison Gibson-Park 22 Tom Daly 23 Fergus McFadden

SCORERS T: Leavy, McGrath, Molony C: Ross Byrne (2) P: Ross Byrne

BLUES: 15 Matthew Morgan 14 Alex Cuthbert 13 Rey Lee-Lo 12 Steven Shingler 11 BLAINE SCULLY (C) 10 Gareth Anscombe 9 Tomos Williams 8 Nick Williams 7 Josh Navidi 6 Macauley Cook 5 Jarrad Hoeata 4 George Earle 3 Anton Peikrishvili 2 Kristian Dacey 1 Corey Domachowski BENCH: 16 Matthew Rees 17 Gethin Jenkins 18 Scott Andrews 19 Sion Bennett 20 Ellis Jenkins 21 Lloyd Williams 22 Willis Halaholo 23 Tom James

SCORERS T: Tomos Williams (2), Bennett C: Shingler (3)  

Referee: George Clancy

 

ZEBRE RUGBY 14 - 50 MUNSTER RUGBY

Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi - Saturday 25 March 2017
KO: 15:00 HT: 7-24

 

ZEBRE: 15 Dion Berryman 14 Kayle Van Zyl 13 Tommaso Boni 12 Tommaso Castello 11 Lloyd Greeff 10 Serafin Bordoli 9 Marcello Violi 8 Derick Minnie 7 Johan Meyer 6 Maxime Mbandà 5 VALERIO BERNABÒ (C) 4 Gideon Koegelenberg 3 Bartholomeus Le Roux 2 Oliviero Fabiani 1 Bruno Postiglioni BENCH: 16 Sydney Tobias 17 Andrea De Marchi 18 Guillermo Roan 19 Joshua Furno 20 Federico Ruzza 21 Carlo Engelbrecht 22 Matteo Pratichetti 23 Guglielmo Palazzani

SCORERS T: Minnie, Greeff C: Violi, Bordoli Violi, Fabiani

MUNSTER: 15 Andrew Conway 14 Darren Sweetnam 13 Jaco Taute 12 Rory Scannell 11 Ronan O’Mahony 10 Tyler Bleyendaal 9 Duncan Williams 8 Jack O’Donoghue 7 Tommy O’Donnell 6 PETER O’MAHONY (C) 5 Billy Holland 4 Dave O’Callaghan 3 John Ryan 2 Niall Scannell 1 Dave Kilcoyne BENCH: 16 Rhys Marshall 17 James Cronin 18 Stephen Archer 19 Darren O’Shea 20 Conor Oliver 21 Angus Lloyd 22 David Johnston 23 Dan Goggin

SCORERS T: Niall Scannell, O'Donnell, Ronan O'Mahony (2), Rory Scannell, Cronin (2) C: Bleyendaal (4), Rory Scannell P: Bleyendaal

Referee: Sean Gallagher

 

GLASGOW WARRIORS 32 - 24 CONNACHT

Scotstoun Stadium - Saturday 25 March 2017
KO: 17:15 HT: 13-15

 

WARRIORS: 15 Stuart Hogg 14 Sean Lamont 13 Nick Grigg 12 PETER HORNE (C) 11 Rory Hughes 10 Finn Russell 9 Ali Price 8 Adam Ashe 7 Matt Smith 6 Rob Harley 5 Brian Alainu’uese 4 Tim Swinson 3 Sila Puafisi 2 Corey Flynn 1 Alex Allan BENCH: 16 Fraser Brown 17 Gordon Reid 18 D’arcy Rae 19 Scott Cummings 20 Lewis Wynne 21 George Horne 22 Alex Dunbar 23 Peter Murchie

SCORERS T: Flynn, Russell, Price, Lamont C: Russell (3) P: Russell (2), Peter Horne Swinson

CONNACHT: 15 Tiernan O’Halloran 14 Niyi Adeolokun 13 Bundee Aki 12 Craig Ronaldson 11 Stacey Ili 10 Jack Carty 9 Kieran Marmion 8 JOHN MULDOON (C) 7 Jake Heenan 6 Sean O’Brien 5 Andrew Browne 4 Quinn Roux 3 Finlay Bealham 2 Tom McCartney 1 Denis Buckley BENCH: 16 Dave Heffernan 17 Ronan Loughney 18 Dominic Robertson-McCoy 19 James Cannon 20 Naulia Dawai 21 John Cooney 22 Tom Farrell 23 Josh Rowland

SCORERS T: Adeolokun, Muldoon C: Ronaldson P: Ronaldson (3), Cooney Carty

Referee: Ian Davies

 

BENETTON RUGBY 13 - 5 OSPREYS

Stadio Monigo Saturday 25 March 2017
KO: 20:35 HT: 7-5

 

TREVISO: 15 David Odiete 14 Angelo Esposito 13 Tommaso Iannone 12 Alberto Sgarbi 11 Luca Sperandio 10 Ian McKinley 9 Tito Tebaldi 8 Robert Barbieri 7 Marco Lazzaroni 6 Francesco Minto 5 DEAN BUDD (C) 4 Filippo Gerosa 3 Simone Ferrari Luca Bigi 2 1 Federico Zani BENCH: 16 Davide Giazzon Alberto Porolli 17 18 Tiziano Pasquali 19 Guglielmo Zanini 20 Abraham Steyn 21 Giorgio Bronzini Tommaso Benvenuti 23 Luke McLean

SCORERS T: Sgarbi C: Tebaldi P: Tebaldi, McKinley

OSPREYS: 15 Dan Evans 14 Keelan Giles 13 Kieron Fonotia 12 Josh Matavesi 11 Dafydd Howells 10 Sam Davies 9 TOM HABBERFIELD (C) 8 Dan Baker 7 Olly Cracknell 6 James King 5 Rory Thornton 4 Lloyd Ashley 3 Brian Mujati 2 Sam Parry 1 Paul James BENCH: 16 Scott Otten 17 Nicky Smith 18 Rhodri Jones 19 Tyler Ardron 20 Sam Underhill 21 Brendon Leonard 22 Jay Baker 23 Jonathan Spratt

SCORERS T: Giles

Referee: Nigel Owens

 

 

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ULSTER RUGBY 68 - 21 ZEBRE RUGBY†

Kingspan Stadium - Friday 25 November 2016
KO: 19:35 HT: 35-7

 

ULSTER RUGBY moved into the Guinness PRO12 top four with a ten-try success over Zebre Rugby in their re-arranged Round 9 fixture with Zebre. Luke Marshall and Charles Piutau both scored a brace of tries as Ruan Pienaar, Jacob Stockdale, Craig Gilroy, John Andrew, Paul Marshall and Stuart Olding all got on the scoresheet. Pienaar slotted six conversions with Olding adding three more when he replaced the South African. Zebre fought back with three tries of their own from Andrea De Marchi, Guillermo Roan and Lloyd Greeff, and cancelled out Ulster’s first try whilst a man up with Gideon Koegelenberg in the bin with their first. The Irish province secured the try bonus point after just half an hour and the victory, their fifth in succession, moves them four points above fifth-placed Scarlets in the league table.

ULSTER: 15 Jared Payne 14 Craig Gilroy 13 Jacob Stockdale 12 Luke Marshall 11 Charles Piutau 10 Stuart  9 Ruan Pienaar 8 Marcell Coetzee 7 Chris Henry 6 Robbie Diack 5 Allan O’Connor 4 Kieran Treadwell 3 Wiehahn Herbst 2 ROB HERRING (C) 1 Callum Black BENCH:  16 John Andrew 17 Andrew Warwick 18 Rodney Ah You  19 Franco van der Merwe 20 Clive Ross 21 Paul Marshall 22 Pete Nelson 23 David Busby

SCORERS T: Luke Marshall (2), Pienaar, Piutau (2), Stockdale, Gilroy, Andrew, Olding, Paul Marshall C: Pienaar (6), Olding (3)

ZEBRE: 15 Dion Berryman 14 Mattia Bellini 13 Tommaso Boni 12 Tommaso Castello 11 Lloyd Greeff 10 Serafin Bordoli 9 Carlo Engelbrecht 8 Federico Ruzza 7 Gideon Koegelenberg 6 Matteo Cornelli 5 Valerio Bernabò 4 QUINTIN GELDENHUYS (C) 3 Bartholomeus le Roux 2 Oliviero Fabiani 1 Andrea De Marchi BENCH: 16 Luigi Ferraro 17 Bruno Postiglioni 18 Guillermo Roan 19 Joshua Furno 20 Julien Nibert 21 Guglielmo Palazzani 22 Matteo Pratichetti 23 Malou Mornas

SCORERS T: de Marchi, Roan, Greeff C: Bordoli, Palazzani (2) Koegelenberg

Referee: Ian Davies

* * * * * * *

†Match rescheduled from Week 9

 

 

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A 65th-minute penalty try handed Connacht their fourth consecutive Guinness PRO12 win as they leapfrogged Cardiff Blues into seventh with a 33-3 win over Zebre at the Sportsground. Pat Lam’s side are on their longest unbeaten streak of the season and are now within two points of Glasgow Warriors and the top six. Naulia Dawai and Niyi Adeolokun had given Connacht a healthy 12-0 advantage at the break, but when Guglielmo Palazzani struck an early second-half penalty, Zebre hinted at a comeback. Instead a sublime break from Kieran Marmion led to a try for John Muldoon before a penalty try for collapsing a maul took Connacht 26-3 in front and then Lewis Stevenson grabbed try number five.

SAM DAVIES returned to the Ospreys to inspire them to a hard-fought 13-9 win over Edinburgh and move them back above Leinster to the top of the table for now. Man of the match Davies produced the game’s moment of real magic in wet conditions at Myreside to create Josh Matavesi’s first-half try. But it was their defence that won them this clash – holding off the hosts who could only manage three Duncan Weir penalties. Davies kicked two penalties and the extras from Matavesi’s score and they have now only lost one of their last 16 first-team games in all competitions. Ospreys have not lost on the road since November while for Edinburgh it was another narrow defeat to a Welsh opposition after the previous weekend’s disappointment against the Cardiff Blues. Despite having their chances on a wet and windy Friday night, Duncan Hodge’s side have now lost five in a row in the league.

ULSTER continued their pursuit of a top-four finish as they saw off a determined Benetton Treviso in appalling conditions but were left frustrated after missing out on a crucial bonus-point. Tries from Jared Payne, Sean Reidy and Charles Piutau set up the win for the Irish side, but despite dominating possession and territory for the most part they could not find the all-important fourth try. Ulster had never achieved four bonus-point victories in a row in the PRO12, and despite pre-match predictions of a comfortable home win, driving rain and standing water proved a levelling factor. Kicking dominated the opening exchanges as the weather prevented slick handling but the Irish side dug deep to claim a victory over Treviso and move to within striking distance of the Scarlets in fourth-place in the table.

NICK GRIGG’S first-half try double laid the platform for a phenomenal Glasgow Warriors fightback 47-17 win over Newport Gwent Dragons at Scotstoun. Gregor Townsend’s side were winless in the PRO12 since beating Cardiff Blues on January 7 and with Sarel Pretorius massively influential in the first 20 minutes, Rynard Landman crashing over and Angus O’Brien kicking a penalty, Dragons looked good to continue that run. But after Landman’s try on 23 minutes, Glasgow were irrepressible – scoring seven tries as Grigg and Peter Horne controlled the game, and man of the match Brian Alainu’uese dominated in the carry. Centre Grigg’s double kick-started the Glasgow revival, turning over the 10-0 deficit to lead 14-10 at half-time before Rory Hughes and debutant Ratu Tagive crossed within ten minutes of the turn. Lee Jones scrambled over eight minutes later and then Scotland centre Mark Bennett and Horne added two further scores to wrap up a valuable maximum-points win, closing the gap on Ulster and Scarlets in the standings.

MUNSTER RUGBY overcame a stubborn Cardiff Blues as they came from behind for a battling victory at BT Sport Cardiff Arms Park. Tries from Francis Saili and replacement Conor Oliver helped Rassie Erasmus’s side to victory, despite trailing for much of the match. Aled Summerhill crossed for the hosts, but the Irish side had too much for a Cardiff side decimated by injury and absentees. Cardiff were eighth in the Guinness PRO12 table at start of play, but did have some momentum after an 18-17 victory in Edinburgh last time out, and a convincing victory over Benetton Treviso before that. Munster, meanwhile, were third behind Leinster and Ospreys, and were seeking to bounce back after having their impressive run of form halted by Scarlets at Thomond Park last week.

LEINSTER remain at the top of the table thanks to a seven-try victory over Scarlets for their 22nd straight home win. The home side enjoyed much of the possession in the first half but only held a narrow three-point lead as two Luke McGrath tries were added to by three Daniel Jones penalties for the visitors. But after the restart Leinster turned on the style and Rhys Ruddock and Joey Carbery scores quickly brought up the bonus point. Carbery added a second before Ed Byrne – on his return to the RDS after 28 months out injured – and a late Jamison Gibson-Park meant Scarlets were well beaten for their first PRO12 loss in six games.

RESULTS

CONNACHT RUGBY 33 - 3 ZEBRE RUGBY

Sportsground - Friday 03 March 2017
KO: 19:35 HT: 12-0

 

CONNACHT: 15 Danie Poolman 14 Niyi Adeolokun 13 Bundee Aki 12 Tom Farrell 11 Stacey Ili 10 Steve Crosbie 9 John Cooney 8 Eoghan Masterson 7 Naulia Dawai 6 Eoin McKeon 5 Andrew Browne 4 Lewis Stevenson 3 Dominic Robertson-McCoy 2 TOM MCCARTNEY (C) 1 Ronan Loughney BENCH: 16 Dave Heffernan 17 Denis Buckley 18 Finlay Bealham 19 Quinn Roux 20 John Muldoon 21 Kieran Marmion 22 Craig Ronaldson 23 Tiernan O’Halloran

SCORERS T: Adeolokun, Dawai, Muldoon, PT, Stevenson C: Cooney, O'Halloran (2), Ronaldson

ZEBRE: 15 Dion Berryman 14 Mattia Bellini 13 Tommaso Boni 12 Tommaso Castello 11 Lloyd Greeff 10 Serafin Bordoli 9 Guglielmo Palazzani 8 Federico Ruzza 7 Gideon Koegelenberg 6 Matteo Cornelli 5 VALERIO BERNABÒ (C) 4 Quintin Geldenhuys 3 Dario Chistolini 2 Oliviero Fabiani 1 Bruno Postiglioni BENCH: 16 Tommaso D’Apice 17 Andrea De Marchi 18 Bartholomeus Le Roux 19 Joshua Furno 20 Matteo Archetti 21 Carlo Engelbrecht 22 Matteo Pratichetti 23 Guillermo Roan

SCORERS P: Palazzani Bernabo

Referee: Marius Mitrea

 

EDINBURGH RUGBY 9 - 13 OSPREYS

Myreside - Friday 03 March 2017
KO: 19:35 HT: 3-10

 

EDINBURGH: 15 Blair Kinghorn 14 Damien Hoyland 13 Glenn Bryce 12 Chris Dean 11 Rory Scholes 10 Duncan Weir 9 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne 8 Cornell Du Preez 7 Jamie Ritchie 6 Magnus Bradbury 5 Ben Toolis 4 Grant Gilchrist 3 Murray McCallum 2 NEIL COCHRANE (C) 1 Alasdair Dickinson BENCH: 16 Stuart McInally 17 Derrick Appiah 18 Kevin Bryce 19 Anton Bresler 20 Lewis Carmichael 21 Nathan Fowles 22 Junior Rasolea 23 Michael Allen

SCORERS P: Weir (3)

OSPREYS: 15 Dan Evans 14 Keelan Giles 13 Kieron Fonotia 12 Josh Matavesi 11 Dafydd Howells 10 Sam Davies 9 TOM HABBERFIELD (C) 8 James King 7 Sam Underhill 6 Olly Cracknell 5 Rory Thornton 4 Tyler Ardron 3 Brian Mujati 2 Sam Parry 1 Nicky Smith BENCH: 16 Hugh Gustafson 17 Paul James 18 Rhodri Jones 19 Joe Bearman 20 Dan Baker 21 Brendon Leonard 22 Jonathan Spratt 23 Jay Baker

SCORERS T: Matavesi C: Davies P: Davies (2)

Referee: George Clancy

 

ULSTER RUGBY 19 - 7 BENETTON RUGBY

Kingspan Stadium - Friday 03 March 2017
KO: 19:35 HT: 7-0

 

ULSTER: 15 Craig Gilroy 14 Andrew Trimble 13 Jared Payne 12 Stuart Olding 11 Charles Piutau 10 Peter Nelson 9 Ruan Pienaar 8 Marcell Coetzee 7 Sean Reidy 6 Roger Wilson 5 Franco van der Merwe 4 Kieran Treadwell 3 Wiehahn Herbst 2 ROB HERRING (C) 1 Callum Black BENCH: 16 John Andrew 17 Andrew Warwick 18 Ricky Lutton 19 Pete Browne 20 Clive Ross 21 Paul Marshall 22 Luke Marshall 23 Jacob Stockdale

SCORERS T: Payne, Reidy, Piutau C: Pienaar (2)

TREVISO: 15 Luca Sperandio 14 Angelo Esposito 13 Tommaso Iannone 12 Michael Tagicakibau 11 Andrea Buondonno 10 Ian McKinley 9 Tito Tebaldi 8 Robert Barbieri 7 Francesco Minto 6 Marco Lazzaroni 5 DEAN BUDD (C) 4 Filo Paulo 3 Tiziano Pasquali 2 Luca Bigi 1 Federico Zani BENCH: 16 Roberto Santamaria 17 Romulo Acosta 18 Matteo Zanusso 19 Filippo Gerosa 20 Guglielmo Zanini 21 Giorgio Bronzini 22 Alberto Sgarbi 23 Andrea Pratichetti

SCORERS T: Paulo C: McKinley Minto

Referee: Dan Jones

 

GLASGOW WARRIORS 47 - 17 DRAGONS

Scotstoun Stadium - Saturday 04 March 2017
KO: 15:00 HT: 14-10

 

WARRIORS: 15 Peter Murchie 14 Lee Jones 13 Mark Bennett 12 Nick Grigg 11 Rory Hughes 10 Peter Horne 9 HENRY PYRGOS(C) 8 Richie Vernon 7 Simone Favaro 6 Rob Harley 5 Brian Alainu’uese 4 Tim Swinson 3 D’arcy Rae 2 Corey Flynn 1 Alex Allan BENCH: 16 Pat MacArthur 17 Jamie Bhatti 18 Sila Puafisi 19 Scott Cummings 20 Chris Fusaro 21 Nemia Kenatale 22 Brandon Thomson 23 Ratu Tagive

SCORERS T: Grigg (2), Hughes, Tagive, Jones, Bennett, Horne C: Horne (6)

DRAGONS: 15 Tom Prydie 14 Pat Howard Adam Warren 13 Tyler Morgan 12 Sam Beard 11 Adam Warren 10 Angus O’Brien 9 Sarel Pretorius; 8 LEWIS EVANS(C) 7 Nic Cudd 6 Ollie Griffiths 5 Rynard Landman 4 James Thomas 3 Brok Harris 2 Elliot Dee 1 Sam Hobbs BENCH: 16 Rhys Buckley 17 Thomas Davies 18 Lloyd Fairbrother 19 Matthew Screech 20 Harrison Keddie 21 Charlie Davies 22 Dorian Jones 23 Will Talbot-Davies

SCORERS T: Landman, Morgan C: O'Brien, Jones P: O'Brien

Referee: Andrew Brace

 

CARDIFF BLUES 13 - 23 MUNSTER RUGBY

BT Sport Cardiff Arms Park - Saturday 04 March 2017
KO: 17:15 HT: 6-3

 

BLUES: 15 Matthew Morgan 14 Aled Summerhill 13 Willis Halaholo 12 Steven Shingler 11 Tom James 10 Gareth Anscombe 9 LLOYD WILLIAMS (C) 8 Nick Williams 7 Josh Navidi 6 Macauley Cook 5 Jarrad Hoeata 4 George Earle 3 Anton Peikrishvili 2 Matthew Rees 1 Corey Domachowski BENCH: 16 Kirby Myhill 17 Marc Thomas 18 Taufa’ao Filise 19 James Down 20 Sion Bennett 21 Tomos Williams 22 Garyn Smith 23 Rhun Williams

SCORERS  T: Summerhill C: Shingler P: Shingler (2) Halaholo

MUNSTER: 15 Andrew Conway 14 Darren Sweetnam 13 Jaco Taute 12 Rory Scannell 11 Ronan O’Mahony 10 Ian Keatley 9 Duncan Williams 8 Robin Copeland 7 Tommy O’Donnell 6 Dave O’Callaghan 5 BILLY HOLLAND (C) 4 Darren O’Shea 3 Stephen Archer 2 Rhys Marshall 1 Dave Kilcoyne BENCH: 16 Kevin O’Byrne 17 Peter McCabe 18 Brian Scott 19 Fineen Wycherley 20 Conor Oliver 21 Abrie Griesel 22 Dan Goggin 23 Francis Saili

SCORERS T: Saili, Oliver C: Scannell (2) P: Scannell (2) DG: Scannell

Referee: Mike Adamson

 

LEINSTER RUGBY 43 - 9 SCARLETS

RDS Arena - Saturday 04 March 2017
KO: 19:35 HT: 12-9

 

LEINSTER: 15 Joey Carbery 14 Adam Byrne 13 Zane Kirchner 12 Noel Reid 11 Fergus McFadden 10 Ross Byrne 9 Luke McGrath 8 Jack Conan 7 Dan Leavy 6 Rhys Ruddock 5 Hayden Triggs 4 Ross Molony 3 Michael Bent 2 RICHARDT STRAUSS(C) 1 Peter Dooley BENCH: 16 Bryan Byrne 17 Ed Byrne 18 Mike Ross 19 Mike McCarthy 20 Max Deegan 21 Jamison Gibson-Park 22 Tom Daly 23 Barry Daly

SCORERS T:  McGrath (2), Ruddock, Carbery (2), Ed Byrne, Gibson-Park C: Ross Byrne (5)

SCARLETS: 15 Johnny McNicholl 14 Tom Williams 13 Steff Hughes 12 HADLEIGH PARKES (C) 11 DTH van der Merwe 10 Dan Jones 9 Jonathan Evans 8 Will Boyde 7 James Davies 6 Aaron Shingler 5 Tadhg Beirne 4 Tom Price 3 Werner Kruger 2 Ryan Elias 1 Wyn Jones BENCH: 16 Dafydd Hughes 17 Luke Garrett 18 Nicky Thomas 19 Rynier Bernardo 20 Morgan Allen 21 Declan Smith 22 Aled Thomas 23 Ioan Nicholas

SCORERS P: Dan Jones (3)

Referee: Nigel Owens

 

 

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ELEVEN points down with 20 minutes remaining, Cardiff Blues looked sunk at Myreside, but two late scores from Sion Bennett and Lloyd Williams saw the Welsh region come back to record an impressive 18-17 win against Edinburgh Rugby. Rory Scholes’ second-half double seemed to have secured a victory for the hosts, who outscored the Blues by three tries to two after Neil Cochrane had crossed at the back of a driving maul in the first half. But misses from the tee by Sam Hidalgo-Clyne proved costly for Edinburgh, as the boot of Steven Shingler kept them in touch before their late salvo.

A quick-fire Jack Conan double set the tone as Leinster ran in eight tries to down Newport Gwent Dragons 54-22 at Rodney Parade and climb to the top of the Guinness PRO12 table. No.8 Conan went over for two early scores as Leinster led 14-3 at half-time, and he was joined on the scoresheet by Jamison Gibson-Park shortly after the restart. Adam Hughes then reduced the arrears but Leinster broke away with tries from Richardt Strauss, James Tracy, Hayden Triggs and a double for Luke McGrath. Matthew Screech and Sarel Pretorius did dot down for the hosts but it did little to lift the mood at Rodney Parade as Leinster made it five PRO12 wins on the bounce and climbed to the summit after Munster’s home loss to Scarlets.

A sparkling second half performance from Scarlets saw them complete a fine comeback win to end Munster’s unbeaten PRO12 run. Going into the game without a domestic blemish on their copybook since October – a run of nine games – it looked set to be continued as Munster established a 21-6 lead at the break following tries from Jaco Taute, Darren Sweetnam and Conor Oliver, all converted by Tyler Bleyendaal. But three rapid-fire tries from Hadleigh Parkes, Johnny McNicholl and DTH van der Merwe around the hour mark turned things in Scarlets’ favour, with Munster unable to hit back at all as they fell to an unexpected loss.

OSPREYS climbed to second in the table as two tries in two second-half minutes saw them come from behind to seal a 26-15 bonus-point victory over Glasgow Warriors at Liberty Stadium. Both sides came into the match on the back of defeats the previous weekend, and it was Ospreys who responded best as scores from Tyler Ardron and Kieron Fonotia helped them overturn a one-point deficit midway through the second period. The Welsh hosts had raced into an early lead through Keelan Giles’ 12th try of the campaign and a Josh Matavesi effort but Glasgow responded through Corey Flynn and Peter Murchie, to edge 15-14 in front. However, Ardron and Fonotia both completed impressive team moves to give Ospreys a first season double over their Scottish opponents since the 2008-09 campaign, having triumphed 22-5 back in Round 9.

CONNACHT claimed a bonus-point victory as they powered to a 34-19 success over Benetton Treviso at the Stadio Monigo. Tiernan O’Halloran scored the bonus-point try on the hour as Connacht went 34-5 up, and despite two late tries from the home side through Luca Sperandio and David Odiete to add to Andrea Buondonno's first half effort, it was a comfortable victory for the incumbent champions, though they languish I the bottom half of the table this season.

ULSTER claimed their third consecutive PRO12 bonus-point victory in Parma, putting six tries past bottom-placed Zebre in an encounter which, despite the gulf on the scoreboard, Les Kiss's men far from had all their own way. Bagging two tries through Chris Henry and Ruan Pienaar in the first 15 minutes, the Ulstermen threatened to run away with the match early on, but a spirited Zebre second-quarter comeback from Guglielmo Palazzani brought the Italians to within four points before second half tries from Stuart Olding, Jacob Stockdale, Robbie Diack and debutant David Busby put the visitors out of sight, though Mattia Bellini added a second try for the homeside. The province remain in fifth place in the standings now on 48 points, five adrift of fourth-placed Scarlets but with a game in hand - the rearranged fixture against today's opponents at Kingspan Stadium in two weeks' time.

RESULTS

EDINBURGH RUGBY 17 - 18 CARDIFF BLUES

Myreside - Friday 24 February 2017
KO: 19:05 HT: 7-6

EDINBURGH: 15 Blair Kinghorn 14 Damien Hoyland 13 Glenn Bryce 12 Chris Dean 11 Rory Scholes 10 Jason Tovey 9 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne 8 Cornell Du Preez 7 Jamie Ritchie 6 Magnus Bradbury 5 Ben Toolis 4 Fraser McKenzie 3 Murray McCallum 2 NEIL COCHRANE (C) 1 Jack Cosgrove BENCH: 16 George Turner 17 Derrick Appiah 18 Kevin Bryce 19 Grant Gilchrist 20 Lewis Carmichael 21 Nathan Fowles 22 Junior Rasolea 23 Michael Allen

SCORERS T: Cochrane, Scholes (2) C: Hidalgo-Clyne

BLUES: 15 Matthew Morgan 14 Alex Cuthbert 13 Willis Halaholo 12 Steve Shingler 11 Tom James 10 Gareth Anscombe 9 Lloyd Williams 8 Nick Williams 7 Josh Sion Bennett 6 Macauley Cook 5 Jarrad Hoeata 4 George Earle 3 Anton Peikrishvili 2 Kristian Dacey 1 Rhys Gill BENCH: 16 Matthew Rees 17 Corey Domachowski 18 Scott Andrews 19 James Down 20 Kirby Myhill 21 Tomos Williams 22 Garyn Smith 23 Aled Summerhill

SCORERS T: Bennett, Lloyd Williams C: Shingler P: Shingler (2) Peikrishvili, Hoeata

Referee: Mark Patton

 

DRAGONS 22 - 54 LEINSTER RUGBY

Rodney Parade - Friday 24 February 2017
KO: 19:30 HT: 3-14

DRAGONS: 15 Carl Meyer 14 Adam Hughes 13 Tyler Morgan 12 Jack Dixon 11 Pat Howard 10 Dorian Jones 9 Tavis Knoyle 8 LEWIS EVANS (C) 7 Nic Cudd 6 Ollie Griffiths 5 Rynard Landman 4 Nick Crosswell 3 Brok Harris 2 Elliot Dee 1 Sam Hobbs BENCH: 16 Rhys Buckley 17 Thomas Davies 18 Lloyd Fairbrother 19 Matthew Screech 20 Harrison Keddie 21 Sarel Pretorius 22 Angus O’Brien 23 Adam Warren

SCORERS T: Hughes, Screech, Pretorius C: Jones (2) P: Jones

LEINSTER: 15 Joey Carbery 14 Adam Byrne 13 Zane Kirchner 12 Noel Reid 11 Fergus McFadden 10 Ross Byrne 9 Jamison Gibson-Park 8 Jack Conan 7 Peadar Timmins 6 Rhys Ruddock 5 Mike McCarthy 4 Ross Molony 3 Michael Bent 2 Richardt Strauss 1 Peter Dooley BENCH: 16 James Tracy 17 Ed Byrne 18 Mike Ross 19 Hayden Triggs 20 Max Deegan 21 Luke McGrath 22 Cathal Marsh 23 Barry Daly

SCORERS T: Conan (2), Gibson-Park, Molony, Tracy, Triggs, McGrath C: Ross Byrne (7)

Referee: Marius Mitrea

 

MUNSTER RUGBY 21 - 30 SCARLETS

Thomond Park - Friday 24 February 2017
KO: 19:35 HT: 21-6

 

MUNSTER: 15 Jaco Taute 14 Darren Sweetnam 13 Francis Saili 12 Dan Goggin 11 Ronan O'Mahony 10 TYLER BLEYENDAAL (C) 9 Duncan Williams 8 Conor Oliver 7 Tommy O'Donnell 6 Dave O'Callaghan 5 Billy Holland 4 Dave Foley 3 Stephen Archer 2 Rhys Marshall 1 Dave Kilcoyne BENCH: 16 Kevin O'Byrne 17 Peter McCabe 18 Brian Scott 19 Darren O'Shea 20 Fineen Wycherley 21 Abrie Griesel 22 Ian Keatley 23 Andrew Conway

SCORERS T: Taute, Sweetnam, Oliver C: Bleyendaal (3)

SCARLETS: 15 Johnny McNicholl 14 DTH van der Merwe 13 Steff Hughes 12 HADLEIGH PARKES (C) 11 Tom Williams 10 Dan Jones 9 Jonathan Evans 8 Will Boyde 7 James Davies 6 Aaron Shingler 5 Tadhg Beirne 4 Tom Price 3 Werner Kruger 2 Ryan Elias 1 Wyn Jones BENCH: 16 Dafydd Hughes 17 Luke Garrett 18 Nicky Thomas 19 Rynier Bernardo 20 Morgan Allen 21 Aled Davies 22 Aled Thomas 23 Ioan Nicholas

SCORERS T: Parkes, McNicholl, van der Merwe C: Dan Jones (3) P: Dan Jones (3)

Referee: Dan Jones

 

OSPREYS 26 - 15 GLASGOW WARRIORS

Liberty Stadium - Sunday 26 February 2017
KO: 13:05 HT: 14-7

 

OSPREYS: 15 Dan Evans 14 Keelan Giles 13 Ashley Beck 12 Josh Matavesi 11 Hanno Dirksen 10 Luke Price 9 BRENDON LEONARD (C) 8 Dan Baker 7 Olly Cracknell 6 Tyler Ardron 5 Rory Thornton 4 Lloyd Ashley 3 Brian Mujati 2 Hugh Gustafson 1 Paul James BENCH: 16 Ifan Phillips 17 Gareth Thomas 18 Rhodri Jones 19 James King 20 Sam Underhill 21 Tom Habberfield 22 Kieron Fonotia 23 Dafydd Howells

SCORERS T: Giles, Matavesi, Ardron, Fonotia C: Price (3)

WARRIORS: 15 Peter Murchie 14 Junior Bulumakau 13 Nick Grigg 12 PETER HORNE (C) 11 Rory Hughes 10 Brandon Thomson 9 Grayson Hart 8 Lewis Wynne 7 Matt Smith 6 Rob Harley 5 Scott Cummings 4 Brian Alainu’uese 3 Sila Puafisi 2 Corey Flynn 1 Jamie Bhatti BENCH: 16 Pat MacArthur 17 Alex Allan 18 D’arcy Rae 19 Tjiuee Uanivi 20 Chris Fusaro 21 Nemia Kenatale 22 Richie Vernon 23 Ratu Tagive

SCORERS T: Flynn, Murchie C: Thomson P: Thomson

Referee: Frank Murphy

 

BENETTON RUGBY 19 - 34 CONNACHT RUGBY

Stadio Monigo - Sunday 26 February 2017
KO: 13:30 HT: 5-20

 

TREVISO: 15 Luca Sperandio 14 Michael Tagicakibau 13 Tommaso Iannone 12 ALBERTO SGARBI (C) 11 Andrea Buondonno 10 Ian McKinley 9 Tito Tebaldi 8 Robert Barbieri 7 Francesco Minto 6 Marco Lazzaroni 5 Dean Budd 4 Filo Paulo 3 Tiziano Pasquali 2 Luca Bigi 1 Federico Zani BENCH: 16 Roberto Santamaria 17 Matteo Zanusso 18 Mark Irving 19 Luca Nostran 20 Filippo Ferrarini 21 Enrico Francescato 22 Andrea Pratichetti 23 David Odiete

SCORERS T: Buondonno, Sperandio, Odiete C: Tebaldi, Buondonno

CONNACHT: 15 Tiernan O’Halloran 14 Niyi Adeolokun 13 Bundee Aki 12 Craig Ronaldson 11 Danie Poolman 10 Jack Carty 9 Caolin Blade 8 JOHN MULDOON (C) 7 Nepia Fox-Matamua 6 Sean O’Brien 5 James Cannon 4 Ultan Dillane 3 Finlay Bealham 2 Shane Delahunt 1 Denis Buckley BENCH: 16 Dave Heffernan 17 JP Cooney 18 John Andress 19 Quinn Roux 20 Naulia Dawai 21 John Cooney 22 Tom Farrell 23 Stacey Ili

SCORERS T: Blade, Bealham, Ronaldson, O'Halloran C: Ronaldson (3), Carty P: Ronaldson (2)

Referee: Ian Davies

 

ZEBRE RUGBY 17 - 40 ULSTER RUGBY

Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi - Sunday 26 February 2017
KO: 13:30 HT: 10-14

 

ZEBRE: 15 Dion Berryman 14 Mattia Bellini 13 Tommaso Boni 12 Matteo Pratichetti 11 Lloyd Greeff 10 Serafin Bordoli 9 Guglielmo Palazzani 8 Federico Ruzza 7 Johan Meyer 6 Dennis Bergamin 5 VALERIO BERNABÒ (C) 4 Gideon Koegelenberg 3 Guillermo Roan 2 Oliviero Fabiani 1 Bruno Postiglioni BENCH: 16 Sidney Tobias 17 Andrea De Marchi 18 Bartholomeus Le Roux 19 Joshua Furno 20 Davide Fragnito 21 Carlo Engelbrecht 22 Tommaso Castello 23 Simone Balocchi

SCORERS T: Palazzani, Bellini C: Palazzani (2) P: Palazzani

ULSTER: 15 Jacob Stockdale 14 Tommy Bowe 13 Luke Marshall 12 Stuart Olding 11 Charles Piutau 10 Peter Nelson 9 Ruan Pienaar 8 Sean Reidy 7 Chris Henry 6 Clive Ross 5 Alan O’Connor 4 Robbie Diack 3 Wiehahn Herbst 2 Rob Herring 1 Andrew Warwick BENCH: 16 John Andrew 17 Callum Black 18 Ricky Lutton 19 Kieran Treadwell 20 Roger Wilson 21 Paul Marshall 22 Jared Payne 23 David Busby

SCORERS T: Henry, Pienaar, Olding, Stockdale, Diack, Busby C: Pienaar (5)

Referee: Sean Gallagher

 

 

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FLY-HALF Joey Carbery scored two tries in his first start since December as Leinster saw off Edinburgh Rugby 39-10 at the RDS Arena. The home side scored six tries in total with Barry Daly also crossing twice as they moved back to the top of the Guinness PRO12 table until Munster face Ospreys on Saturday. Man of the match Daniel Leavy and Bryan Byrne also made it over the whitewash for Leinster while Duncan Weir scored all ten of Edinburgh’s points.

STEFF EVANS turned in a dazzling try-scoring performance for Scarlets as they claimed a vital bonus-point 42-7 home win against Zebre to remain fourth in the table. Wayne Pivac’s side claimed a pivotal league win over Glasgow Warriors at Scotstoun the previous Friday and they clearly sensed the chance to compound their top-four spot with a bonus-point win at home to bottom-place Zebre, kicking to the corner repeatedly early on. After two near misses, Evans scored the opener with just under 15 minutes gone and though Mattia Bellini’s converted try levelled the scores ten minutes later, Aaron Shingler, and Tom Williams both crossed to put the hosts 21-7 up at the break. Lock Tom Price got the critical bonus-point score on 50 minutes before the hosts’ pack earned them an even healthier buffer with a penalty try following huge scrum pressure before Will Boyd bamboozled the Zebre defence to cross from a lineout at Parc y Scarlets.

MATTHEW MORGAN starred as Cardiff Blues secured their first PRO12 victory since Boxing Day with a handsome 57-20 win against Benetton Treviso. An early Nick Williams try gave Cardiff control but Treviso impressed in the first half and even led when Ian McKinley scored. The half time score was a close 17-14, before the Blues ran riot after the break. Angelo Esposito crossed in the corner to cut the deficit in the second half, and Tito Tebaldi added both conversion and two penalties. But three quick-fire tries killed off any hope of a Treviso shock, with Morgan playing a pivotal role in tries for Steven Shingler and Kristian Dacey. And further scores for Willis Halaholo, Morgan and Alex Cuthbert completed a perfect response to three consecutive league defeats.

ULSTER jumped above Glasgow Warriors and into fifth in the standings, after a thrilling performance at the Kingspan saw them emerge with a bonus-point 37-17 victory. The hosts dominated the opening half, although after tries for Tommy Bowe and Sean Reidy, Brandon Thomson gave Glasgow some hope just before the interval on his first appearance in a Warriors jersey. But two brilliant scores early in the second half from Jacob Stockdale and Ruan Pienaar gave Ulster the bonus point and knocked the wind out of Glasgow’s sails. And Scott Cummings’ late double was no more than a consolation, with Stockdale putting the gloss on the win for Ulster with three minutes remaining.

MUNSTER stayed at the top of the table after a last-gasp David Kilcoyne try gave the Irish outfit victory over Ospreys. The homeside were just two points clear at the break after tries from Hanno Dirksen and Kieron Fonotia, aided by the boot of Sam Davies who added two penalties to his conversions, while Munster ran scores from Jack O’Donoghue and Francis Saili, the difference a missed conversion from Tyler Bleyendaal to make it 20-18. The Ospreys were ahead in the game until the 78th minute, even though it they mustered just a single penalty in the second half, until Kilcoyne crossed with just two minutes left on the clock; this time, Bleyendaal added the extras as the sides played out a riveting clash at the Liberty Stadium.

FIRST half tries for Tiernan O’Halloran and Caolin Blade set reigning PRO12 champions Connacht up for a 14-9 victory over Newport Gwent Dragons. Newport have still not won away this season and faced an uphill battle as hosts Connacht led 14-0 after 12 minutes thanks to O’Halloran and Blade crossing. Angus O’Brien  managed only a single penalty before the break, the visitors needing two scores to take the lead from  Connacht in the second, 14-3 up. While O’Brien’s two further penalties were not enough for the Dragons to end their woes on the road, it did earn Kingsley Jones’ men a deserved losing bonus point.

RESULTS

LEINSTER RUGBY 39 - 10 EDINBURGH RUGBY

RDS Arena - Friday 17 February 2017
KO: 19:35 HT: 8-3

LEINSTER: 15 Zane Kirchner 14 Dave Kearney 13 Rory O’Loughlin 12 Noel Reid 11 Barry Daly 10 Joey Carbery 9 LUKE MCGRATH (C) 8 Jack Conan 7 Josh van der Flier 6 Dominic Ryan 5 Mike McCarthy 4 Ross Molony 3 Mike Ross 2 James Tracy 1 Peter Dooley BENCH: 16 Bryan Byrne 17 Andrew Porter 18 Michael Bent 19 Mick Kearney 20 Dan Leavy 21 Jamison Gibson-Park 22 Ross Byrne 23 Adam Byrne

SCORERS T: Daly (2), Carbery (2), Leavy, Bryan Byrne C: Ross Byrne (3) P: Carbery

EDINBURGH: 15 Glenn Bryce 14 Damien Hoyland 13 Chris Dean 12 Phil Burleigh 11 Tom Brown 10 Duncan Weir 9 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne 8 Cornell Du Preez 7 Jamie Ritchie 6 Magnus Bradbury 5 Ben Toolis 4 Fraser McKenzie 3 Murray McCallum 2 NEIL COCHRANE (C) 1 Jack Cosgrove BENCH: 16 George Turner 17 Derrick Appiah 18 Nick Beavon 19 Grant Gilchrist 20 Lewis Carmichael 21 Nathan Fowles 22 Jason Tovey 23 Blair Kinghorn

SCORERS T: Weir C: Weir P: Weir

Referee: Ian Davies

 

SCARLETS 42 - 7 ZEBRE RUGBY

Parc y Scarlets - Friday 17 February 2017
KO: 19:35 HT: 21-7

SCARLETS: 15 Johnny McNicholl 14 Tom Williams 13 Steff Hughes 12 HADLEIGH PARKES (C) 11 DTH van der Merwe 10 Dan Jones 9 Jonathan Evans 8 Will Boyde 7 James Davies 6 Aaron Shingler 5 Tadhg Beirne 4 Tom Price 3 Werner Kruger 2 Emyr Phillips 1 Wyn Jones BENCH: 16 Ryan Elias 17 Luke Garrett 18 Nicky Thomas 19 Tom Phillips 20 Josh Macleod 21 Aled Davies 22 Gareth Owen 23 Steff Evans

SCORERS T: Steffan Evans, Shingler, Williams, Price, PT, Boyde Dan Jones (5), Aled Thomas

ZEBRE: 15 Kurt Baker 14 Mattia Bellini 13 Giulio Bisegni 12 Thomas Boni 11 Lloyd Greeff 10 Serafin Bordoli 9 Marcello Violi 8 Federico Ruzza 7 Oliviero Fabiani 6 Derick Minnie 5 Gideon Koegelenberg 4 Joshua Furno 3 Pietro Ceccarelli 2 Tommaso D’Apice 1 ANDREA DE MARCHI (C) BENCH: 16 Bruno Postiglioni 17 Guillermo Roan 18 Bartholomeus Le Roux 19 Valerio Bernabo 20 Dario Zanetti 21 William Palazzani 22 Matteo Pratichetti 23 Dion Berryman

SCORERS T: Bellini C: Violi Postiglioni

Referee: Andrew Brace

 

CARDIFF BLUES 57 - 20 BENETTON RUGBY

BT Sport Cardiff Arms Park - Saturday 18 February 2017
KO: 14:30 HT: 17-13

BLUES: 15 Matthew Morgan 14 Alex Cuthbert 13 Willis Halaholo 12 Steve Shingler 11 Blaine Scully 10 Gareth Anscombe 9 LLOYD WILLIAMS (C) 8 Nick Williams 7 Sion Bennett 6 Macauley Cook 5 Jarrad Hoeata 4 George Earle 3 Taufa'ao Filise 2 Kristian Dacey 1 Rhys Gill BENCH: 16 Matthew Rees 17 Corey Domachowski 18 Scott Andrews 19 James Down 20 Kirby Myhill 21 Tomos Williams 22 Garyn Smith 23 Tom James

SCORERS T: Nick Williams, Scully, Shingler, Bennett, Dacey, Halaholo, Morgan, Cuthbert C: Shingler (7) P: Shingler

TREVISO: 15 Luca Sperandio 14 Michael Tagicakibau 13 Tommaso Iannone 12 Tommaso Allan 11 Angelo Esposito 10 Ian McKinley 9 Tito Tebaldi 8 Robert Barbieri 7 Francesco Minto 6 Marco Lazzaroni 5 DEAN BUDD (C) 4 Filo Paulo 3 Tiziano Pasquali 2 Luca Bigi 1 Federico Zani BENCH: 16 Davide Giazzon 17 Matteo Zanusso 18 Jody Rossetto 19 Jean Francois Montauriol 20 Guglielmo Zanini 21 Giorgio Bronzini 22 Andrea Pratichetti 23 David Odiete

SCORERS T: McKinley, Esposito C: Tebaldi (2) P: Tebaldi (2)

Referee: John Lacey

 

ULSTER RUGBY 37 - 15 GLASGOW

Kingspan Stadium - Saturday 18 February 2017
KO: 15:00 HT: 15-5

 

ULSTER: 15 Louis Ludik 14 Tommy Bowe 13 Luke Marshall 12 Darren Cave 11 Craig Gilroy 10 Peter Nelson 9 Ruan Pienaar 8 Marcel Coetzee 7 CHRIS HENRY (C) 6 Sean Reidy 5 Franco van der Merwe 4 Pete Browne 3 Ricky Lutton 2 John Andrew 1 Callum Black BENCH: 16 Rob Herring 17 Andrew Warwick 18 Wiehahn Herbst 19 Kieran Treadwell 20 Robbie Diack 21 Paul Marshall 22 Jacob Stockdale 23 Jack Owens

SCORERS T: Bowe, Reidy, Stockdale (2), Pienaar C: Pienaar (3) P: Pienaar (2)

WARRIORS: 15 Brandon Thomson 14 Lee Jones 13 Mark Bennett 12 Nick Grigg 11 Sean Lamont 10 Peter Horne 9 Henry Pyrgos 8 Adam Ashe 7 Simone Favaro 6 Rob Harley 5 Scott Cummings 4 Brian Alainu’uese 3 Sila Puafisi 2 James Malcolm1 Alex Allan BENCH: 16 Corey Flynn 17 Jamie Bhatti 18 D’arcy Rae 19 Tjiuee Uanivi 20 Lewis Wynne 21 Grayson Hart 22 Richie Vernon 23 Rory Hughes

SCORERS T: Thomson, Cummings (2) C: Thomson Harley

Referee: Dan Jones

 

OSPREYS 23 - 25 MUNSTER RUGBY

Liberty Stadium - Saturday 18 February 2017
KO: 17:15 HT: 20-18

 

OSPREYS: 15 Dan Evans 14 Keelan Giles 13 Kieron Fonotia 12 Ashley Beck 11 Hanno Dirksen 10 Sam Davies 9 TOM HABBERFIELD (C) 8 James King 7 Sam Underhill 6 Olly Cracknell 5 Rory Thornton 4 Lloyd Ashley 3 Rhodri Jones 2 Scott Baldwin 1 Nicky Smith BENCH: 16 Sam Parry 17 Paul James 18 Daniel Suter 19 Tyler Ardron 20 Dan Baker 21 Brendon Leonard 22 Luke Price 23 Ben John

SCORERS  T: Dirksen, Fonotia C: Davies (2) P: Davies (3)

MUNSTER: 15 Ian Keatley 14 Ronan O’Mahony 13 Francis Saili 12 Rory Scannell 11 Darren Sweetnam 10 TYLER BLEYENDAAL (C) 9 Duncan Williams 8 Jack O’Donoghue 7 Tommy O’Donnell 6 Dave O’Callaghan 5 Billy Holland 4 Darren O’Shea 3 John Ryan 2 Rhys Marshall 1 Dave Kilcoyne BENCH: 16 Kevin O’Byrne 17 Peter McCabe 18 Stephen Archer 19 Dave Foley 20 Conor Oliver 21 Abrie Griesel 22 Dan Goggin 23 Andrew Conway

SCORERS T: O'Donoghue, Saili, Kilcoyne C: Bleyendaal (2) P: Bleyendaal (2)

Referee: Marius Mitrea

 

CONNACHT RUGBY 14 - 9 DRAGONS

Sportsground - Saturday 18 February 2017
KO: 19:35 HT: 14-3

 

CONNACHT: 15 Tiernan O'Halloran 14 Niyi Adeolokun 13 Tom Farrell 12 Craig Ronaldson 11 Matt Healy 10 Jack Carty 9 Kieran Marmion 8 JOHN MULDOON (C) 7 Jake Heenan 6 Sean O'Brien 5 Quinn Roux 4 Ultan Dillane 3 Finlay Bealham 2 Dave Heffernan 1 Denis Buckley BENCH: 16 Tom McCartney 17 Ronan Loughney 18 JP Cooney 19 James Cannon 20 Nepia Fox-Matamua 21 Caolin Blade 22 Steve Crosbie 23 Rory Parata

SCORERS T: O'Halloran, Blade C: Ronaldson (2)

DRAGONS: 15 Tom Prydie 14 Adam Hughes 13 Tyler Morgan 12 Adam Warren 11 Pat Howard 10 Dorian Jones 9 Tavis Knoyle 8 Lewis Evans 7 Nic Cudd 6 Ollie Griffiths 5 Rynard Landman 4 Nick Crosswell 3 Brok Harris 2 Elliot Dee 1 Sam Hobbs BENCH: 16 Darran Harris 17 Thomas Davies 18 Lloyd Fairbrother 19 Cory Hill 20 Harrison Keddie 21 Sarel Pretorius 22 Angus O'Brien 23 Sam Beard

SCORERS P: O'Brien (3)

Referee: Nigel Owens

 

 

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WITH only a point separating Glasgow Warriors and the Scarlets ahead of Friday evening's Guinness PRO12 clash the Welsh region knew that a victory at Scotstoun Stadium would see them move into the play-off spot. A Pat MacArthur try had given Warriors the lead, but scores from Tom Williams and James Davies helped the Scarlets to a 14-26 victory at Scotstoun Stadium and continued pressure denied the home side a losing bonus point in the process.

MUNSTER demonstrated why they are top of the PRO12 table with a 45-17 victory over Newport Gwent Dragons at Irish Independent Park. Jaco Taute scored two tries with Andrew Conway and a penalty try giving the home side the try bonus point on the stroke of half time. Rhys Buckley and Elliot Dee touched down in reply for the Dragons but Dave Kilcoyne and Ronan O’Mahony added try numbers five and six. Munster, who had fly-half Tyler Bleyendaal kick 15 points, maintained their one-point advantage over Ospreys, who secured a try bonus point over Zebre, at the top of the league.

ULSTER ran in four first-half tries to down Edinburgh Rugby 24-18 despite a spirited second half comeback at the Kingspan Stadium. The back three of Charles Piutau, Jacob Stockdale and Louis Ludik combined to open up the Edinburgh defence after Magnus Bradbury had powered over for the visitors’ opener. Stockdale secured the try bonus point before half-time but Edinburgh hit back with a slick score from Damien Hoyland and a late penalty but the damage had been done in the first 40. The visitors gain a losing bonus point and will rue three missed conversions from fly-half Jason Tovey.

AN incredible 12-minute hat-trick for Dan Evans saw Ospreys to a 40-10 bonus point victory over Zebre to keep the pressure on Munster at the top of the PRO12. Zebre had started well and were 10-0 up after Tommaso Boni’s early try but Ashley Beck’s score with the last play of the first-half was a sign of things to come. Dan Evans hat-trick in the opening minutes of the second-half turned the game on its head with Sam Parry getting a fifth as Zebre were twice reduced to 14 men. A fine solo try from Dafydd Howells added further gloss to the Ospreys performance after Oliviero Fabiani had been shown the Italian’s third yellow card.

TIERNAN O’HALLORAN’S late drop-goal propelled Connacht back to winning ways as they snuck past Cardiff Blues 19-13 at BT Sports Cardiff Arms Park. Connacht had not won in the league since December 3 and looked like heading for another defeat as hosts Cardiff led 13-0 with half-time approaching thanks to Gareth Anscombe’s boot and a Nick Williams try. But just before the break Matt Healy went over for the visitors and the boot of John Cooney levelled matters just after the hour mark. Connacht then had two opportunities to seal the win only for Niyi Adeolokun and Healy to fluff their lines with the tryline in sight, but O’Halloran held his nerve with two minutes left before Craig Ronaldson added a penalty to silence their hosts.

RETURNING winger Dave Kearney crossed for two tries in a man-of-the-match performance as Leinster finished as 40-14 bonus point winners away to Benetton Treviso. Leinster had little difficulty in seeing off the hosts’ challenge at Stadio di Monigo, Rory O’Loughlin’s first-minute try from a kick over the top by Ross Byrne setting them on their way in this clash. Making his first appearance since his ankle injury in October, Kearney followed up with a brace, with Byrne expertly banging over both conversions. Treviso, who were missing 11 internationals, responded with a converted effort from lock Filo Paulo five minutes before half-time, reducing the arrears to 21-7. Leinster’s solid scrum provided the platform for the bonus point try in the 50th minute as quick ball was shifted across the back-line for winger Adam Byrne to clinically finish in the corner. Byrne’s opposite number Andrea Pratichetti hit back with a try of his, cutting Leinster’s lead to 28-14, however the province sealed the result with a Joey Carbery touchdown on his return from injury and a Bryan Byrne seven-pointer from a 71st-minute pack drive. The maximum return keeps third-placed Leinster hot on the heels of the Ospreys.

RESULTS

GLASGOW WARRIORS 14 - 26 SCARLETS

Scotstoun Stadium - Friday 10 February 2017
KO: 19:35 HT: 11-20

WARRIORS: 15 Peter Murchie 14 Lee Jones 13 Nick Grigg 12 Sam Johnson 11 Rory Hughes 10 Rory Clegg 9 Henry Pyrgos 8 Adam Ashe 7 Chris Fusaro 6 Rob Harley 5 Scott Cummings 4 Brian Alainu’uese 3 D’arcy Rae 2 Pat MacArthur 1 Alex Allan BENCH: 16 James Malcolm 17 Jamie Bhatti 18 Sila Puafisi 19 Richie Vernon 20 Lewis Wynne 21 Grayson Hart 22 Hagen Schulte 23 Sean Lamont

SCORERS T: MacArthur P: Clegg (3)

SCARLETS: 15 Johnny McNicholl 14 Tom Williams 13 Gareth Owen 12 HADLEIGH PARKES (C) 11 DTH van der Merwe 10 Dan Jones 9 Jonathan Evans 8 Will Boyde 7 James Davies 6 Aaron Shingler 5 Lewis Rawlins 4 Tom Price 3 Werner Kruger 2 Ryan Elias 1 Wyn Jones BENCH: 16 Emyr Phillips 17 Luke Garrett 18 Nicky Thomas 19 Tadhg Beirne 20 Joshua Macleod 21 Aled Davies 22 Aled Thomas 23 Steff Hughes

SCORERS T: Williams, James Davies C: Williams, Dan Jones P: Dan Jones (3), Aled Thomas Dan Jones

Referee: George Clancy

 

MUNSTER RUGBY 45 - 17 DRAGONS

Irish Independent Park - Friday 10 February 2017
KO: 19:35 HT: 31-10

MUNSTER: 15 Andrew Conway 14 Darren Sweetnam 13 Jaco Taute 12 Rory Scannell 11 Ronan O’Mahony 10 TYLER BLEYENDAAL (C) 9 Duncan Williams 8 Jack O’Donoghue 7 Tommy O’Donnell 6 Dave O’Callaghan 5 Dave Foley 4 Jean Kleyn 3 Stephen Archer 2 Rhys Marshall 1 Dave Kilcoyne BENCH: 16 Kevin O’Byrne 17 Peter McCabe 18 Brian Scott 19 Darren O’Shea 20 Conor Oliver 21 Abrie Griesel 22 Francis Saili 23 Dan Goggin

SCORERS T: Taute (2), Conway, PT, Kilcoyne, O'Mahony C: Bleyendaal (6) P: Bleyendaal O'Shea

DRAGONS: 15 Carl Meyer 14 Adam Hughes 13 Tyler Morgan 12 Adam Warren 11 Pat Howard 10 Dorian Jones 9 Tavis Knoyle 8 LEWIS EVANS (C) 7 Nic Cudd 6 Ollie Griffiths 5 Rynard Landman 4 Matthew Screech 3 Brok Harris 2 Rhys Buckley 1 Sam Hobbs
BENCH: 16 Elliot Dee 17 Thomas Davies 18 Lloyd Fairbrother 19 Nick Crosswell 20 Harrison Keddie 21 Sarel Pretorius 22 Angus O’Brien 23 Sam Beard

SCORERS T: Buckley, Dee C: Jones (2) P: Jones Meyer

Referee: Mike Adamson

 

ULSTER RUGBY 24 - 18 EDINBURGH RUGBY

Kingspan Stadium - Friday 10 February 2017
KO: 19:35 HT: 24-10

 

ULSTER: 15 Louis Ludik 14 Jacob Stockdale 13 Darren Cave 12 Stuart Olding 11 Charles Piutau 10 Peter Nelson 9 Paul Marshall 8 Marcell Coetzee 7 CHRIS HENRY (C) 6 Robbie Diack 5 Alan O’Connor 4 Kieran Treadwell 3 Ricky Lutton 2 John Andrew 1 Andrew Warwick BENCH: 16 Jonny Murphy 17 Callum Black 18 Wiehahn Herbst 19 Pete Browne 20 Sean Reidy 21 Dave Shanahan 22 Stuart McCloskey 23 Tommy Bowe

SCORERS T: Marshall, Cave, Ludik, Stockdale C: Nelson (2)

EDINBURGH: 15 Blair Kinghorn 14 Damien Hoyland 13 Chris Dean 12 Phil Burleigh 11 Tom Brown 10 Jason Tovey 9 Sean Kennedy 8 Magnus Bradbury 7 John Hardie 6 Viliame Mata 5 Ben Toolis 4 Fraser McKenzie 3 Murray McCallum 2 NEIL COCHRANE (C) 1 Jack Cosgrove BENCH: 16 Stuart McInally 17 Derrick Appiah 18 Nick Beavon 19 Lewis Carmichael 20 Viliami Fihaki 21 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne 22 Michael Allen 23 Rory Scholes

SCORERS T: Bradbury, McInally, Hoyland P: Hidalgo-Clyne

Referee: Nigel Owens

 

ZEBRE RUGBY 10 - 40 OSPREYS

Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi - Friday 10 February 2017
KO: 20:00 HT: 10-7

 

ZEBRE: 15 Kurt Baker 14 Mattia Bellini 13 Tommaso Boni 12 Matteo Pratichetti 11 Lloyd Greeff 10 Serafin Bordoli 9 Guglielmo Palazzani 8 Federico Ruzza 7 Johan Meyer 6 Derick Minnie 5 Valerio Bernabò 4 QUINTIN GELDENHUYS (C) 3 Guillermo Roan 2 Oliviero Fabiani 1 Bruno Postiglioni BENCH: 16 Adriano Daniele 17 Andrea De Marchi 18 Bartholomeus Le Roux 19 Gideon Koegelenberg 20 Davide Fragnito 21 Carlo Engelbrecht 22 Faialaga Afamasaga 23 Maicol Azzolini

SCORERS T: Boni C: Palazzani P: Palazzani Greeff, Koegelenberg, Fabiani

OSPREYS: 15 Dan Evans 14 Ben John 13 Kieron Fonotia 12 Ashley Beck 11 Dafydd Howells 10 Luke Price 9 TOM HABBERFIELD (C) 8 Dan Baker 7 Sam Underhill 6 Tyler Ardron 5 Lloyd Ashley 4 Adam Beard 3 Rhodri Jones 2 Sam Parry 1 Paul James BENCH: 16 Hugh Gustafson 17 Gareth Thomas 18 Daniel Suter 19 Rory Thornton 20 Olly Cracknell 21 Matthew Aubrey 22 Hanno Dirksen 23 Jonathan Spratt

SCORERS T: Beck, Evans (3), Parry, Howells C: Price (5)

Referee: David Wilkinson

 

CARDIFF BLUES 13 - 19 CONNACHT RUGBY

BT Sport Cardiff Arms Park - Sunday 12 February 2017
KO: 13:05 HT: 13-7

 

BLUES: 15 Matthew Morgan 14 Blaine Scully 13 Rey Lee-Lo 12 Steve Shingler 11 Rhun Williams 10 Gareth Anscombe 9 LLOYD WILLIAMS (C) 8 Nick Williams 7 Josh Navidi 6 Macauley Cook 5 James Down 4 Jarrad Hoeata 3 Anton Peikrishvili 2 Kristian Dacey 1 Rhys Gill BENCH: 16 Matthew Rees 17 Marc Thomas 18 Scott Andrews 19 Seb Davies 20 Sion Bennett 21 Tomos Williams 22 Willis Halaholo 23 Tom James

SCORERS  T: Nick Williams C: Anscombe P: Anscombe (2)

CONNACHT: 15 Tiernan O'Halloran 14 Niyi Adeolokun 13 Stacey Ili 12 Craig Ronaldson 11 Matt Healy 10 Jack Carty 9 John Cooney 8 JOHN MULDOON (C) 7 Jake Heenan 6 Sean O'Brien 5 James Cannon 4 Quinn Roux 3 JP Cooney 2 Tom McCartney 1 Denis Buckley BENCH: 16 Dave Heffernan 17 Ronan Loughney 18 John Andress 19 Naulia Dawai 20 Nepia Fox-Matamua 21 Caolin Blade 22 Tom Farrell 23 Danie Poolman

SCORERS T: Healy C: John Cooney P: John Cooney (2), Ronaldson DG: O'Halloran

Referee: Dan Jones

 

BENETTON RUGBY 14 - 40 LEINSTER RUGBY

Stadio Monigo - Sunday 12 February 2017
KO: 13:30 HT: 7-21

 

TREVISO: 15 David Odiete 14 Andrea Pratichetti 13 Tommaso Iannone 12 ALBERTO SGARBI (C) 11 Luca Sperandio 10 Ian McKinley 9 Tito Tebaldi 8 Robert Barbieri 7 Dean Budd 6 Marco Lazzaroni 5 Filo Paulo 4 Filippo Gerosa 3 Tiziano Pasquali 2 Luca Bigi 1 Federico Zani BENCH: 16 Davide Giazzon 17 Nicola Quaglio 18 Matteo Zanusso 19 Francesco Minto 20 Guglielmo Zanini 21 Enrico Francescato 22 Michael Tagicakibau 23 Andrea Buondonno

SCORERS T: Paulo, Pratichetti C:  McKinley (2) Minto

LEINSTER: 15 Zane Kirchner 14 Adam Byrne 13 Rory O’Loughlin 12 Noel Reid 11 Dave Kearney 10 Ross Byrne 9 Jamison Gibson-Park 8 Jack Conan 7 Dan Leavy 6 Dominic Ryan 5 Ian Nagle 4 Mick Kearney 3 Michael Bent 2 RICHARDT STRAUSS (C) 1 Peter Dooley BENCH: 16 Bryan Byrne 17 Andrew Porter 18 Mike Ross 19 Ross Molony 20 Peadar Timmins 21 Luke McGrath 22 Joey Carbery 23 Barry Daly

SCORERS T: O'Loughlin, Dave Kearney (2), Adam Byrne, Carbery, Bryan Byrne C: Ross Byrne (5)

Referee: Marius Mitrea

 

 

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ANGUS O’BRIEN delivered a kicking masterclass from the tee as Newport Gwent Dragons put a stop to their three-game losing streak with a dominant display over Benetton Treviso under Friday night lights. The Dragons came into their tie at Rodney Parade on the back of successive defeats in the Guinness PRO12, but turned their fortunes around for only their fourth league victory of the season. After giving Kingsley Jones’ side an early lead from a penalty, O’Brien went on to add 11 further points for the Dragons, with tries for the Welsh outfit coming from Sarel Pretorius and skipper Lewis Evans. A score from Tito Tebaldi and three points from Tommaso Allan looked to have given the Italians hope early on in the first half, but a sudden increase in tempo from the Dragons put the game to bed.

JOHNNY SEXTON marked his long-awaited return to PRO12 action with a perfect record from the tee as Leinster sailed past Zebre. With seven different try scorers, including three for Rory O’Loughlin, Leo Cullen’s men sealed the bonus point with just half an hour played, with Sexton – pulling on the Leinster jersey for the first time since the autumn internationals two months ago – contributing 12 points to their tally. Two first-half penalties from Edoardo Padovani had given the Italians hope in the early stages, but the Irish province proved too strong as they maintained their top three position.

SCARLETS returned to winning ways with a hard-fought victory over Ulster at Parc Y Scarlets with an excellent second-half comeback to consolidate their top four position. The hosts were trailing 13-6 at the break due to Jacob Stockdale’s try for Ulster with Paddy Jackson adding the conversion and two penalties. But Ulster were unable to add to their tally in the second half as a penalty try and a third penalty from Dan Jones gave the Scarlets all four points.

OSPREYS moved to the top of the table with a bonus point 29-7 victory over Connacht at the Liberty Stadium, displacing Munster, albeit temporarily since the Irish side now have a game in hand after beating Racing 92 in their rescheduled Champions Cup match from the beginning of the season. Dan Baker and Olly Cracknell both got tries early in the first half with Nicky Smith adding a third after the break for the home side. Sean O’Brien got a consolation score for Connacht but Ashley Beck grabbed the bonus point try in the final moments of the game despite a yellow card for Sam Davies.

PETER MURCHIE scored two second-half tries as Glasgow Warriors pulled clear of Cardiff Blues in the second period to claim a 29-15 win. Glasgow coach Gregor Townsend made eight changes to his side for the match – with the likes of Jonny Gray, Alex Dunbar and Finn Russell back in the starting 15. The Blues made two changes themselves, with Scully replacing Rhun Williams on the left wing while Anton Peikrishvili returned from suspension and replaced by Taufa’ao Filise. The hosts made a fast start and scored early through Pat MacArthur, but the Blues bit back and scored just before the break through winger Blaine Scully. But that was as good as it got for Cardiff, as Murchie scored two simple tries in the corner following excellent work from Scotland winger Tommy Seymour. Hooker James Malcolm put Glasgow out of sight shortly after to confirm the bonus point, while Rhun Williams scored a late consolation for the Blues.

AFTER the game was rescheduled to enable Munster Rugby to play their postponed Round 1 Champions Cup match against Racing 92 in January, the visitors reclaimed top spot in the Guinness PRO12 after a tense win against a stubborn Edinburgh Rugby side thanks to a second-half penalty from fly-half Tyler Bleyendaal. It looked as though Munster’s winning sequence would be ended as Jason Tovey scored three first half penalties to hand the Scots a half-time lead. However, Munster had remained in the contest, scoring their points thanks to a try from Ronan O’Mahony and a conversion from Bleyendaal. But the game remained scoreless for much of the second half until Munster claimed the narrowest of wins against their Scottish opponents, with Bleyendaal’s crucial penalty in the final quarter of the game.

RESULTS

DRAGONS 26 - 8 BENETTON RUGBY

Rodney Parade - Friday 06 January 2017
KO: 19:15 HT: 13-8

DRAGONS: 15 Carl Meyer 14 Tom Prydie 13 Tyler Morgan 12 Adam Warren 11 Pat Howard 10 Angus O’Brien 9 Sarel Pretorius 8 Ed Jackson 7 Ollie Griffiths 6 LEWIS EVANS (C) 5 Cory Hill 4 Nick Crosswell 3 Brok Harris 2 Elliot Dee 1 Phil Price BENCH: 16 Rhys Buckley 17 Sam Hobbs 18 Lloyd Fairbrother 19 Rynard Landman 20 Nic Cudd 21 Tavis Knoyle 22 Dorian Jones 23 Jack Dixon

SCORERS T: Pretorius, Evans C: O'Brien, Jones P: O'Brien (3) DG: O'Brien Pretorius

TREVISO: 15 Luke McLean 14 Andrea Pratichetti 13 Tommaso Benvenuti 12 ALBERTO SGARBI (C) 11 Luca Sperandio 10 Tommaso Allan 9 Tito Tebaldi 8 Marco Barbini 7 Robert Barbieri 6 Abraham Steyn 5 Dean Budd 4 Marco Fuser 3 Matteo Zanusso 2 Davide Giazzon 1 Alberto De Marchi BENCH: 16 Ornel Gega 17 Federico Zani 18 Tiziano Pasquali 19 Filo Paulo 20 Marco Lazzaroni 21 Giorgio Bronzini 22 Ian McKinley 23 Tommaso Iannone

SCORERS T: Tebaldi P: Allan

Referee: Mike Adamson

 

LEINSTER RUGBY 70 - 6 ZEBRE RUGBY

RDS Arena - Friday 06 January 2017
KO: 19:35 HT: 35-6

LEINSTER: 15 Zane Kirchner 14 Adam Byrne 13 Garry Ringrose 12 Robbie Henshaw 11 Rory O’Loughlin 10 JOHNNY SEXTON (C) 9 Luke McGrath 8 Jack Conan 7 Sean O’Brien 6 Dan Leavy 5 Hayden Triggs 4 Devin Toner 3 Michael Bent 2 James Tracy 1 Cian Healy BENCH: 16 Sean Cronin 17 Jack McGrath 18 Tadhg Furlong 19 Rhys Ruddock 20 Jamie Heaslip 21 Jamison Gibson-Park 22 Ross Byrne 23 Noel Reid

SCORERS T: O'Brien, Triggs, Luke McGrath, Healy, O'Loughlin (3), Ringrose (2), Heaslip C: Sexton (6), Ross Byrne (4)

ZEBRE: 15 Kurt Baker 14 Mattia Bellini 13 Matteo Pratichetti 12 Tommaso Castello 11 Lloyd Greeff 10 Edoardo Padovani 9 Marcello Violi 8 Andries Van Schalkwyk 7 Federico Ruzza 6 Derick Minnie 5 GEORGE BIAGI (C) 4 Gideon Koegelenberg 3 Pietro Ceccarelli 2 Tommaso D’Apice 1 Andrea Lovotti BENCH: 16 Carlo Festuccia 17 Andrea De Marchi 18 Guillermo Roan 19 Joshua Furno 20 Maxime Mbandà 21 Guglielmo Palazzani 22 Giovanbattista Venditti 23 Serafin Bordoli

SCORERS P: Padovani (2) Roan

Referee: Dan Jones

 

SCARLETS 16 - 13 ULSTER RUGBY

Parc y Scarlets - Friday 06 January 2017
KO: 19:35 HT: 6-13

SCARLETS: 15 Johnny McNicholl 14 Liam Williams 13 Jonathan Davies 12 Hadleigh Parkes 11 Steff Evans 10 Dan Jones 9 Gareth Davies 8 John Barclay 7 James Davies 6 Lewis Rawlins 5 Tom Price 4 Jake Ball 3 Werner Kruger 2 KEN OWENS (C) 1 Rob Evans BENCH: 16 Ryan Elias 17 Wyn Jones 18 Nicky Thomas 19 Joshua Macleod 20 Will Boyde 21 Aled Davies 22 Aled Thomas 23 Steff Hughes

SCORERS T: PT C: Dan Jones P: Dan Jones (3) Ball

ULSTER: 15 Louis Ludik 14 ANDREW TRIMBLE (C) 13 Luke Marshall 12 Stuart McCloskey 11 Jacob Stockdale 10 Paddy Jackson 9 Paul Marshall 8 Sean Reidy 7 Chris Henry 6 Clive Ross 5 Iain Henderson 4 Kieran Treadwell 3 Ross Kane 2 Rory Best 1 Callum Black BENCH: 16 John Andrew 17 Andrew Warwick 18 Jonny Simpson 19 Franco van der Merwe 20 Pete Browne 21 Dave Shanahan 22 Brett Herron 23 Tommy Bowe

SCORERS T: Stockdale C: Jackson P: Jackson (2) Reidy

Referee: Marius Mitrea

 

OSPREYS 29 - 7 CONNACHT RUGBY

Liberty Stadium - Saturday 07 January 2017
KO: 13:30 HT: 14-0

 

OSPREYS: 15 Dan Evans 14 Dafydd Howells 13 Ashley Beck 12 Josh Matavesi 11 Hanno Dirksen 10 Sam Davies 9 Tom Habberfield 8 Dan Baker 7 Justin Tipuric 6 Olly Cracknell 5 ALUN WYN JONES (C) 4 Lloyd Ashley 3 Ma'afu Fia 2 Sam Parry 1 Nicky Smith BENCH: 16 Scott Baldwin 17 Paul James 18 Rhodri Jones 19 Adam Beard 20 Sam Underhill 21 Brendon Leonard 22 Dan Biggar 23 Kieron Fonotia

SCORERS T: Baker, Cracknell, Smith, Beck C: Davies (3) P: Davies Davies

CONNACHT: 15 Tiernan O'Halloran 14 Niyi Adeolokun 13 Rory Parata 12 Peter Robb 11 Matt Healy 10 Jack Carty 9 John Cooney 8 Naulia Dawai 7 Jake Heenan 6 Sean O'Brien 5 James Cannon 4 Quinn Roux 3 Finlay Bealham 2 Tom McCartney 1 Denis Buckley BENCH: 16 Dave Heffernan 17 JP Cooney 18 John Andress 19 Lewis Stevenson 20 Eoin McKeon 21 Caolin Blade 22 Danie Poolman 23 Ciaran Gaffney

SCORERS T: O'Brien C: John Cooney

Referee: John Lacey

 

GLASGOW 29 - 15 CARDIFF BLUES

Scotstoun Stadium - Saturday 07 January 2017
KO: 19:35 HT: 10-7

 

WARRIORS: 15 Peter Murchie 14 Tommy Seymour 13 Mark Bennett 12 Alex Dunbar 11 Lee Jones 10 Finn Russell 9 Ali Price 8 Ryan Wilson 7 Simone Favaro 6 Josh Strauss 5 JONNY GRAY (C) 4 Tim Swinson 3 D’arcy Rae 2 Pat MacArthur 1 Gordon Reid BENCH: 16 James Malcolm 17 Alex Allan 18 Zander Fagerson 19 Rob Harley 20 Adam Ashe 21 Grayson Hart 22 Rory Clegg 23 Sean Lamont

SCORERS T: MacArthur, Murchie (2), Malcolm C: Russell (3) P: Russell

BLUES: 15 Matthew Morgan 14 Alex Cuthbert 13 Rey Lee-Lo 12 Willis Halaholo 11 Blaine Scully 10 Steven Shingler 9 Lloyd Williams 8 Josh Navidi 7 SAM WARBURTON (C) 6 Ellis Jenkins 5 James Down 4 Macauley Cook 3 Anton Peikrishvili 2 Kristian Dacey 1 Rhys Gill BENCH: 16 Matthew Rees 17 Brad Thyer 18 Scott Andrews 19 Jarrad Hoeata 20 BJ Edwards 21 Tomos Williams 22 Nicky Robinson 23 Rhun Williams

SCORERS T: Scully, Rhun Williams C: Shingler P: Shingler

Referee: Andrew Brace

 

EDINBURGH RUGBY 9 - 10 MUNSTER RUGBY

Myreside - Saturday 03 February 2017†
KO: 19:35 HT: 9-7

 

EDINBURGH: 15 Blair Kinghorn 14 Damien Hoyland 13 Chris Dean 12 Phil Burleigh 11 Tom Brown 10 Jason Tovey 9 Sean Kennedy 8 Cornell Du Preez 7 John Hardie 6 Magnus Bradbury 5 Ben Toolis 4 Fraser McKenzie 3 Murray McCallum 2 NEIL COCHRANE (C) 1 Jack Cosgrove BENCH: 16 Stuart McInally 17 Derrick Appiah 18 Nick Beavon 19 Lewis Carmichael 20 Viliame Mata 21 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne 22 Michael Allen 23 Rory Scholes

SCORERS P: Tovey (3)

MUNSTER: 15 Jaco Taute 14 Calvin Nash 13 Francis Saili 12 Dan Goggin 11 Ronan O’Mahony 10 TYLER BLEYENDAAL (C) 9 Duncan Williams 8 Jack O’Donoghue 7 Conor Oliver 6 Dave O’Callaghan 5 Dave Foley 4 Jean Kleyn 3 Stephen Archer 2 Rhys Marshall 1 Peter McCabe BENCH: 16 Kevin O’Byrne 17 Dave Kilcoyne 18 Brian Scott 19 Darren O’Shea 20 Billy Holland 21 Tommy O’Donnell 22 Angus Lloyd 23 Rory Scannell

SCORERS T: O'Mahony C: Bleyendaal P: Bleyendaal Williams

Referee: Ben Whitehouse

 

 

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EDINBURGH RUGBY ended a three-game losing run in the Guinness PRO12 after a battling 24-19 victory on New Year’s Eve over Zebre at Stadio Lanfranchi. The visitors got back to winning ways, after defeats to Glasgow Warriors and Ospreys in December, thanks to tries either side of half time from Chris Dean and Viliami Helu. The Italians did snatch a losing bonus point with the last play of the game, following replacement Nathan Fowles’ yellow card, with Andries Van Schalkwyk forcing his way over. The hosts out-scored their opponents by three tries to two after earlier Tommaso Boni and Carlo Canna scores but Duncan Weir kicked 14 points to ensure Edinburgh’s victory.

RORY CLEGG played the part of super sub as Glasgow Warriors scored within three minutes of his introduction to rescue his side against a spirited Benetton Treviso, with a final score of 28-35. Glasgow had looked in control after responding to Luca Sperandio’s second-minute try, with Stuart Hogg – making his first start at fly-half in the PRO12 – pulling the strings. The Scotland full-back, Tommy Seymour and the fit-again Adam Ashe all piled over before the half was out, but a Dean Budd try and Tommaso Allan’s kicking kept Treviso in touch. Nick Grigg looked to have settled the game in the second half only for Budd to complete his try-double, with replacement Ian McKinley’s conversion levelling the scores. Then Clegg, on for Grigg, broke Treviso’s hearts by crossing just two minutes later as Glasgow saw the last five minutes out. Though 11th in the table, Treviso were not to be underestimated as they were aiming for their fourth victory in a row in all competitions.

WINGER Rory O’Loughlin scored two tries as Leinster moved ahead of Ospreys into second after a comfortable 22-7 victory over Ulster Rugby at the RDS. Leinster are just a single point behind Munster after failing to secure a try bonus point with Jack McGrath receiving a yellow card midway through the second half. But O’Loughlin crossed twice, with Luke McGrath also getting his name on the scoresheet, as Leinster put in a significantly improve display from their Boxing Day defeat to Munster. Charles Piutau added a late consolation try for Ulster who dominated possession for most of the second period but struggled to break down the Leinster defence.

MUNSTER consolidated their position at the top of the table with a hard-fought 16-9 victory over Connacht at the Galway Sportsground. In difficult playing conditions, Ian Keatley and Jack Carty exchanged penalties in the first half before Luke Marshall, at the back of a Munster driving maul, crossed for the game’s only try. David Kilcoyne’s late yellow card meant Munster finished the game a man down and Carty was able to kick his third penalty of the night to earn a losing bonus point for his side.

STEFFAN EVANS’ exemplary display ensured Scarlets took bragging rights over Cardiff Blues in the Welsh derby at Parc y Scarlets. The winger scored once and had a major part in the hosts’ other effort, their two tries narrowly enough to take the spoils as conditions ensured a difficult game for both sides, struggling to find their feet as the swirling wind proved havoc, encouraging ball-in-hand rugby at Parc y Scarlets, much to the delight of the home faithful. Willis Halaholo scored in the second half to set up a nervy finish, the latest try in a game of brilliant finishing, as both sides made the most of minimal chances. But it was Scarlets who held their own, enough to go fifth in the Guinness PRO12, while the gap between Blues and the top six now sits at five points.

OSPREYS climbed to second in the table as Justin Tipuric’s first-half try was the difference in an attritional 10-0 victory over Newport Gwent Dragons at Rodney Parade. With conditions not conducive to running rugby, a Welsh derby that contained more than 100 kicks from hand – with varying levels of success – was essentially decided by Tipuric’s 12th-minute score. Great combination play from Tom Habberfield and Olly Cracknell enabled the flanker to cross the whitewash, while it took another 60 minutes for the scorers to be troubled again, when Dan Biggar added a late penalty for the visitors. Angus O’Brien missed two three-pointers for the Dragons as Ospreys did enough to get the victory on the board – seeing them leapfrog Leinster into second, just two points behind league leaders Munster.

RESULTS

ZEBRE RUGBY 19 - 24 EDINBURGH RUGBY

Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi - Saturday 31 December 2016
KO: 12:00 HT: 7-13

ZEBRE: 15 Edoardo Padovani 14 Kurt Baker 13 Tommaso Boni 12 Faialaga Afamasaga 11 Giovanbattista Venditti 10 Carlo Canna 9 Marcello Violi 8 Andries Van Schalkwyk 7 Johan Meyer 6 Derick Minnie 5 GEORGE BIAGI (C) 4 Quintin Geldenhuys 3 Dario Chistolini 2 Tommaso D'Apice 1 Andrea Lovotti BENCH: 16 Carlo Festuccia 17 Guillermo Roan 18 Pietro Ceccarelli 19 Joshua Furno 20 Federico Ruzza 21 Guglielmo Palazzani 22 Matteo Pratichetti 23 Mattia Bellini

SCORERS T: Boni, Canna, van Schalkwyk C: Canna (2)

EDINBURGH: 15 Blair Kinghorn 14 Damien Hoyland 13 Chris Dean 12 Junior Rasolea 11 Will Helu 10 Duncan Weir 9 Sean Kennedy 8 Cornell Du Preez 7 Jamie Ritchie 6 Magnus Bradbury 5 Ben Toolis 4 Fraser McKenzie 3 Simon Berghan 2 Ross Ford 1 Allan Dell BENCH: 16 Neil Cochrane 17 Jack Cosgrove 18 Murray McCallum 19 Lewis Carmichael 20 Viliame Mata 21 Nathan Fowles 22 Jason Tovey 23 Glenn Bryce

SCORERS T: Dean, Helu C: Weir P: Weir (4) Fowles

Referee: Gary Conway

 

BENETTON TREVISO 28 - 35 GLASGOW

Stadio Monigo - Saturday 31 December 2016
KO: 14:05 HT: 15-21

TREVISO: 15 Luke McLean 14 Angelo Esposito 13 Tommaso Benvenuti 12 Luca Morisi 11 Luca Sperandio 10 Tommaso Allan 9 Giorgio Bronzini 8 Marco Barbini 7 Abraham Steyn 6 Robert Barbieri 5 Dean Budd 4 Marco Fuser 3 Matteo Zanusso 2 Davide Giazzon 1 Alberto De Marchi BENCH: 16 Roberto Santamaria 17 Federico Zani 18 Tiziano Pasquali 19 Filo Paulo 20 Marco Lazzaroni 21 Edoardo Gori 22 Ian McKinley 23 Tommaso Iannone

SCORERS T: Sperandio, Budd (2) C: Allan, McKinley P: Allan (2), McKinley

WARRIORS: 15 Peter Murchie 14 Junior Bulumakau 13 Nick Grigg 12 Sam Johnson 11 Tommy Seymour 10 Stuart Hogg 9 HENRY PYRGOS (C) 8 Ryan Wilson 7 Chris Fusaro 6 Adam Ashe 5 Brian Alainu'uese 4 Tim Swinson 3 D'arcy Rae 2 Pat MacArthur 1 Gordon Reid BENCH: 16 Corey Flynn 17 Alex Allan 18 Zander Fagerson 19 Rob Harley 20 Simone Favaro 21 Nemia Kenatale 22 Rory Clegg 23 Sean Lamont

SCORERS T: Hogg, Seymour, Ashe, Grigg, Clegg C: Hogg (5) 

Referee: Ben Whitehouse

 

LEINSTER RUGBY 22 - 7 ULSTER RUGBY

RDS Arena - Saturday 31 December 2016
KO: 15:00 HT: 17-0

LEINSTER: 15 ISA NACEWA (C) 14 Adam Byrne 13 Garry Ringrose 12 Noel Reid 11 Rory O’Loughlin 10 Ross Byrne 9 Luke McGrath 8 Jamie Heaslip 7 Josh van der Flier 6 Sean O’Brien 5 Hayden Triggs 4 Devin Toner 3 Michael Bent 2 Sean Cronin 1 Jack McGrath BENCH: 16 Richardt Strauss 17 Andrew Porter 18 Jeremy Loughman 19 Mick Kearney 20 Jack Conan 21 Jamison Gibson-Park 22 Tom Daly 23 Zane Kirchner

SCORERS  T: O'Loughlin (2), Luke McGrath C: Nacewa (2) P: Nacewa Jack McGrath

ULSTER: 15 Charles Piutau 14 Andrew Trimble 13 Darren Cave 12 Stuart McCloskey 11 Tommy Bowe 10 Ruan Pienaar 9 Paul Marshall 8 Roger Wilson 7 Sean Reidy 6 Clive Ross 5 Franco van der Merwe 4 Kieran Treadwell 3 Rodney Ah You 2 Rob Herring 1 Andy Warrick BENCH: 16 John Andrew 17 Callum Black 18 Jonny Simpson 19 Pete Browne 20 Chris Henry 21 Brett Herron 22 Louis Ludik 22 Jacob Stockdale

SCORERS T: Piutau C: Pienaar

Referee: John Lacey

 

CONNACHT RUGBY 9 - 16 MUNSTER RUGBY

Sportsground - Saturday 31 December 2016
KO: 17:30 HT: 3-6

 

CONNACHT: 15 Tiernan O’Halloran 14 Niyi Adeolokun 13 Rory Parata 12 Peter Robb 11 Matt Healy 10 Jack Carty 9 Kieran Marmion 8 Naulia Dawai 7 Jake Heenan 6 Nepia Fox-Matamua 5 James Cannon 4 Quinn Roux 3 Finlay Bealham 2 Tom McCartney 1 Denis Buckley BENCH: 16 Dave Heffernan 17 JP Cooney 18 John Andress 19 Lewis Stevenson 20 Danny Qualter 21 Caolin Blade 22 Ciaran Gaffney 23 Rory Moloney

SCORERS P: Carty

MUNSTER: 15 Andrew Conway 14 Keith Earls 13 Francis Saili 12 Dan Goggin 11 Ronan O'Mahony 10 Ian Keatley 9 Duncan Williams 8 BILLY HOLLAND (C) 7 Tommy O'Donnell 6 Jack O'Donoghue 5 Dave Foley 4 Jean Kleyn 3 Stephen Archer 2 Rhys Marshall 1 James Cronin BENCH: 16 Dave Kilcoyne 17 Kevin O'Byrne 18 Thomas Du Toit 19 Robin Copeland 20 Conor Oliver 21 Te Aihe Toma 22 Rory Scannell 23 Jaco Taute

SCORERS T: Marshall C: Keatley P: Keatley (2) DG: Keatley Kilcoyne, Williams

Referee: David Wilkinson

 

SCARLETS 15 - 10 CARDIFF BLUES

Parc y Scarlets - Sunday 01 January 2017
KO: 15:00 HT: 8-3

 

SCARLETS: 15 Aled Thomas 14 Johnny McNicholl 13 Jonathan Davies 12 SCOTT WILLIAMS (C) 11 Steff Evans 10 Rhys Patchell 9 Jonathan Evans 8 John Barclay 7 Will Boyde 6 Tadhg Beirne 5 Lewis Rawlins 4 Jake Ball 3 Samson lee 2 Ryan Elias 1 Wyn Jones BENCH: 16 Emyr Phillips 17 Rob Evans 18 Werner Kruger 19 Tom Price 20 Josh Macleod 21 Gareth Davies 22 Dan Jones 23 Hadleigh Parkes

SCORERS T: Steffan Evans, Williams C: Patchell P: Patchell

BLUES: 15 Matthew Morgan 14 Alex Cuthbert 13 Rey Lee-Lo 12 Willis Halaholo 11 Rhun Williams 10 Steve Shingler 9 Lloyd Williams 8 Nick Williams 7 SAM WARBURTON (C) 6 Josh Navidi 5 James Down 4 Macauley Cook 3 Taufa'ao Filise 2 Kristian Dacey 1 Rhys Gill BENCH: 16 Kirby Myhill 17 Brad Thyer 18 Scott Andrews 19 Jarrad Hoeata 20 Ellis Jenkins 21 Tomos Williams 22 Nicky Robinson 23 Cory Allen

SCORERS T: Halaholo C: Shingler P: Shingler

Referee: Nigel Owens

 

NEWPORT GWENT DRAGONS 0 - 10 OSPREYS

Rodney Parade - Sunday 01 January 2017
KO: 17:05 HT: 0-7

 

DRAGONS: 15 Carl Meyer 14 Pat Howard 13 Tyler Morgan 12 Sam Beard 11 Ashton Hewitt 10 Angus O'Brien 9 Tavis Knoyle 8 Ed Jackson 7 Ollie Griffiths 6 LEWIS EVANS (C) 5 Cory Hill 4 Nick Crosswell 3 Brok Harris 2 Elliot Dee 1 Phil Price BENCH: 16 Rhys Buckley 17 Sam Hobbs 18 Lloyd Fairbrother 19 Matthew Screech 20 Rynard Landman 21 Sarel Pretorius 22 Dorian Jones 23 Adam Warren

OSPREYS: 15 Sam Davies 14 Dafydd Howells 13 Kieron Fonotia 12 Josh Matavesi 11 Dan Evans 10 Dan Biggar 9 Tom Habberfield 8 James King 7 Justin Tipuric 6 Olly Cracknell 5 ALUN WYN JONES (C) 4 Lloyd Ashley 3 Ma’afu Fia 2 Scott Baldwin 1 Paul James BENCH: 16 Sam Parry 17 Nicky Smith 18 Rhodri Jones 19 Rory Thornton 20 Dan Baker 21 Sam Underhill 22 Brendon Leonard 23 Hanno Dirksen

SCORERS T: Tipuric C: Biggar P: Biggar Habberfield

Referee: Ian Davies

 

 

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TOMMASO ALLAN enjoyed a night to remember as his 18 points guided Benetton Treviso to a 23-12 victory over Zebre at the Stadio Monigo in the Italian derby. Zebre had won both meetings between the sides last season, and looked good heading into half-time in front following Dries van Schalkwyk’s try. However in the second half it was Treviso, sitting bottom of the Guinness PRO12 heading into the game, who started to shift the momentum their way to run out emphatic winners. And having given his side the lead with a third penalty, Allan pounced for an opportunistic try which ensured there would be no comeback for Zebre, especially once Luca Sperandio ran in an intercept try to put the home team out of sight. The visitors at least had the final say, with Kayle van Zyl going over in the final seconds, but it was too little too late.

ULSTER moved temporarily into the top four and bounced back from European defeat with a convincing 23-7 victory over Connacht. After their thrilling double header against Clermont in Europe, Les Kiss’ side were dominant at the Kingspan Stadium, with tries from Stuart McCloskey in the first half and Clive Ross in the second, helping them to a 20-0 lead. Jack Carty responded for defending champions Connacht, but their barren run in Belfast continues – having not won there since 1960. Ulster could not manage the bonus point that would have sealed a perfect night, but did enough to secure the crucial victory against a Connacht side who could not match their performance against Wasps a week ago.

STEVEN SHINGLER scored one try and made another as Cardiff Blues claimed the bragging rights with a 27-16 victory over Newport Gwent Dragons at the Cardiff Arms Park. On Sam Warburton’s 100th Blues appearance, three first-half tries were enough for the home side to win, although they may regret not scoring a bonus point to close the gap on the top four. An entertaining first half saw Cardiff get off to a flyer thanks to a try for Shingler, but Ashton Hewitt hit back for the Dragons to make it 13-13 all on 30 minutes. However the Blues finished the opening period much the stronger with tries from Kristian Dacey and then Josh Navidi to take an 11-point lead into half-time. And that was how it remained after the break following a scoreless second 40 minutes in which handling errors and improved defence shut down the two teams.

GLASGOW WARRIORS claimed their first win in four PRO12 matches and the local bragging rights after downing Edinburgh Rugby in the first leg of the 1872 Cup on Boxing Day. Junior Bulumakau, Josh Strauss and Alex Dunbar all crossed for the Warriors as they won 25-12 at BT Murrayfield – their first win at the venue in exactly three years. Edinburgh only had 12 points from the boot of Duncan Weir to show for their efforts and they will need to impress at Scotstoun on the last day of the regular season if they are to retain the Cup they won last season.

WITH a place atop the standings up for grabs, it was Munster Rugby who claimed the spoils with a battling derby 29-17 triumph over Leinster Rugby. Ronan O’Mahony’s try with the clock in the red at the end of the first half was perhaps the big turning point of the match, giving the hosts a 14-10 lead at the interval after Simon Zebo had cancelled out Zane Kirchner’s opening score. And two more Munster tries before the hour mark from Tommy O’Donnell and CJ Stander were decisive, meaning Richardt Strauss’ late effort was no more than a consolation, and ending a run of three consecutive losses to their fierce Irish rivals.

WEST Wales bragging rights went to Ospreys after a dogged performance saw them past Scarlets in a penalty-laden game at the Liberty Stadium. The visitors saw three players sin-binned in the 80 minutes and a penalty try to Ospreys proved the difference between the two sides as Scarlets’ seven-game winning run came to an end. Coming into the game on the back of two against French opposition, Ospreys maintained that momentum to move up to second in the table.

RESULTS

BENETTON RUGBY 23 - 12 ZEBRE RUGBY

Stadio Monigo - Friday 23 December 2016
KO: 19:35 HT: 6-7

TREVISO: 15 Luke McLean 14 Angelo Esposito 13 Tommaso Benvenuti 12 ALBERTO SGARBI (C) 11 Luca Sperandio 10 Tommaso Allan 9 Tito Tebaldi 8 Marco Barbini 7 Abraham Steyn 6 Robert Barbieri 5 Dean Budd 4 Marco Fuser 3 Simone Ferrari 2 Davide Giazzon 1 Alberto De Marchi BENCH: 16 Roberto Santamaria 17 Matteo Zanusso 18 Tiziano Pasquali 19 Jeff Montauriol 20 Marco Lazzaroni 21 Giorgio Bronzini 22 Ian McKinley 23 Luca Morisi

SCORERS T: Allan, Sperandio C: Allan (2) P: Allan (3)

ZEBRE: 15 Edoardo Padovani 14 Mattia Bellini 13 Giulio Bisegni 12 Tommaso Castello 11 Giovanbattista Venditti 10 Carlo Canna 9 Marcello Violi 8 Andries Van Schalkwyk 7 Johan Meyer 6 Derick Minnie 5 GEORGE BIAGI (C) 4 Quintin Geldenhuys 3 Dario Chistolini 2 Tommaso D'Apice 1 Andrea Lovotti BENCH: 16 Carlo Festuccia 17 Bruno Postiglioni 18 Pietro Ceccarelli 19 Valerio Bernabò 20 Federico Ruzza 21 Guglielmo Palazzani 22 Tommaso Boni 23 Kayle van Zyl

SCORERS T: van Schalkwyk, van Zyl C: Canna

Referee: Marius Mitrea

 

ULSTER RUGBY 27 - 0 CONNACHT RUGBY

Kingspan Stadium - Friday 23 December 2016
KO: 19:35 HT: 3-0

ULSTER: 15 Charles Piutau 14 Louis Ludik 13 Luke Marshall 12 Stuart McCloskey 11 Jacob Stockdale 10 Paddy Jackson 9 Ruan Pienaar 8 Roger Wilson 7 Chris Henry 6 Clive Ross 5 Iain Henderson 4 Kieran Treadwell 3 Rodney Ah You 2 RORY BEST (C) 1 Andrew Warwick BENCH: 16 Rob Herring 17 Callum Black 18 Wiehahn Herbst 19 Franco van der Merwe 20 Sean Reidy 21 Paul Marshall 22 Darren Cave 23 Tommy Bowe

SCORERS T: McCloskey, Ross C: Jackson (2) P: Jackson (3)

CONNACHT: 15 Tiernan O’Halloran 14 Niyi Adeolokun 13 Rory Parata 12 Danie Poolman 11 Matt Healy 10 Jack Carty 9 Kieran Marmion 8 JOHN MULDOON (C) 7 Nepia Fox-Matamua 6 Sean O’Brien 5 James Cannon 4 Quinn Roux 3 Finlay Bealham 2 Dave Heffernan 1 Denis Buckley BENCH: 16 Shane Delahunt 17 Tom McCartney 18 JP Cooney 19 Ultan Dillane 20 Eoin McKeon 21 Caolin Blade 22 Ciaran Gaffney 23 Naulia Dawai

SCORERS T: Carty C: Carty

Referee: George Clancy

 

CARDIFF BLUES 27 - 16 DRAGONS

BT Sport Cardiff Arms Park - Monday 26 December 2016
KO: 14:05 HT: 27-16

BLUES: 15 Matthew Morgan 14 Alex Cuthbert 13 Rey Lee-Lo 12 Willis Halaholo 11 Tom James 10 Steven Shingler 9 Lloyd Williams 8 Nick Williams 7 SAM WARBURTON (C) 6 Josh Navidi 5 James Down 4 Macauley Cook 3 Scott Andrews 2 Kristian Dacey 1 Rhys Gill BENCH: 16 Kirby Myhill 17 Brad Thyer 18 Taufa’ao Filise 19 Jarrad Hoeata 20 Ellis Jenkins 21 Tomos Williams 22 Nicky Robinson 23 Cory Allen

SCORERS T: Shingler, Dacey, Navidi C: Shingler (3) P: Shingler (2) Lee-Lo

DRAGONS: 15 Tom Prydie 14 Pat Howard 13 Tyler Morgan 12 Adam Warren 11 Ashton Hewitt 10 Angus O’Brien 9 Tavis Knoyle 8 Ed Jackson 7 Ollie Griffiths 6 LEWIS EVANS (C) 5 Rynard Landman 4 Cory Hill 3 Lloyd Fairbrother 2 Thomas Rhys Thomas 1 Sam Hobbs BENCH: 16 Elliot Dee 17 Thomas Davies 18 Brok Harris 19 Matthew Screech 20 Nick Crosswell 21 Sarel Pretorius 22 Dorian Jones 23 Sam Beard

SCORERS T: Hewitt C: O'Brien P: O'Brien (3) Landman

Referee: Ben Whitehouse

 

EDINBURGH 12 - 25 GLASGOW WARRIORS

BT Murrayfield - Monday 26 December 2016
KO: 16:05 HT: 6-15

EDINBURGH: 15 Blair Kinghorn 14 Damien Hoyland 13 Chris Dean 12 Phil Burleigh 11 Tom Brown 10 Duncan Weir 9 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne 8 Cornell Du Preez 7 Hamish Watson 6 Magnus Bradbury 5 GRANT GILCHRIST (C) 4 Ben Toolis 3 Simon Berghan 2 Ross Ford 1 Alasdair Dickinson BENCH: 16 Stuart McInally 17 Allan Dell 18 Murray McCallum 19 Fraser McKenzie 20 Viliame Mata 21 Sean Kennedy 22 Jason Tovey 23 Glenn Bryce

SCORERS P: Weir (4)

WARRIORS: 15 Stuart Hogg 14 Junior Bulumakau 13 Mark Bennett 12 Alex Dunbar 11 Lee Jones 10 Finn Russell 9 HENRY PYRGOS (CC) 8 Josh Strauss 7 Simone Favaro 6 Rob Harley 5 JONNY GRAY (CC) 4 Brian Alainu'uese 3 Zander Fagerson 2 Fraser Brown1 Alex Allan (36) BENCH: 16 Pat MacArthur 17 Ryan Grant 18 Sila Puafisi 19 Adam Ashe 20 Chris Fusaro 21 Ali Price 22 Nick Grigg 23 Sean Lamont

SCORERS T: Bulumakau, Strauss, Dunbar C: Russell (2) P: Russell (2) Allan

Referee: Ian Davies

 

MUNSTER RUGBY 29 - 17 LEINSTER RUGBY

Thomond Park - Monday 26 December 2016
KO: 17:30 HT: 14-10

MUNSTER: 15 Simon Zebo 14 Darren Sweetnam 13 Jaco Taute 12 Rory Scannell 11 Ronan O’Mahony 10 Tyler Bleyendaal 9 Conor Murray 8 CJ Stander 7 Tommy O’Donnell 6 PETER O’MAHONY (C) 5 Donnacha Ryan 4 Jean Kleyn 3 John Ryan 2 Niall Scannell 1 James Cronin BENCH: 16 Rhys Marshall 17 Dave Kilcoyne 18 Stephen Archer 19 Billy Holland 20 Jack O’Donoghue 21 Duncan Williams 22 Francis Saili 23 Andrew Conway

SCORERS T: Zebo, Ronan O'Mahony, O'Donnell, Stander C: Bleyendaal (3) P: Bleyendaal

LEINSTER: 15 Zane Kirchner 14 ISA NACEWA (C) 13 Rory O’Loughlin 12 Robbie Henshaw 11 Barry Daly 10 Ross Byrne 9 Jamison Gibson-Park 8 Jack Conan 7 Dan Leavy 6 Rhys Ruddock 5 Mike McCarthy 4 Ross Molony 3 Tadhg Furlong 2 James Tracy 1 Cian Healy BENCH: 16 Richardt Strauss 17 Peter Dooley 18 Michael Bent 19 Ian Nagle 20 Dominic Ryan 21 Charlie Rock 22 Noel Reid 23 Tom Daly

SCORERS T: Kirchner, Strauss C: Nacewa (2) P: Nacewa

Referee: Nigel Owens

 

OSPREYS 19 - 9 SCARLETS

Liberty Stadium - Tuesday 27 December 2016
KO: 15:00 HT: 6-9

OSPREYS: 15 Sam Davies 14 Keelan Giles 13 Ashley Beck 12 Josh Matavesi 11 Dan Evans 10 Dan Biggar 9 Brendon Leonard 8 Dan Baker 7 Justin Tipuric 6 James King 5 ALUN WYN JONES (C) 4 Rory Thornton 3 Ma’afu Fia 2 Sam Parry 1 Nicky Smith BENCH: 16 Scott Baldwin 17 Paul James 18 Rhodri Jones 19 Lloyd Ashley 20 Olly Cracknell 21 Sam Underhill 22 Tom Habberfield 23 Kieron Fonotia

SCORERS T: PT C: Biggar P: Biggar (4)

SCARLETS: 15 Liam Williams 14 Johnny McNicholl 13 Hadleigh Parkes 12 Scott Williams 11 DTH van der Merwe 10 Rhys Patchell 9 Gareth Davies 8 John Barclay 7 Will Boyde 6 Aaron Shingler 5 Tadhg Beirne 4 Jake Ball 3 Samson Lee 2 KEN OWENS (C) 1 Rob Evans BENCH: 16 Ryan Elias 17 Wyn Jones 18 Werner Kruger 19 Tom Price 20 Josh Macleod 21 Jonathan Evans 22 Dan Jones 23 Steff Evans

SCORERS P: Patchell (3) Rob Evans, Boyde, Steffan Evans

Referee: Andrew Brace

 

 

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IAN KEATLEY scored a late drop-goal to secure a dramatic 16-15 victory for Guinness PRO12 leaders Munster away at Glasgow Warriors in a tight, tense game. Entering this contest, Glasgow Warriors were boosted by the return of eight international players following the end of Scotland’s fixtures – including the likes of Bennett and Tommy Seymour. Munster recalled captain Peter O’Mahony, while Tommy O’Donnell made his 100th Guinness PRO12 appearance. The league leaders surged out of the blocks and took control of the match thanks Keatley’s penalty and Andrew Conway’s try – but Glasgow surged back after the break. Two tries from Ali Price and Mark Bennett looked to have won the game for Glasgow as they mounted an impressive second-half comeback. But Keatley kept his cool to win the game for the Irish side, who retain their place at the top of the table.

KEELAN GILES’ fourth PRO12 try in as many matches secured Ospreys a sixth bonus-point triumph at the Liberty Stadium this season as they saw off Edinburgh Rugby 31-22. The Welsh winger dotted down shortly after the break as Ospreys recorded their third straight win, and fifth consecutive at home. It was the home side’s only try of the second half but earlier scores from Dafydd Howell, Nicky Evans and Ma’afu Fia had done the damage. Edinburgh trailed 24-15 at half-time as Will Helu and Blair Kinghorn touched down, but a late try for replacement Viliame Mata was mere consolation as they await their first away victory in more than a year.

CONNACHT continued their fine run of home form as they ran in seven tries against the basement side Benetton Treviso to win 47-8. The Irish outfit were unbeaten in four PRO12 games at the Sportsground prior to the match, but were dealt a blow when they lost Matt Healy in the warm-up with Poolman coming in on the wing. Tom McCartney’s first-half double and scores from Danie Poolman and Denis Buckley secured a try-bonus-point before half-time, and a commanding 28-3 lead for the hosts. And John Cooney, Quinn Roux, and Jack Carty completed the scoring as Connacht eased home, meaning Braam Steyn’s try for Treviso was no more than a consolation.

SCARLETS have now won seven successive Guinness PRO12 games as Jonathan Evans went over for two of five tries in a 31-24 win at Zebre. Heading to Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi Scarlets had won six games in a row, while Zebre were still awaiting their first win at home this season. But early on it looked as though fortunes might be reversed as the boot over Carlo Canna had the home side 9-7 in front. However, that was as good as it got for the Italians as Aaron Shingler and DTH van der Merwe added to Evans’ earlier Scarlets score. And after the break Aled Davies and Evans grabbed a second, before Zebre showed their fighting spirit by going over themselves late on through Federico Ruzza and Giovanbattista Venditti, with a Canna penalty at the death earning them a losing bonus point.

ULSTER ended their three-game losing run in superb style as Ruan Pienaar starred in a bonus-point 35-22 victory against Cardiff Blues. Charles Piutau, Stuart McCloskey and loosehead Kyle McCall all touched down in a breathless first-half, despite Les Kiss’ side playing their first game for a month. Openside flanker Chris Henry marked his return to secure the bonus-point win in the second half, with a Louis Ludik charge down sealing the win. Kristian Dacey’s first-half score followed by tries from Willis Halaholo and Alex Cuthbert gave the Blues hope, but it wasn’t enough to prevent a fifth defeat in six outings.

LEINSTER kept up the pressure on pacesetters Munster and Ospreys with a bonus-point victory over Newport Gwent Dragons to cut the gap to points difference. A marauding first half saw Peter Dooley and Ross Molony cross in the space of two minutes at the RDS Arena, with Jack Conan’s score completing an emphatic first half. Joey Carbery dotted down just a minute into the second period to secure the bonus point, though Pat Howard ensured the Dragons were not out of the fixture heading into the final stages. And with Sarel Pretorius adding some bite for the Dragons, a purple patch saw them finish with a flourish, the South African ensuring the game closed out with a 28-15 scoreline.

RESULTS

GLASGOW WARRIORS vs MUNSTER RUGBY

Scotstoun Stadium - Friday 02 December 2016
KO: 19:35 HT: 3-13

WARRIORS: 15 Peter Murchie 14 Rory Hughes 13 Nick Grigg 12 Mark Bennett 11 Tommy Seymour 10 Peter Horne 9 Ali Price 8 RYAN WILSON (C) 7 Chris Fusaro 6 Josh Strauss 5 Rob Harley 4 Tim Swinson 3 Sila Puafisi 2 Fraser Brown 1 Gordon Reid BENCH: 16 Corey Flynn 17 Alex Allan 18 D'arcy Rae 19 Rob McAlpine 20 Langilangi Haupeakui 21 Nemia Kenatale 22 Rory Clegg 23 Lee Jones

SCORERS T: Price, Grigg C: Clegg P: Horne

MUNSTER: 15 Andrew Conway 14 Darren Sweetnam 13 Jaco Taute 12 Rory Scannell 11 Ronan O'Mahony 10 Ian Keatley 9 Duncan Williams 8 Jack O'Donoghue 7 Tommy O'Donnell 6 PETER O'MAHONY (C) 5 Bill Holland 4 Jean Kleyn 3 John Ryan 2 Niall Scannell 1 Dave Kilcoyne BENCH: 16 Rhys Marshall 17 Thomas du Toit 18 Stephen Archer 19 Donnacha Ryan 20 Robin Copeland 21 Te Aihe Toma 22 Dan Goggin 23 Alex Wootton

SCORERS T: Conway C: Keatley P: Keatley (2) DG: Keatley Kilcoyne

Referee: Nigel Owens

 

OSPREYS 31 - 22 EDINBURGH RUGBY

Liberty Stadium - Friday 02 December 2016
KO: 19:35 HT: 24-15

OSPREYS: 15 Dan Evans 14 Keelan Giles 13 Ashley Beck 12 Josh Matavesi 11 Dafydd Howells 10 Sam Davies 9 Brendon Leonard 8 Dan Baker 7 Justin Tipuric 6 James King 5 ALUN WYN JONES (C) 4 Rory Thornton 3 Ma’afu Fia 2 Sam Parry 1 Nicky Smith BENCH: 16 Scott Baldwin 17 Paul James 18 Dmitri Arhip 19 Lloyd Ashley 20 Sam Underhill 21 Tom Habberfield 22 Dan Biggar 23 Kieron Fonotia

SCORERS T: Howells, Baker, Fia, Giles C: Davies (4) P: Davies

EDINBURGH: 15 Blair Kinghorn 14 Damien Hoyland 13 Chris Dean 12 Junior Rasolea 11 Will Helu 10 Duncan Weir 9 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne 8 Nasi Manu 7 Jamie Ritchie 6 Magnus Bradbury 5 GRANT GILCHRIST (C) 4 Ben Toolis 3 Murray McCallum 2 Stuart McInally 1 Allan Dell BENCH: 16 Neil Cochrane 17 Kyle Whyte 18 Felipe Arregui 19 Lewis Carmichael 20 Viliame Mata 21 Nathan Fowles 22 Jason Tovey 23 Glenn Bryce

SCORERS T: Helu, Kinghorn, Mata C: Weir (2) P: Weir Gilchrist, Dell

Referee: Dudley Phillips

 

CONNACHT RUGBY 47 - 8 BENETTON RUGBY

Sportsground - Saturday 03 December 2016
KO: 15:00 HT: 28-3

CONNACHT: 15 Tiernan O'Halloran 14 Cian Kelleher 13 Bundee Aki 12 Stacey Ili 11 Matt Healy 10 Marnitz Boshoff 9 John Cooney 8 JOHN MULDOON (C) 7 Jake Heenan 6 Nepia Fox-Matamua 5 James Cannon 4 Quinn Roux 3 Conor Carey 2 Tom McCartney 1 Denis Buckley BENCH: 16 Dave Heffernan 17 JP Cooney 18 Dominic Robertson-McCoy 19 Sean O'Brien 20 Eoin McKeon 21 Caolin Blade 22 Jack Carty 23 Rory Parata

SCORERS T: McCartney (2), Poolman, Buckley, John Cooney, Heffernan, Carty C: John Cooney (4), Boshoff, Carty YC Kelleher

TREVISO: 15 David Odiete 14 Angelo Esposito 13 Michael Tagicakibau 12 ALBERTO SGARBI (C) 11 Luca Sperandio 10 Ian McKinley 9 Tito Tebaldi 8 Marco Barbini 7 Roberto Santamaria 6 Abraham Steyn 5 Marco Fuser 4 Marco Lazzaroni 3 Simone Ferrari 2 Davide Giazzon 1 Alberto De Marchi BENCH: 16 Luca Bigi 17 Federico Zani 18 Matteo Zanusso 19 Nicola Quaglio 20 Vittorio Flammini 21 Edoardo Gori 22 Tommaso Allan 23 Andrea Pratichetti

SCORERS T: Flammini P: McKinley Ferrari, Flammini

Referee: Ian Davies

 

ZEBRE RUGBY 24 - 31 SCARLETS

Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi - Saturday 03 December 2016
KO: 15:05 HT: 9-21

ZEBRE: 15 Dion Berryman 14 Mattia Bellini 13 Tommaso Boni 12 Tommaso Castello 11 Giovanbattista Venditti 10 Carlo Canna 9 Marcello Violi 8 Andries Van Schalkwyk 7 Johan Meyer 6 Derick Minnie 5 Federico Ruzza 4 Quintin Geldenhuys (C) 3 Dario Chistolini 2 Tommaso D'Apice 1 Bruno Postiglioni BENCH: 16 Carlo Festuccia 17 Andrea De Marchi 18 Guillermo Roan 19 Gideon Koegelenberg 20 Valerio Bernabò 21 Guglielmo Palazzani 22 Matteo Pratichetti 23 Edoardo Padovani

SCORERS T: Ruzza, Venditti C: Canna P: Canna (2) DG: Canna (2)

SCARLETS: 15 Aled Thomas 14 DTH van der Merwe 13 Jonathan Davies 12 HADLEIGH PARKES (C) 11 Steff Evans 10 Rhys Patchell 9 Jonathan Evans 8 Will Boyde 7 James Davies 6 Aaron Shingler 5 Tom Price 4 Tadhg Beirne 3 Werner Kruger 2 Ryan Elias 1 Wyn Jones BENCH: 16 Emyr Phillips 17 Rob Evans 18 Samson Lee 19 Jake Ball 20 Josh Macleod 21 Gareth Davies 22 Dan Jones 23 Gareth Owen

SCORERS T: Jonathan Evans (2), Shingler, van der Merwe, Thomas C: Patchell (3)

Referee: David Wilkinson

 

CARDIFF BLUES 22 - 35 ULSTER RUGBY

BT Sport Cardiff Arms Park - Saturday 03 December 2016
KO: 17:15 HT: 8-21

BLUES: 15 Blaine Scully 14 Alex Cuthbert 13 Rey Lee-Lo 12 Willis Halaholo 11 Tom James 10 Steve Shingler 9 Lloyd Williams 8 Josh Navidi 7 Sam Warburton 6 Ellis Jenkins 5 Josh Turnbull 4 George Earle 3 Taufa'ao Filise 2 Kristian Dacey 1 GETHIN JENKINS (C) BENCH: 16 Matthew Rees 17 Rhys Gill 18 Scott Andrews 19 Jarrad Hoeata 20 Macauley Cook 21 Tomos Williams 22 Nicky Robinson 23 Matthew Morgan

SCORERS T: Dacey, Halaholo, Cuthbert C: Robinson (2) P: Shingler Scully

ULSTER: 15 Charles Piutau 14 Tommy Bowe 13 Luke Marshall 12 Stuart McCloskey 11 Craig Gilroy 10 Brett Herron 9 Ruan Pienaar 8 Sean Reidy 7 Chris Henry 6 Iain Henderson 5 Franco van der Merwe 4 Pete Browne 3 Wiehahn Herbst 2 ROB HERRING (C) 1 Kyle McCall BENCH: 16 John Andrew 17 Andy Warwick 18 Rodney Ah You 19 Kieran Treadwell 20 Clive Ross 21 Paul Marshall 22 Louis Ludik 23 Darren Cave

SCORERS T: Piutau, McCloskey, McCall, Henry, Ludik C: Pienaar (5) Henderson, Marshall

Referee: Andrew Brace

 

LEINSTER RUGBY 28 - 15 DRAGONS

RDS Arena - Saturday 03 December 2016
KO: 19:35 HT: 21-3

 

LEINSTER: 15 Zane Kirchner 14 Adam Byrne 13 Rory O’Loughlin 12 Noel Reid 11 ISA NACEWA (C) 10 Joey Carbery 9 Luke McGrath 8 Jack Conan 7 Dan Leavy 6 Rhys Ruddock 5 Hayden Triggs 4 Ross Molony 3 Michael Bent 2 James Tracy 1 Peter Dooley BENCH: 16 Richardt Strauss 17 Andrew Porter 18 Jeremy Loughman 19 Mike McCarthy 20 Max Deegan 21 Charlie Rock 22 Ross Byrne 23 Tom Daly

SCORERS T: Dooley, Molony, Conan, Carbery C: Nacewa (4)

DRAGONS: 15 Carl Meyer 14 Pat Howard 13 Tyler Morgan 12 Jack Dixon 11 Adam Warren 10 Angus O’Brien 9 Tavis Knoyle 8 Harrison Keddie 7 Nic Cudd 6 LEWIS EVANS (C) 5 Rynard Landman 4 Nick Crosswell 3 Brok Harris 2 Elliot Dee 1 Phil Price BENCH: 16 Rhys Buckley 17 Thomas Davies 18 Lloyd Fairbrother 19 Cory Hill 20 James Thomas 21 Sarel Pretorius 22 Geraint Rhys Jones 23 Tom Prydie

SCORERS T: Howard, Pretorius C: O'Brien P: O'Brien

Referee: Marius Mitrea

 

 

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JOHN COONEY scored 13 points as defending Guinness PRO12 champions Connacht won their third league game of the season with a tight 18-7 victory against Cardiff Blues. The scrum-half scored the first try of the night from close range, before the Welsh side hit back through Wales international winger Tom James. But Cooney’s expert kicking regained Connacht the lead, before centre Bundee Aki finished off a lovely flowing move in the second period to take the wind out of Cardiff’s sails. The Blues applied plenty of second-half pressure in a bid to get back into the game but, Connacht held on for a crucial win.

DAN BAKER’S second-half try helped secure a superb 22-5 bonus-point win as Ospreys beat Glasgow Warriors at Scotstoun for the first time. In ice-cold conditions, the first half was littered with mistakes and neither side could fashion anything more than a half chance until late Tom Habberfield capitalised on a fine Tom Grabham kick to cross. Brian Alainu’uese’s red card turned the game further in Ospreys’ favour and Steve Tandy’s side soon made it pay as Tom O’Flaherty collected a Josh Matavesi kick to score. Baker capped a physical performance with a score before Ashley Beck showed good footwork to grab the bonus-point try. Junior Bulumakau ran in for a late consolation as the Warriors remain fourth in the Guinness PRO12.

A nine-try Guinness PRO12 thriller saw Scarlets beat Leinster in South Wales, with the hosts eventually running out 38-29 bonus-point winners. The hosts ran riot in the first period at Parc y Scarlets, with Johnny McNicholl, Werner Kruger, and Steff Evans all running in tries – while Richardt Strauss’ 39th-minute effort was all Leinster could muster. Things went from bad to worse for the boys in blue when Barry Daly was sent off in the first minute of the second half with Will Boyde and Ryan Elias scoring soon after, but the Irish province showed their character to claw back two tries through Adam Byrne and Tom Daly. And they got what they deserved for an admirable second-half comeback at the death, as Andrew Porter scored his first try in Leinster colours to wrap up a try bonus of their own.

FRIDAY night’s Round 9 game between Ulster Rugby and Zebre Rugby at Kingspan Stadium was postponed due to adverse pitch conditions. Cold conditions in Belfast left parts of the pitch frozen and match referee Craig Evans took the decision to call the game off in the interests of player safety. The match will be rearranged at a later date.

MUNSTER scored seven tries to move to the top of the PRO12 with a bonus point 46-3 win over Benetton Treviso at Thomond Park. With Leinster losing 38-29 to Scarlets on Friday night, the five-point victory for Munster moves them a point ahead of their rivals and two ahead of Ospreys. Andrew Conway scored two tries in the first half after Robin Copeland had crossed following a dominant Munster scrum to push them into the lead. Second row Dan O’Shea, Ronan O’Mahony, two, and Alex Wootton added four second half tries.

FLY-HALF Angus O’Brien won the battle against his former mentor Jason Tovey as Newport Gwent Dragons ran out 27-19 winners over Edinburgh in an entertaining PRO12 match at Rodney Parade. O’Brien crossed the whitewash in the first-half, notched two penalties and converted all three of his side’s tries as they came from behind to record their third league win of the season and leapfrog their opponents in the table. Tovey, returning to Rodney Parade to face his former side for the first time since his move north last March, managed two conversions himself as the visitors also dotted down three times, but O’Brien’s two penalties ultimately made the difference.

RESULTS

CONNACHT RUGBY 18 - 7 CARDIFF BLUES

Sportsground - Friday 25 November 2016
KO: 19:35 HT: 10-7

CONNACHT: 15 Cian Kelleher 14 Niyi Adeolokun 13 Bundee Aki 12 Craig Ronaldson 11 Stacey Ili 10 Jack Carty 9 John Cooney 8 JOHN MULDOON (C) 7 Jake Heenan 6 Eoin McKeon 5 James Cannon 4 Quinn Roux 3 Conor Carey 2 Tom McCartney 1 Denis Buckley BENCH: 16 Dave Heffernan 17 Ronan Loughney 18 JP Cooney 19 Lewis Stevenson 20 Nepia Fox-Matamua 21 Caolin Blade 22 Marnitz Boshoff 23 Danie Poolman

SCORERS T: John Cooney, Aki C: John Cooney P: John Cooney (2)

BLUES: 15 Dan Fish 14 Blaine Scully 13 Rey Lee-Lo 12 Willis Halaholo 11 Tom James 10 Steve Shingler 9 Tomos Williams 8 Josh Navidi 7 ELLIS JENKINS (C) 6 Josh Turnbull 5 Jarrad Hoeata 4 George Earle 3 Scott Andrews 2 Kristian Dacey 1 Rhys Gill BENCH: 16 Matthew Rees 17 Brad Thyer 18 Taufa'ao Filise 19 Macauley Cook 20 Shane Lewis-Hughes 21 Rhodri Davies 22 Alex Cuthbert 23 Matthew Morgan

SCORERS T: James C: Shingler

Referee: Nigel Owens

 

GLASGOW WARRIORS 5 - 22 OSPREYS

Scotstoun Stadium - Friday 25 November 2016
KO: 19:35 HT: 0-5

WARRIORS: 15 Peter Murchie 14 Sean Lamont 13 Nick Grigg 12 Sam Johnson 11 Lee Jones 10 Rory Clegg 9 Grayson Hart 8 Josh Strauss 7 Chris Fusaro 6 Lewis Wynne 5 Brian Alainu'uese 4 Tim Swinson 3 D'arcy Rae 2 Corey Flynn 1 Gordon Reid BENCH: 16 Pat MacArthur 17 Ryan Grant 18 Adam Nicol 19 Robert McAlpine 20 Langilangi Haupeakui 21 George Horne 22 Patrick Kelly 23 Junior Bulumakau

SCORERS T: Bulumakau Alainu'uese

OSPREYS: 15 Dan Evans 14 Dafydd Howells 13 Kieron Fonotia 12 Ashley Beck 11 Tom Grabham 10 Josh Matavesi 9 TOM HABBERFIELD (C) 8 Dan Baker 7 Sam Underhill 6 Olly Cracknell 5 Rory Thornton 4 Lloyd Ashley 3 Ma'afu Fia 2 Sam Parry 1 Paul James BENCH: 16 Scott Otten 17 Gareth Thomas 18 Rhodri Jones 19 Adam Beard 20 Rob McCusker 21 Brendon Leonard 22 Luke Price 23 Tom O'Flaherty

SCORERS T: Habberfield, O'Flaherty, Baker, Beck C: Matavesi

Referee: George Clancy

 

SCARLETS 38 - 29 LEINSTER RUGBY

Parc y Scarlets - Friday 25 November 2016
KO: 19:35 HT: 21-8

 

SCARLETS: 15 Aled Thomas 14 Johnny McNicholl 13 Steff Hughes 12 HADLEIGH PARKES (C) ] 11 Steff Evans 10 Rhys Patchell 9 Jonathan Evans 8 Will Boyde 7 James Davies 6 Aaron Shingler 5 David Bulbring 4 Tom Price 3 Werner Kruger 2 Ryan Elias 1 Wyn Jones BENCH: 16 Emyr Phillips 17 Dylan Evans 18 Peter Edwards 19 Tadhg Beirne 20 Josh Macleod 21 Aled Davies 22 Dan Jones 23 Gareth Owen

SCORERS T: McNicholl. Kruger, Steffan Evans, Boyde, Elias C: Patchell (5) P: Dan Jones

LEINSTER: 15 ISA NACEWA (C) 14 Adam Byrne 13 Rory O’Loughlin 12. Noel Reid 11 Barry Daly 10 Ross Byrne 9 Jamison Gibson-Park 8 Jack Conan 7 Dan Leavy 6 Dominic Ryan 5 Ian Nagle 4 Mike McCarthy 3 Michael Bent 2 Richardt Strauss 1 Peter Dooley BENCH: 16 James Tracy 17 Andrew Porter 18 Oisín Heffernan 19 Ross Molony 20 Peadar Timmins 21 Luke McGrath 22 Tom Daly 23 Zane Kirchner

SCORERS T: Strauss, Adam Byrne, Tom Daly, Porter C: Nacewa (3) P: Nacewa YC McCarthy Barry Daly

Referee: Sean Gallagher

 

ULSTER RUGBY P - P ZEBRE RUGBY

Kingspan Stadium - Friday 25 November 2016
KO: 19:35 HT: tbc

 

MUNSTER RUGBY 46 - 3 BENETTON RUGBY

Thomond Park - Saturday 26 November 2016
KO: 17:00 HT: 22-3

 

MUNSTER: 15 Andrew Conway 14 Darren Sweetnam 13 Sammy Arnold 12 Jaco Taute 11 Ronan O’Mahony 10 Tyler Bleyendaal 9 Duncan Williams 8 Robin Copeland 7 TOMMY O’DONNELL (C) 6 Jack O’Donoghue 5 Darren O’Shea 4 Dave Foley 3 John Ryan 2 Rhys Marshall 1 Dave Kilcoyne BENCH: 16 Niall Scannell 17 Thomas du Toit 18 Stephen Archer 19 Jean Kleyn 20 Billy Holland 21 Angus Lloyd 22 Ian Keatley 23 Alex Wootton

SCORERS T: Copeland, Conway (2), O'Shea, O'Mahony (2), Wootton C: Bleyendaal (3), Keatley P: Bleyendaal

TREVISO: 15 Jayden Hayward 14 Michael Tagicakibau 13 Tommaso Iannone 12 ALBERTO SGARBI (C) 11 Luca Sperandio 10 Ian McKinley 9 Tito Tebaldi 8 Marco Barbini 7 Filippo Ferrarini 6 Marco Lazzaroni 5 Michael Van Vuuren 4 Filippo Gerosa 3 Matteo Zanusso 2 Luca Bigi 1 Alberto De Marchi BENCH: 16 Davide Giazzon 17 Federico Zani 18 Tiziano Pasquali 19 Roberto Santamaria 20 Federico Conforti 21 Enrico Francescato 22 Andrea Pratichetti 23 David Odiete

SCORERS P: McKinley

Referee: Mike Adamson

 

DRAGONS 27 - 19 EDINBURGH RUGBY

Rodney Parade - Sunday 27 November 2016
KO: 15:30 HT: 24-12

 

DRAGONS: 15 Carl Meyer 14 Pat Howard 13 Sam Beard 12 Jack Dixon 11 Ashton Hewitt 10 Angus O’Brien 9 Tavis Knoyle 8 Ed Jackson 7 Ollie Griffiths 6 LEWIS EVANS (C) 5 Rynard Landman 4 Nick Crosswell 3 Brok Harris 2 Thomas Rhys Thomas 1 Sam Hobbs BENCH: 16 Rhys Buckley 17 Phil Price 18 Lloyd Fairbrother 19 Matthew Screech 20 Nic Cudd 21 Sarel Pretorius 22 Geraint Rhys Jones 23 Tyler Morgan

SCORERS T: Meyer, Hobbs, O'Brien C: O'Brien (3) P: O'Brien (2)

EDINBURGH: 15 Blair Kinghorn 14 Damien Hoyland 13 Chris Dean 12 Phil Burleigh 11 Michael Allen 10 Jason Tovey 9 Sean Kennedy 8 Nasi Manu 7 Jamie Ritchie 6 Magnus Bradbury 5 Ben Toolis 4 Fraser McKenzie 3 Murray McCallum 2 NEIL COCHRANE (C) 1 Jack Cosgrove BENCH: 16 Stuart McInally 17 Kyle Whyte 18 Felipe Arregui 19 Lewis Carmichael 20 Viliame Mata 21 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne 22 Duncan Weir 23 Glenn Bryce

SCORERS T: Manu, Dean, Mata C: Tovey, Weir

Referee: Frank Murphy

 

 

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ASHTON HEWITT helped himself to two tries as Newport Gwent Dragons downed reigning Guinness PRO12 champions Connacht 21-16 at Rodney Parade for just their second league win of the season. The 21-year-old grabbed the opening try of the game after 13 minutes and Newport led 13-6 at the interval, Angus O’Brien’s boot doing the rest. And Hewitt pounced again shortly after the restart to stretch the home side’s advantage, with O’Brien knocking over a drop goal for a 21-9 lead on 52 minutes. But on the hour Jack Carty scored his third penalty of the evening and with ten minutes left, Niyi Adeolokun dotted down, but that was as good as it got for Connacht as the hosts held on.

A first-half blitz was enough to get Edinburgh back to winning ways as they survived a late Ulster fightback to win 28-17 at BT Murrayfield. Edinburgh had suffered defeat to Zebre in their previous PRO12 outing, but held a commanding 21-3 half-time lead in this game thanks to tries from Viliame Mata and Damien Hoyland. The home side extended their lead shortly after the restart through Magnus Bradbury’s score and looked to be cruising to the win, only for their visitors to come roaring back.

DAVE KILCOYNE scored a try-double as Munster sewed up a bonus-point victory with ruthless efficiency at the expense of Ospreys. Kilcoyne and Darren Sweetnam both dotted down within the first quarter of an hour as Munster, who have lost just twice on home soil since mid-January, giving Ospreys a mountain to climb. Having won several key turnovers that stopped the Welsh region from finding a way back into the game, an all-action Ronan O’Mahony crossed for Munster’s third in the second half before Kilcoyne wrapped up the five points in the 69th minute. The Cork crowd were treated to a Munster fifth three minutes from time through Robin Copeland.

WILLIS HALAHOLO grabbed a second-half try on his Cardiff Blues debut to lift his side to a 34-28 victory over Treviso at Stadio Monigo. Treviso looked to be on course for just their second PRO12 victory of the season shortly after half-time as Abraham Steyn crossed for their fourth try of the game, following first-half efforts from Dean Budd, Alberto Sgarbi and Michael Tagicakibau. But Cardiff came into this fixture having lost just one of their last six away games in all competitions and refused to lie down. Macauley Cook grabbed their second try after Rhun Williams – another Blues debutant – and Steven Shingler’s boot had kept the visitors in the contest before the break. Halaholo scored what proved to be the winning try just after the hour mark as Treviso had to settle for two bonus points and remain rooted to the foot of the table.

ADAM BYRNE scored a hat-trick as Leinster retained their place at the top of the table with a bonus-point 33-10 victory away at Zebre. The 22-year-old put his side ahead late in the first half after Zebre made a fast start, before two in the second period wrapped up a comfortable victory – preserving Leinster’s 100 per cent winning record against their hosts. Centre Tom Daly scored on his Leinster debut after Andries van Schalkwyk put Zebre ahead, before Byrne took over in the second half. Jack Conan also scored for the visitors, who have won seven of their eight league games so far this season.

SCARLETS turned on the second-half style to complete their fifth successive PRO12 victory, getting the better of a Glasgow Warriors side far from their best at the Parc y Scarlets. Will Boyde made the most of his starting berth to open the scoring, despite the Warriors boasting much of the play, with Jonathan Evans also crossing the whitewash within the first 40 minutes. That was despite Wyn Jones spending ten minutes in the sin bin, with Glasgow left to rue a bad day at the office in a 27-3 defeat. They failed to cross for a score for the first time since January, with Peter Horne the only man to kick their Scots before the forwards combined for Scarlets’ third and final effort in Llanelli.

RESULTS

DRAGONS 21 - 16 CONNACHT RUGBY

Rodney Parade - 04 November 2016
KO: 19:15 HT: 13-6

DRAGONS: 15 Tom Prydie 14 Pat Howard 13 Sam Beard 12 Jack Dixon 11 Ashton Hewitt 10 Angus O’Brien 9 Sarel Pretorius 8 Ed Jackson 7 Ollie Griffiths 6 LEWIS EVANS (C) 5 Rynard Landman 4 Nick Crosswell 3 Brok Harris 2 Thomas Rhys Thomas 1 Phil Price BENCH: 16 Rhys Buckley 17 Sam Hobbs 18 Lloyd Fairbrother 19 Matthew Screech 20 Nic Cudd 21 Tavis Knoyle 22 Geraint Rhys Jones 23 Adam Warren

SCORERS T: Hewitt (2) C: O'Brien P: O'Brien DG: O'Brien (2)

CONNACHT: 15 Tiernan O’Halloran 14 Niyi Adeolokun 13 Bundee Aki 12 Peter Robb 11 Stacey Ili 10 Jack Carty 9 Caolin Blade 8 JOHN MULDOON (C) 7 Jake Heenan 6 Eoin McKeon 5 Andrew Browne 4 Quinn Roux 3 Conor Carey 2 Shane Delahunt 1 JP Cooney BENCH: 16 Dave Heffernan 17 Saba Meunargia 18 Dominic Robertson-McCoy 19 James Cannon 20 James Connolly 21 Conor McKeon 22 Shane O’Leary 23 Cian Kelleher

SCORERS T: Adeolokun C: Carty P: Carty (3)

Referee: George Clancy

 

EDINBURGH RUGBY 28 - 17 ULSTER RUGBY

BT Murrayfield - 04 November 2016
KO: 19:35 HT: 21-3

EDINBURGH: 15 Blair Kinghorn 14 Damien Hoyland 13 Chris Dean 12 Phil Burleigh 11 Tom Brown 10 Jason Tovey 9 Sean Kennedy 8 Magnus Bradbury 7 Jamie Ritchie 6 Viliame Mata 5 Ben Toolis 4 Fraser McKenzie 3 Murray McCallum 2 NEIL COCHRANE (C) 1 Jack Cosgrove BENCH: 16 Stuart McInally 17 Kyle Whyte 18 Felipe Arregui 19 Lewis Carmichael 20 Cornell Du Preez 21 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne 22 Duncan Weir 23 Michael Allen

SCORERS T: Mata, Hoyland, Bradbury C: Tovey (2) P: Kinghorn, Weir (2)

ULSTER: 15 Charles Piutau 14 Tommy Bowe 13 Luke Marshall 12 Sam Windsor 11 Rob Lyttle 10 Brett Herron 9 Ruan Pienaar 8 Sean Reidy 7 Clive Ross 6 Pete Browne 5 Franco van der Merwe 4 Dan Tuohy 3 Wiehahn Herbst 2 ROB HERRING (C) 1 Kyle McCall BENCH: 16 John Andrew 17 Andrew Warwick 18 Ross Kane 19 Robbie Diack 20 Conor Joyce 21 Paul Marshall 22 Aaron Cairns 23 Jacob Stockdale

SCORERS T: Cairns, Stockdale C: Pienaar (2) P: Pienaar

Referee: Andrew Brace

 

MUNSTER RUGBY 33 - 0 OSPREYS

Irish Independent Park - 04 November 2016
KO: 19:35 HT: 14-0

MUNSTER: 15 Andrew Conway 14 Darren Sweetnam 13 Jaco Taute 12 Rory Scannell 11 Ronan O'Mahony 10 Tyler Bleyendaal 9 Duncan Williams 8 Jack O'Donoghue 7 Tommy O'Donnell 6 PETER O'MAHONY (C) 5 Robin Copeland 4 Darren O'Shea 3 Stephen Archer 2 Niall Scannell 1 Dave Kilcoyne BENCH: 16 Rhys Marshall 17 Peter McCabe 18 Brian Scott 19 John Madigan 20 Conor Oliver 21 Abrie Griesel 22 Ian Keatley 23 Alex Wootton

SCORERS T: Kilcoyne (2), Sweetnam, Ronan O'Mahony, Copeland C: Bleyendaal (4)

OSPREYS: 15 Dan Evans 14 Keelan Giles 13 Ben John 12 Ashley Beck 11 Eli Walker 10 Josh Matavesi 9 TOM HABBERFIELD (C) 8 Joe Bearman 7 Olly Cracknell 6 Rob McCusker 5 Adam Beard 4 Lloyd Ashley 3 Dmitri Arhip 2 Sam Parry 1 Paul James BENCH: 16 Hugh Gustafson 17 Gareth Thomas 18 Ma’afu Fia 19 Rhodri Jones 20 Scott Otten 21 Brendon Leonard 22 Jonathan Spratt 23 Dafydd Howells

Referee: Marius Mitrea

 

BENETTON RUGBY 28 - 34 CARDIFF BLUES

Stadio Monigo - 04 November 2016
KO: 20:15 HT: 21-16

 

TREVISO: 15 Jayden Hayward 14 Michael Tagicakibau 13 Tommaso Benvenuti 12 ALBERTO SGARBI (C) 11 Angelo Esposito 10 Ian McKinley 9 Tito Tebaldi 8 Marco Barbini 7 Abraham Steyn 6 Marco Lazzaroni 5 Dean Budd 4 Filippo Gerosa 3 Simone Ferrari 2 Ornel Gega 1 Nicola Quaglio BENCH: 16 Ornel Gega 17 Alberto De Marchi 18 Cherif Traore 19 Marco Fuser 20 Francesco Minto 21 Edoardo Gori 22 Tommaso Allan 23 Luke McLean

SCORERS T: Budd, Sgarbi, Tagicakibau, Steyn C: McKinley (4)

BLUES: 15 Matthew Morgan 14 Blaine Scully 13 Rey Lee-Lo 12 Willis Halaholo 11 Rhun Williams 10 Steve Shingler 9 Lloyd Williams 8 Macauley Cook 7 Ellis Jenkins 6 Sam Warburton 5 Jarrad Hoeata 4 George Earle 3 Scott Andrews 2 MATTHEW REES (C) 1 Rhys Gill BENCH: 16 Kris Dacey 17 Brad Thyer 18 Dillon Lewis 19 James Down 20 Seb Davies 21 Tomos Williams 22 Jarrod Evans 23 Dan Fish

SCORERS T: Rhun Williams, Cook, Halaholo C: Shingler (2) P: Shingler (5)

Referee: Ian Davies

 

ZEBRE RUGBY 10 - 33 LEINSTER RUGBY

Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi - 05 November 2016
KO: 17:05 HT: 10-12

 

ZEBRE: 15 Edoardo Padovani 14 Giulio Bisegni 13 Matteo Pratichetti 12 Tommaso Castello 11 Giovanbattista Venditti 10 Charles Reed 9 Marcello Violi 8 Andries Van Schalkwyk 7 Johan Meyer 6 Maxime Mbandà 5 George Biagi 4 Quintin Geldenhuys 3 Dario Chistolini 2 Tommaso D'Apice 1 Andrea Lovotti BENCH: 16 Carlo Festuccia 17 Bruno Postiglioni 18 Pietro Ceccarelli 19 Federico Ruzza 20 Derick Minnie 21 William Palazzani 22 Carlo Engelbrecht 23 Simone Toys

SCORERS  T: van Schalkwyk C: Canna P: Canna

LEINSTER: 15 Isa Nacewa 14 Adam Byrne 13 Tom Daly 12 Noel Reid 11 Barry Daly 10 Ross Byrne 9 Jamison Gibson-Park 8 Jack Conan 7 Sean O'Brien 6 Dan Leavy 5 Hayden Triggs 4 Mike McCarthy 3 Michael Bent 2 Richardt Strauss 1 Andrew Porter BENCH: 16 James Tracy 17 Peter Dooley 18 Mike Ross 19 Mick Kearney 20 Rhys Ruddock 21 Nick McCarthy 22 Dominic Ryan 23 Hugo Keenan

SCORERS T: Tom Daly, Adam Byrne (3) C: Nacewa (4) McCarthy

Referee: Nigel Owens

 

SCARLETS 27 - 3 GLASGOW WARRIORS

Parc y Scarlets - 05 November 2016
KO: 19:35 HT: 7-3

 

SCARLETS: 15 Aled Thomas 14 DTH van der Merwe 13 Steff Hughes 12 HADLEIGH PARKES (C) 11 Steff Evans 10 Rhys Patchell 9 Jonathan Evans 8 John Barclay 7 Will Boyde 6 Aaron Shingler 5 David Bulbring 4 Tom Price 3 Werner Kruger 2 Ryan Elias 1 Wyn Jones BENCH: 16 Emyr Phillips 17 Dylan Evans 18 Peter Edwards 19 Lewis Rawlins 20 James Davies 21 Aled Davies 22 Dan Jones 23 Gareth Owen

SCORERS T: Boyde (2), Jonathan Evans C: Patchell (3) P: Patchell (2) Wyn Jones

WARRIORS: 15 Peter Murchie 14 Lee Jones 13 Mark Bennett 12 Sam Johnson 11 Rory Hughes 10 Peter Horne 9 Ali Price8 Lewis Wynne 7 Simone Favaro 6 Rob Harley 5 Brian Alainu’uese 4 Tim Swinson 3 Sila Puafisi 2 Pat MacArthur 1 Djustice Sears-Duru BENCH: 16 Corey Flynn 17 Jamie Bhatti 18 D’arcy Rae 19 Matt Fagerson 20 Langilangi Haupeakui 21 Grayson Hart 22 Rory Clegg 23 Nick Grigg

SCORERS P: Horne MacArthur, Alainu'uese

Referee: Gary Conway

 

 

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RORY SCANNELL’S late drop goal secured Munster a dramatic comeback 15-14 win over Ulster that lifts them above their provincial rivals and back into the Guinness PRO12 top four. Munster have now won three in a row at the Kingspan Stadium – the first time they have done that since the Second World War – but they had to do it the hard way in Belfast. First-half tries from Charles Piutau – his first for the club – and Rob Lyttle opened up a 14-0 lead for the hosts who came into the game sitting top of the Guinness PRO12 standings. But Rory Scannell went over for Munster – who dominated huge swathes of this clash – in first-half stoppage time to trim the gap. Jaco Taute then crossed in the second half for the visitors but it looked like Ian Keatley’s misfiring boot would cost the away side. The fly-half – Munster’s hero with a late penalty in this same fixture in January – missed three kicks at a goal and a drop goal and Ulster were clinging on to a 14-12 win as time ticked down. But up stepped man of the match Scannell to slot a fine drop goal with five minutes remaining and although Jackson came agonisingly close with a drop goal of his own in the last two minutes, it drifted wide and Munster held on.

SCARLETS recorded a fourth PRO12 win in a row as they secured a 26-15 bonus-point victory over Cardiff Blues in an absorbing Welsh derby at BT Sport Cardiff Arms Park. An open first half saw Scarlets notch three tries – Aaron Shingler, Jonathan Evans and DTH van der Merwe all dotting down – to their hosts’ one through Tom James. Hadleigh Parkes then appeared to put the visitors out of sight shortly after the interval and despite Blaine Scully’s spectacular finish giving the Blues a glimmer of hope, they ultimately suffered a third Guinness PRO12 defeat in a row for the first time since November 2015.

ZEBRE recorded their first ever Guinness PRO12 win in Scotland as Giovanbattista Venditti’s late try handed them a dramatic 19-14 victory over Edinburgh. The Italians had not won on eight previous visits to the country but when Damien Hoyland’s interception attempt failed, Venditti went over for the 78th-minute try which made history. The unerring boot of Carlo Canna and some resilient defence had given Zebre a 12-0 lead with half an hour remaining but a pair of converted front-row tries – from Ross Ford and Murray McCallum – looked to have got Edinburgh out of jail. However, Venditti’s score broke their hearts and snapped a three-game winning streak in the process.

RORY HUGHES bagged a double for Glasgow Warriors with a 31-14 bonus-point win over Benetton Treviso at Scotstoun. Jonny Gray, Mark Bennett, Hughes and Alex Dunbar all crossed for Gregor Townsend’s side in the first half as they wrapped up the four-try bonus point. The Italians had a penalty try to show for their efforts in the first 40 minutes – Dunbar also sent to the sin bin – but the Scots looked ruthless in attack. And when man of the match Hughes crossed for his second soon after half-time it looked like the Scottish side might turn the screw and pull away. However, the Italians – without a win on their travels since the 2012/13 season – refused to buckle and hit back with a Davide Giazzon score shortly after the hour mark while Glasgow debutant Langilangi Haupeakui was in the sin bin. And the USA international then saw red late on when he received a second yellow for a no-arms tackle to end the match on a sour note for the hosts.

KEELAN GILES scored two more tries for Ospreys with a convincing 35-17 bonus-point win against Newport Gwent Dragons at the Liberty Stadium. The home side struggled in the first 20 minutes but as soon as Tom Habberfield scored their first try victory seemed inevitable, as they preserved their strong record against the Dragons – who they have not lost to in the Guinness PRO12 since 2012. Scott Baldwin, released from Wales international duty to start the match along with flanker Dan Lydiate, scored Ospreys’ second from a rolling maul just before the break. And in the second half Ospreys cut loose as Giles made it eight tries in four appearances with his pair, while Brendan Leonard put the icing on the cake late on before the Dragons scored two consolation tries through replacement Matthew Screech and Pat Howard.

A try for both Leinster wings saw them move to the top of the table, level on points with Ospreys and Glasgow Warriors, after a 24-13 victory over Connacht. Adam Byrne and debutant Barry Daly both crossed for the home side at the RDS Arena with Isa Nacewa adding 14 points with the boots while Shane Delahunt got a consolation Connacht try. The win stretches the Leinstermen’s winning streak at home to 19 matches and saw them avenge the PRO12 final defeat to Connacht last year.

RESULTS

ULSTER RUGBY 14 - 15 MUNSTER RUGBY

Kingspan Stadium - Friday 28 October 2016
KO: 19:05 HT: 14-5 Att: tbc

ULSTER: 15 Charles Piutau 14 Tommy Bowe 13 Luke Marshall 12 Darren Cave 11 Craig Gilroy 10 Paddy Jackson 9 Ruan Pienaar 8 Roger Wilson 7 Sean Reidy 6 Robbie Diack 5 Franco van der Merwe 4 Dan Tuohy 3 Wiehahn Herbst 2 ROB HERRING (C) 1 Callum Black BENCH: 16 John Andrew 17 Kyle McCall 18 Andy Warwick 19 Clive Ross 20 Conor Joyce 21 Paul Marshall 22 Brett Herron 23 Jacob Stockdale

SCORERS T: Piutau, Lyttle C: Jackson (2)

MUNSTER: 15 Andrew Conway 14 Darren Sweetnam 13 Jaco Taute 12 Rory Scannell 11 Ronan O'Mahony 10 Ian Keatley 9 Duncan Williams 8 Jack O'Donoghue 7 Tommy O'Donnell 6 PETER O'MAHONY (C) 5 Billy Holland 4 Donnacha Ryan 3 John Ryan 2 Niall Scannell 1 Dave Kilcoyne BENCH: 16 Vincent O'Brien 17 Brian Scott 18 Stephen Archer 19 Darren O'Shea 20 Robin Copeland 21 Abrie Griesel 22 Alex Wootton 23 Dan Goggin

SCORERS T: Rory Scannell, Taute C: Rory Scannell P: Rory Scannell

Referee: Nigel Owens

 

CARDIFF BLUES 15 - 26 SCARLETS

BT Sport Cardiff Arms Park - Friday 28 October 2016
KO: 19:35 HT: 7-21 Att: tbc

BLUES: 15 Matthew Morgan 14 Blaine Scully 13 Cory Allen 12 Rey Lee-Lo 11 Tom James 10 Steve Shingler 9 Tomos Williams 8 Cam Dolan 7 JOSH TURNBULL (C) 6 Macauley Cook 5 James Down 4 George Earle 3 Taufa’ao Filise 2 Kirby Myhill 1 Rhys Gill BENCH: 16 Matthew Rees 17 Brad Thyer 18 Dillon Lewis 19 Seb Lewis 20 Shane Lewis-Hughes 21 Lloyd Williams 22 Jarrod Evans 23 Dan Fish

SCORERS T: James, Scully C: Steve Shingler P: Steve Shingler Filise

SCARLETS: 15 Aled Thomas 14 DTH van der Merwe 13 Steff Hughes 12 HADLEIGH PARKES (C) 11 Steff Evans 10 Rhys Patchell 9 Jonathan Evans 8 John Barclay 7 Will Boyde 6 Aaron Shingler 5 David Bulbring 4 Tom Price 3 Werner Kruger 2 Ryan Elias 1 Wyn Jones BENCH: 16 Emyr Phillips 17 Dylan Evans 18 Peter Edwards 19 Lewis Rawlins 20 James Davies 21 Aled Davies 22 Dan Jones 23 Ioan Nicholas

SCORERS T: Aaron Shingler, Jonathan Evans, van der Merwe, Parkes C: Patchell (3) Wyn Jones, Boyde, Aaron Shingler

Referee: Lloyd Linton

 

EDINBURGH RUGBY 14 - 19 ZEBRE RUGBY

BT Murrayfield - Friday 28 October 2016
KO: 19:35 HT: 0-6 Att: tbc

EDINBURGH: 15 Blair Kinghorn 14 Damien Hoyland 13 Chris Dean 12 Phil Burleigh 11 Tom Brown 10 Jason Tovey 9 Sean Kennedy 8 Magnus Bradbury 7 John Hardie 6 Viliame Mata 5 GRANT GILCHRIST (C) 4 Ben Toolis 3 Felipe Arregui 2 Stuart McInally 1 Allan Dell BENCH: 16 Ross Ford 17 Jack Cosgrove 18 Murray McCallum 19 Fraser McKenzie 20 Cornell Du Preez 21 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne 22 Michael Allen 23 Glenn Bryce

SCORERS T: Ford, McCallum C: Kinghorn, Hidalgo-Clyne

ZEBRE: 15 Edoardo Padovani 14 Giulio Bisegni 13 Tommaso Boni 12 Tommaso Castello 11 Giovanbattista Venditti 10 Carlo Canna 9 Marcello Violi 8 Andries Van Schalkwyk 7 Johan Meyer 6 Maxime Mbandà 5 GEORGE BIAGI (C) 4 Quintin Geldenhuys 3 Pietro Ceccarelli 2 Tommaso D'Apice 1 Andrea Lovotti BENCH: 16 Massimo Ceciliani 17 Andrea De Marchi 18 Dario Chistolini 19 Federico Ruzza 20 Derick Minnie 21 Guglielmo Palazzani 22 Matteo Pratichetti 23 Giovanni D'Onofrio

SCORERS T: Venditti C: Canna P: Canna (4)

Referee: Marius Mitrea

 

GLASGOW WARRIORS 31 - 14 BENETTON

Scotstoun Stadium - Friday 28 October 2016
KO: 19:35 HT: 26-7 Att: tbc

 

WARRIORS: 15 Stuart Hogg 14 Tommy Seymour 13 Mark Bennett 12 Alex Dunbar 11 Rory Hughes 10 Finn Russell 9 HENRY PYRGOS (CC) 8 Ryan Wilson 7 Simone Favaro 6 Josh Strauss 5 JONNY GRAY (CC) 4 Tim Swinson 3 Sila Puafisi 2 Pat MacArthur 1 Alex Allan BENCH: 16 Corey Flynn 17 Djustice Sears-Duru 18 D’Arcy Rae 19 Brian Alainu’uese 20 Langilangi Haupeakui 21 Ali Price 22 Pete Horne 23 Lee Jones

SCORERS T: Gray, Bennett, Hughes (2), Dunbar C: Russell (3) Dunbar, Haupeakui Haupeakui

TREVISO: 15 Jayden Hayward 14 David Odiete 13 Tommaso Iannone 12 Alberto Sgarbi 11 Andrea Pratichetti 10 Ian McKinley 9 Tito Tebaldi 8 Abraham Steyn 7 ALESSANDRO ZANNI (C) 6 Dean Budd 5 Marco Fuser 4 Filippo Gerosa 3 Simone Ferrari 2 Luca Bigi 1 Nicola Quaglio BENCH: 16 Davide Giazzon 17 Federico Zani 18 Tiziano Pasquali 19 Francesco Minto 20 Marco Barbini 21 Edoardo Gori 22 Tommaso Allan 23 Angelo Esposito

SCORERS T: PT, Giazzon C: McKinley, Allan

Referee: David Wilkinson

 

OSPREYS 35 - 17 DRAGONS

Liberty Stadium - Saturday 29 October 2016
KO: 15:00 HT: 14-17 Att: tbc

 

OSPREYS: 15 Dan Evans 14 Keelan Giles 13 Ben John 12 Ashley Beck 11 Eli Walker 10 Josh Matavesi 9 TOM HABBERFIELD (C) 8 Joe Bearman 7 Olly Cracknell 6 Dan Lydiate 5 Adam Beard 4 Lloyd Ashley 3 Dmitri Arhip 2 Scott Baldwin 1 Paul James BENCH: 16 Sam Parry 17 Gareth Thomas 18 Ma'afu Fia 19 Rob McCusker 20 Scott Otten 21 Brendon Leonard 22 Jonathan Spratt 23 Dafydd Howells

SCORERS T: Habberfield, Baldwin, Giles (2), Leonard C: Matavesi (5) Arhip

DRAGONS: 15 Tom Prydie 14 Pat Howard 13 Sam Beard 12 Jack Dixon 11 Adam Warren 10 Nick Macleod 9 Tavis Knoyle 8 Ed Jackson 7 Nic Cudd 6 LEWIS EVANS (C) 5 Rynard Landman 4 Nick Crosswell 3 Brok Harris 2 Thomas Rhys Thomas 1 Sam Hobbs BENCH: 16 Rhys Buckley 17 Phil Price 18 Lloyd Fairbrother 19 Matthew Screech 20 Ollie Griffiths 21 Sarel Pretorius 22 Geraint Rhys Jones 23 Ashton Hewitt

SCORERS T: Screech, Howard C: Jones (2) P: Macleod

Referee: Ben Whitehouse

 

LEINSTER RUGBY 24-13 CONNACHT RUGBY

RDS Arena - Saturday 29 October 2016
KO: 17:15 HT: 9-6 Att: tbc

 

LEINSTER: 15 ISA NACEWA (C) 14 Adam Byrne 13 Rory O'Loughlin 12 Noel Reid 11 Barry Daly 10 Joey Carbery 9 Jamison Gibson-Park 8 Jack Conan 7 Sean O'Brien 6 Dan Leavy 5 Ian Nagle 4 Mick Kearney 3 Mike Ross 2 Sean Cronin 1 Cian Healy BENCH: 16 James Tracy 17 Peter Dooley 18 Michael Bent 19 Mike McCarthy 20 Josh van der Flier 21 Luke McGrath 22 Ross Byrne 23 Rob Kearney

SCORERS T: Adam Byrne, Daly C: Nacewa P: Nacewa (4) O'Brien

CONNACHT: 15 Tiernan O’Halloran 14 Niyi Adeolokun 13 Peter Robb 12 Craig Ronaldson 11 Cian Kelleher 10 Jack Carty 9 Kieran Marmion 8 John Muldoon 7 Jake Heenan 6 Sean O’Brien 5 Andrew Browne 4 Quinn Roux 3 Conor Carey 2 Dave Heffernan 1 JP Cooney BENCH: 16 Shane Delahunt 17 Dominic Robertson-McCoy 18 Finlay Bealham 19 James Cannon 20 Eoin McKeon 21 Caolin Blade 22 Bundee Aki 23 Stacey Ili

SCORERS T: Delahunt C: Carty P: Ronaldson (2) Robb

Referee: John Lacey

 

 

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DEFENDING Guinness PRO12 champions Connacht produced a stellar performance to down league leaders Ulster 30-25 as Cian Kelleher bagged a double. Kelleher scored twice, while Jack Carty and James Connolly also touched down for Connacht as they continued their recent resurgence following a slow start to the new campaign. Connacht started like an express train, desperate to dispel a poor record against Ulster that has seen them win just three of their last 26 encounters against their Irish compatriots; by half time the homeside was 22-8 up. Ulster came back hard and through tries from Rory Best and captain Jared Payne, they made it a three try tally adding to Craig Gilroy's first stanza effort, enough to secure a losing bonus point.

DAMIEN HOYLAND’S first-half try-double set the tone as Edinburgh won their first game under acting head coach Duncan Hodge in style, beating Benetton Treviso 45-10 by seven tries to one. Hoyland – who scored twice the last time he faced Treviso – was joined on the scoresheet by Hamish Watson and Magnus Bradbury in a half that saw Edinburgh wrap up the try-bonus point. And though Marco Fuser’s try cut into the deficit after the break, this was to be Edinburgh’s night as Tom Brown – with help from an inspired Jason Tovey – added two more tries for the hosts. Blair Kinghorn, on his first start of the season, rounded things off with another try at the death.

OSPREYS scored seven tries as they recovered from an early deficit in their Welsh derby with Cardiff Blues to win 46-24 as Eli Walker starred with a double. Alun Wyn Jones, two tries from Walker and Dimitri Arhip all scored before the break for the Ospreys as they took control of the game, while Ben John and Dan Evans touched  down straight after half-time in the romp, with Josh Matavesi adding No.7.

ISA NACEWA grabbed a double as Leinster leapfrogged Munster in the table with a 25-14 victory over their fierce rivals at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Leo Cullen’s men have now won seven of their last eight meetings at the Aviva while Munster’s poor recent record against fellow Irish provinces continues. Skipper Peter O’Mahony crossed for the visitors in the first half and they had plenty of opportunities but Leinster were too clinical with Nacewa their tormentor in chief. The winger finished with a try in each half while scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park also crossed in the second period for the boys in blue. Munster – who have started this season in impressive fashion – have now only won one of their last six clashes against Irish opposition but did get a late consolation through Jaco Taute.

LEONARDO SARTO scored against his former side as Glasgow Warriors battled to their fourth victory of the season in a hard-fought 33-28 encounter against Zebre in Italy. The Italian international dotted down soon after the restart following superb work by Nick Grigg, with the centre delivering a masterclass to play his part in three tries in the Warriors’ bonus-point success. Sean Lamont was also on hand to score twice, but the Warriors far from had the situation their own way against a side who had not beaten them in eight previous encounters in the competition, with the Italians hot on their heels and keeping firmaly in touch throughout the 80 minutes.

STEFF EVANS notched a try-double as the Scarlets survived a scare at the hands of Newport Gwent Dragons to bring up a bonus-point victory and their third win on the bounce. The Dragons were looking to snap a three-game losing streak and despite Evans’ early try, roared into the lead through Hallam Amos and Adam Warren’s try-double. Ominously for the Dragons, Liam Williams responded for Scarlets before the break, and Jonathan Evans and Steff Evans then put the hosts firmly back in control heading into the final quarter. To their credit the Dragons did not wave the white flag and a converted try for Sarel Pretorius meant there were just four points in it, but it was not to be for the visitors.

RESULTS

CONNACHT RUGBY 30 - 25 ULSTER RUGBY

Sportsground - Friday 07 October 2016
KO: 19:35 HT: 22-8 Att: tbc

CONNACHT: 15 Tiernan O’Halloran 14 Niyi Adeolokun 13 Bundee Aki 12 Craig Ronaldson 11 Cian Kelleher 10 Jack Carty 9 Caolin Blade 8 JOHN MULDOON (C) 7 Jake Heenan 6 Eoin McKeon 5 Andrew Browne 4 Ultan Dillane 3 Conor Carey 2 Dave Heffernan 1 Finlay Bealham BENCH: 16 Shane Delahunt 17 Ronan Loughney 18 JP Cooney 19 Lewis Stevenson 20 James Connolly 21 Stephen Kerins 22 Shane O’Leary 23 Stacey Ili

SCORERS T: Carty, Kelleher (2), Connolly C: Carty (2) P: Carty (2) Carey

ULSTER: 15 JARED PAYNE (C) 14 Tommy Bowe 13 Louis Ludik 12 Darren Cave 11 Craig Gilroy 10 Paddy Jackson 9 Paul Marshall 8 Roger Wilson 7 Clive Ross 6 Iain Henderson 5 Pete Browne 4 Robbie Diack 3 Rodney Ah You 2 Rory Best 1 Callum Black BENCH: 16 Rob Herring 17 Andrew Warwick 18 Ross Kane 19 Kieran Treadwell 20 Sean Reidy 21 Dave Shanahan 22 Brett Herron 23 Rob Lyttle

SCORERS T: Gilroy, Best, Payne C: Jackson (2) P: Jackson (2) Kane

Referee: Gary Conway

 

EDINBURGH RUGBY 45 - 10 BENETTON RUGBY

BT Murrayfield - Friday 07 October 2016
KO: 19:35 HT: 26-3 Att: tbc

EDINBURGH: 15 Blair Kinghorn 14 Damien Hoyland 13 Michael Allen 12 Chris Dean 11 Tom Brown 10 Jason Tovey 9 Sean Kennedy 8 Nasi Manu 7 Hamish Watson 6 Magnus Bradbury 5 GRANT GILCHRIST (C) 4 Ben Toolis 3 Ewan McQuillin 2 Ross Ford 1 Rory Sutherland BENCH: 16 Stuart McInally 17 Allan Dell 18 Murray McCallum 19 Lewis Carmichael 20 John Hardie 21 Nathan Fowles 22 Glenn Bryce 23 Solomoni Rasolea

SCORERS T: Hoyland (2), Watson, Bradbury, Brown (2), Kinghorn C: Tovey (5)

TREVISO: 15 Luke McLean 14 Angelo Esposito 13 Tommaso Benvenuti 12 ALBERTO SGARBI (C) 11 Andrea Buondonno 10 Tommaso Allan 9 Edoardo Gori 8 Abraham Steyn 7 Marco Lazzaroni 6 Francesco Minto 5 Marco Fuser 4 Filo Paulo 3 Simone Ferrari 2 Ornel Gega 1 Alberto De Marchi BENCH: 16 Luca Bigi 17 Matteo Zanusso 18 Cherif Traore 19 Filippo Gerosa 20 Andrea Pratichetti 21 Tito Tebaldi 22 Ian McKinley 23 David Odiete

SCORERS T: Fuser C: Allan P: Allan

Referee: Ian Davies

 

OSPREYS 46 - 24 CARDIFF BLUES

Liberty Stadium - Friday 07 October 2016
KO: 19:35 HT: 27-10 Att: tbc

OSPREYS: 15 Dan Evans 14 Jeff Hassler 13 Ben John 12 Josh Matavesi 11 Eli Walker 10 Sam Davies 9 Rhys Webb 8 Dan Baker 7 Justin Tipuric 6 James King 5 ALUN WYN JONES (C) 4 Bradley Davies 3 Dmitri Arhip 2 Sam Parry 1 Nicky Smith BENCH: 16 Scott Baldwin 17 Paul James 18 Ma'afu Fia 19 Rory Thornton 20 Dan Lydiate 21 Tom Habberfield 22 Dan Biggar 23 Ashley Beck

SCORERS T: Jones, Walker (2), Arhip, John, Evans, Matavesi C: Sam Davies (3), Biggar P: Sam Davies

BLUES: 15 Dan Fish 14 Blaine Scully 13 Garyn Smith 12 Rey Lee-Lo 11 Tom James 10 Gareth Anscombe 9 Lloyd Williams 8 Nick Williams 7 Ellis Jenkins 6 Josh Navidi 5 Josh Turnbull 4 Macauley Cook 3 Taufa’ao Filise 2 Kristian Dacey 1 GETHIN JENKINS (C) BENCH: 16 Matthew Rees 17 Rhys Gill 18 Scott Andrews 19 James Down 20 Cam Dolan 21 Tomos Williams 22 Steven Shingler 23 Matthew Morgan

SCORERS T: Dacey, James, Lee-Lo C: Anscombe (3) P: Anscombe Fish

Referee: Nigel Owens

 

LEINSTER RUGBY 25 - 12 MUNSTER RUGBY

Aviva Stadium - Saturday 08 October 2016
KO: 14:05 HT: 11-7 Att: tbc

 

LEINSTER: 15 Rob Kearney 14 Rory O'Loughlin 13 Garry Ringrose 12 Robbie Henshaw 11 ISA NACEWA (C) 10 Johnny Sexton 9 Luke McGrath 8 Jamie Heaslip 7 Jordi Murphy 6 Rhys Ruddock 5 Ian Nagle 4 Devin Toner 3 Tadhg Furlong 2 Sean Cronin 1 Cian Healy BENCH: 16 James Tracy 17 Jack McGrath 18 Mike Ross 19 Ross Molony 20 Dan Leavy 21 Jamison Gibson-Park 22 Joey Carbery 23 Noel Reid

SCORERS T: Nacewa (2), Gibson-Park C: Sexton, Nacewa P: Sexton (2)

MUNSTER: 15 Simon Zebo 14 Darren Sweetnam 13 Keith Earls 12 Rory Scannell 11 Ronan O'Mahony 10 Tyler Bleyendaal 9 Conor Murray 8 CJ Stander 7 Tommy O'Donnell 6 PETER O'MAHONY (C) 5 Billy Holland 4 Donnacha Ryan 3 John Ryan 2 Niall Scannell 1 Dave Kilcoyne BENCH: 16 Duncan Casey 17 James Cronin 18 Stephen Archer 19 Robin Copeland 20 Jack O'Donoghue 21 Duncan Williams 22 Ian Keatley 23 Jaco Taute

SCORERS T: Peter O'Mahony, Taute C: Bleyendaal (2)

Referee: David Wilkinson

 

ZEBRE RUGBY 28 - 33 GLASGOW WARRIORS

Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi - Saturday 08 October 2016
KO: 17:05 HT: 11-18 Att: tbc

 

ZEBRE: 15 Edoardo Padovani 14 Kayle Van Zyl 13 Giulio Bisegni 12 Tommaso Castello 11 Giovanbattista Venditti 10 Carlo Canna 9 Guglielmo Palazzani 8 Andries Van Schalkwyk 7 Johan Meyer 6 Maxime Mbandà 5 GEORGE BIAGI (C) 4 Joshua Furno 3 Pietro Ceccarelli 2 Oliviero Fabiani 1 Andrea Lovotti BENCH: 16 Carlo Festuccia 17 Bruno Postiglioni 18 Dario Chistolini 19 Quintin Geldenhuys 20 Federico Ruzza 21 Marcello Violi 22 Tommaso Boni 23 Lloyd Greeff

SCORERST: Fabiani, Venditti, van Schalkwyk C: Canna (2) P: Canna (3) Meyer, Bisegni

WARRIORS: 15 Peter Murchie 14 Sean Lamont 13 Nick Grigg 12 Sam Johnson 11 Lee Jones 10 Rory Clegg 9 Ali Price 8 RYAN WILSON (C) 7 Fraser Brown 6 Josh Strauss 5 Robert McAlpine 4 Robert Harley 3 Sila Puafisi 2 Corey Flynn 1 Gordon Reid BENCH: 16 James Malcolm 17 Djustice Sears-Duru 18 Zander Fagerson 19 Callum Hunter-Hill 20 Matt Fagerson 21 Grayson Hart 22 Stuart Hogg 23 Leonardo Sarto

SCORERS T: Lamont (2), Brown, Sarto C: Clegg (2) P: Clegg (3) Fagerson, Harley 

Referee: Lloyd Linton

 

SCARLETS 31 - 27 DRAGONS

Parc y Scarlets - Saturday 08 October 2016
KO: 19:35 HT: 14-20 Att: tbc

 

SCARLETS: 15 Liam Williams 14 DTH van der Merwe 13 Hadleigh Parkes 12 Scott Williams 11 Steff Evans 10 Rhys Patchell 9 Aled Davies 8 Morgan Allen 7 James Davies 6 Aaron Shingler 5 David Bulbring 4 Lewis Rawlins 3 Samson Lee 2 KEN OWENS (C) 1 Wyn Jones BENCH: 16 Ryan Elias 17 Luke Garrett 18 Werner Kruger 19 Rynier Bernardo 20 John Barclay 21 Jonathan Evans 22 Dan Jones 23 Steff Hughes

SCORERS T: Steffan Evans (2), Liam Williams, Jonathan Evans C: Patchell (4) P: Patchell

DRAGONS: 15 Tom Prydie 14 Pat Howard 13 Adam Warren 12 Jack Dixon 11 Hallam Amos 10 Nick Macleod 9 Charlie Davies 8 Ed Jackson 7 Nic Cudd 6 LEWIS EVANS (C) 5 Cory Hill 4 Nick Crosswell 3 Brok Harris 2 Rhys Buckley 1 Sam Hobbs BENCH: 16 Darran Harris 17 Thomas Davies 18 Lloyd Fairbrother 19 Matthew Screech 20 Ollie Griffiths 21 Sarel Pretorius 22 Angus O’Brien 23 Sam Beard

SCORERS T: Amos, Warren (2), Pretorius C: Macleod, O'Brien P: Macleod

Referee: Ben Whitehouse

 

 

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CONNACHT finally looked like the side who claimed the Guinness PRO12 title last term as they notched up their first win of the season, beating Edinburgh Rugby 28-15 in Galway. The hosts went in at the break 18-10 to the good thanks to scores from Niyi Adeolokun and Quinn Roux, which sandwiched Edinburgh skipper Grant Gilchrist’s effort. And Connacht again outscored the visitors by two tries to one after half-time, with Mike Allen’s try no more than a consolation as replacement Cian Kelleher and Peter Robb secured a bonus-point win.

ALEX ALLAN’S first try of the season saw Glasgow Warriors get back to winning ways as they survived a second-half fightback from Newport Gwent Dragons to win 26-17 at Rodney Parade. Glasgow Warriors were looking to avoid losing three successive league games for the first time since the 2010/11 campaign and looked in control at half-time as they led 16-3 thanks to a Corey Flynn try and the boot of Finn Russell. But two tries in five minutes after the restart from Sam Hobbs and Jack Dixon saw the Dragons nudge one point ahead. However, the lead was shortlived as Allan put the visitors back in front and Russell kicked a late penalty en route to recording a fifth-straight victory over the Dragons.

MUNSTER’S Irish internationals did the damage as they convincingly beat Zebre 49-5 in a seven-try showing to move second in the table. Conor Murray, CJ Stander and Simon Zebo, as well as Darren Sweetnam, all crossed the whitewash as Munster wrapped up the bonus point before the break and they refused to let up after the interval. A penalty try and Stephen Archer’s effort made the score 42-0 and although Gabriele di Giulio finally got the visitors on the board with nine minutes remaining, the hosts had the final word with Stander grabbing his second score of the game. The victory takes Munster’s PRO12 record against Zebre to nine wins from nine games and also brings their Thomond Park winning streak in all competitions to six matches.

ULSTER fought back from a blistering opening quarter from Ospreys to keep their 100 per cent PRO12 record alive with a narrow 9-7 victory at the Kingspan Stadium. Paddy Jackson proved decisive with all the Irish side’s points coming from the boot, slotting a penalty with just a couple of minutes left in a game Ospreys had led from the outset. Nicky Smith bundled over for a try on his 50th appearance as the Welsh side looked for their fourth win of the season, eventually falling narrowly short in an enthralling encounter.

IN-FORM Cardiff Blues suffered their first defeat of the season as Jonathan Sexton helped Leinster come from behind to triumph 16-13 at BT Sport Cardiff Arms Park. The Irish province had trailed 13-3 at half-time but Rhys Ruddock’s try and eight points from the boot of Sexton completed the turnaround and continued their unbeaten run against the Blues which dates back to 2011. Sexton also stole the headlines away from Blues fly-half Gareth Anscombe who scored all of his side’s points, including a breakaway try to put them in control in the first half.

WAYNE PIVAC’S Scarlets scored two tries when reduced to just 14 men to claim their second win in a week on their travels to Benetton Treviso, 22-6. Pivac had urged his side to build momentum after last week’s first win of the season against Connacht – and they duly delivered in an encounter that never really sparkled to life. Treviso haven’t won consecutive matches in the Guinness PRO12 since February and the stats were both for and against them before kick-off. They had won their last three home games against the Welsh regions, beating Newport Gwent Dragons just last week, while the Scarlets had lost their last three away games. On the flip, Pivac’s side had won the last six matches in their head-to-head statistics and secured a sixth straight win on their travels to Italy.

RESULTS

CONNACHT 28 - 15 EDINBURGH

Sportsground - Friday 30 September 2016
KO: 19:35 HT: 18-10 Att: 5,771

CONNACHT: 15 Tiernan O’Halloran 14 Niyi Adeolokun 13 Bundee Aki 12 Peter Robb 11 Matt Healy 10 Jack Carty 9 Kieran Marmion 8 JOHN MULDOON (C) 7 Jake Heenan 6 Eoin McKeon 5 Ultan Dillane 4 Quinn Roux 3 Conor Carey 2 Tom McCartney 1 Denis Buckley BENCH: 16 Dave Heffernan 17 Ronan Loughney 18 Finlay Bealham 19 Lewis Stevenson 20 James Connolly 21 Caolin Blade 22 Shane O’Leary 23 Cian Kelleher

SCORERS T: Adeolokun, Roux, Kelleher, Robb C: Carty P: Carty (2)

EDINBURGH: 15 Glenn Bryce 14 Damien Hoyland 13 Chris Dean 12 Solomoni Rasolea 11 Michael Allen 10 Jason Tovey 9 Sean Kennedy 8 Cornell Du Preez 7 John Hardie 6 Magnus Bradbury 5 GRANT GILCHRIST (C) 4 Ben Toolis 3 WP Nel 2 Ross Ford 1 Rory Sutherland BENCH: 16 Stuart McInally 17 Jack Cosgrove 18 Allan Dell 19 Lewis Carmichael 20 Hamish Watson 21 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne 22 Sasa Tofilau 23 Blair Kinghorn

SCORERS T: Gilchrist, Allen C: Tovey P: Tovey

Referee: Nigel Owens

 

DRAGONS 17 - 26 GLASGOW WARRIORS

Rodney Parade - Friday 30 September 2016
KO: 19:35 HT: 3-16 Att: 4,809

DRAGONS: 15 Carl Meyer 14 Pat Howard 13 Sam Beard 12 Jack Dixon 11 Hallam Amos 10 Nick Macleod 9 Sarel Pretorius 8 LEWIS EVANS (C) 7 Nic Cudd 6 Nick Crosswell 5 Rynard Landman 4 Matthew Screech 3 Brok Harris 2 Thomas Rhys Thomas 1 Sam Hobbs BENCH: 16 Rhys Buckley 17 Thomas Davies 18 Craig Mitchell 19 Cory Hill 20 Harrison Keddie 21 Charlie Davies 22 Angus O'Brien 23 Tom Prydie

SCORERS T: Hobbs, Dixon C: Macleod (2) P: Macleod

WARRIORS: 15 Peter Murchie 14 Tommy Seymour 13 Mark Bennett 12 Alex Dunbar 11 Rory Hughes 10 Finn Russell 9 HENRY PYRGOS (CC) 8 Josh Strauss 7 Fraser Brown 6 Lewis Wynne 5 JONNY GRAY (CC) 4 Rob Harley 3 Sila Puafisi 2 Corey Flynn 1 Alex Allan BENCH: 16 Pat MacArthur 17 Djustice Sears-Duru 18 D'arcy Rae 19 Robert McAlpine 20 Matt Fagerson 21 Ali Price 22 Rory Clegg 23 Leonardo Sarto

SCORERS T: Flynn, Allan C: Russell (2) P: Russell (4) Brown

Referee: Andrew Brace

 

MUNSTER RUGBY 49 - 5 ZEBRE RUGBY

Thomond Park - Saturday 01 October 2016
KO: 17:00 HT: 28-0 Att: 11,737

MUNSTER: 15 Simon Zebo 14 Darren Sweetnam 13 Keith Earls 12 Jaco Taute 11 Alex Wootton 10 Tyler Bleyendaal 9 Conor Murray 8 CJ Stander. 7 Tommy O'Donnell 6 BILLY HOLLAND (C) 5 Darren O'Shea 4 Donnacha Ryan 3 Stephen Archer 2 Duncan Casey 1 Dave Kilcoyne BENCH: 16 Niall Scannell 17 James Cronin 18 John Ryan 19 Peter O'Mahony 20 Conor Oliver 21 Duncan Williams 22 Ian Keatley 23 Cian Bohane

SCORERS T: Sweetnam, Murray, Stander (2), Zebo, PT, Archer C: Bleyendaal (4), Keatley (3)

ZEBRE: 15 Edoardo Padovani 14 Gabriele Di Giulio 13 Giulio Bisegni 12 Tommaso Castello 11 Giovanbattista Venditti 10 Charles Reed 9 William Palazzani 8 Federico Ruzza 7 Johan Meyer 6 Jacopo Sarto 5 Gideon Koegelenberg 4 QUINTIN GELDENHUYS (C) 3 Dario Chistolini 2 Tommaso D'Apice 1 Andrea Lovotti BENCH: 16 Carlo Festuccia 17 Bruno Postiglioni 18 Guillermo Roan 19 Joshua Furno 20 Derick Minnie 21 Carlo Engelbrecht 22 Thomas Boni 23 Lloyd Greeff

SCORERS T: di Giulio Koegelenberg

Referee: Dan Jones

 

ULSTER RUGBY 9 - 7 OSPREYS

Kingspan Stadium - Saturday 01 October 2016
KO: 18:30 HT: 3-7 Att: 15,763

 

ULSTER: 15 Charles Piutau 14 Craig Gilroy 13 Jared Payne 12 Darren Cave 11 Louis Ludik 10 Paddy Jackson 9 Paul Marshall 8 Roger Wilson 7 Sean Reidy 6 Iain Henderson 5 Franco van der Merwe 4 A O’Connor 3 Rodney Ah You 2 Rory Best 1 Kyle McCall BENCH: 16 John Andrew 17 Callum Black 18 Ross Kane 19 Kieran Treadwell 20 Robbie Diack 21 Ruan Pienaar 22 Brett Herron 23 Tommy Bowe

SCORERS  P: Jackson (3)

OSPREYS: 15 Dan Evans 14 Jeff Hassler 13 Ben John 12 Josh Matavesi 11 Eli Walker 10 Dan Biggar 9 Rhys Webb 8 Dan Baker 7 Justin Tipuric 6 James King 5 ALUN WYN JONES (C) 4 Bradley Davies 3 Dmitri Arhip 2 Sam Parry 1 Nicky Smith BENCH: 16 Scott Baldwin 17 Paul James 18 Ma’afu Fia 19 Rory Thornton 20 Olly Cracknell 21 Tyler Ardron 22 Tom Habberfield 23 Sam Davies

SCORERS T: Smith C: Biggar

Referee: Ben Whitehouse

 

CARDIFF BLUES 13 - 16 LEINSTER RUGBY

BT Sport Cardiff Arms Park - Saturday 01 October 2016
KO: 19:35 HT: 13-3 Att: 8,289

 

BLUES: 15 Matthew Morgan 14 Blaine Scully 13 Cory Allen 12 Rey Lee-Lo 11 Tom James 10 Gareth Anscombe 9 Lloyd Williams 8 Nick Williams 7 Ellis Jenkins 6 Sam Warburton 5 Josh Turnbull 4 George Earle 3 Taufa'ao Filise 2 Kristian Dacey 1 GETHIN JENKINS (C) BENCH: 16 Matthew Rees 17 Rhys Gill 18 Scott Andrews 19 Macauley Cook 20 Josh Navidi 21 Tomos Williams 22 Steve Shingler 23 Dan Fish

SCORERS T: Anscombe C: Anscombe P: Anscombe (2) Navidi

LEINSTER: 15 Zane Kirchner 14 Fergus McFadden 13 Rory O'Loughlin 12 Noel Reid 11 Dave Kearney 10 JOHNNY SEXTON (C) 9 Jamison Gibson-Park 8 Rhys Ruddock 7 Josh van der Flier 6 Dan Leavy 5 Ian Nagle 4 Mick Kearney 3 Mike Ross 2 James Tracy 1 Jack McGrath BENCH: 16 Sean Cronin 17 Peter Dooley 18 Michael Bent 19 Devin Toner 20 Jamie Heaslip 21 Nick McCarthy 22 Joey Carbery 23 Barry Daly

SCORERS T: Ruddock C: Sexton P: Sexton (3)

Referee: Dudley Phillips

 

BENETTON RUGBY 6 - 22 SCARLETS

Stadio Monigo - Saturday 01 October 2016
KO: 20:05 HT: 3-0 Att: 3,500

 

TREVISO: 15 Jayden Hayward 14 Angelo Esposito 13 Tommaso Benvenuti 12 ALBERTO SGARBI (C) 11 Luke McLean 10 Thomas Allan 9 Giorgio Bronzini 8 Abraham Steyn 7 Dean Budd 6 Francesco Minto 5 Filo Paulo 4 Marco Fuser 3 Simone Ferrari 2 Ornel Gega 1 Alberto De Marchi BENCH: 16 Luke Bigi 17 Matthew Zanusso 18 Cherif Traore 19 Filippo Gerosa 20 Marco Lazzaroni 21 Tito Tebaldi 22 Ian McKinley 23 Andrea Buondonno

SCORERS P: Allan (2) de Marchi

SCARLETS: 15 Liam Williams 14 DTH van der Merwe 13 Hadleigh Parkes 12 Scott Williams 11 Steff Evans 10 Rhys Patchell 9 Gareth Davies 8 John Barclay. 7 James Davies 6 Aaron Shingler 5 David Bulbring 4 Lewis Rawlins 3 Samson Lee 2 KEN OWENS (C) 1 Wyn Jones BENCH: 16 Ryan Elias 17 Luke Garrett 18 Werner Kruger 19 Rynier Bernardo 20 Morgan Allen 21 Aled Davies 22 Aled Thomas 23 Steff Hughes

SCORERS T: Kruger, van der Merwe, Evans C: Patchell, Thomas P: Patchell YC Bullbring 

Referee: Gary Conway

 

 

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PADDY JACKSON’S spectacular try 20 minutes from time helped Ulster move top of the Guinness PRO12 table as they edged Glasgow Warriors 22-17 in an enthralling contest at Scotstoun. Ulster maintained their 100 per cent record through four games as Jackson decisively finished off a sparkling team move and their defence kept Glasgow’s relentless late attacks at bay. The visitors were on top for the majority of the first half with Darren Cave and a penalty try giving them a 15-7 lead at the break – prop Gordon Reid getting the hosts’ lone score. Finn Russell’s penalty and Tommy Seymour’s seventh try of the campaign did give Warriors a narrow lead after the break but Jackson’s effort ensure just a second Guinness PRO12 defeat at Scotstoun for Gregor Townsend’s troops since November 2013.

A Jonathan Sexton-inspired Leinster brought Ospreys’ 100 per cent record to an end as they completed a bonus-point 31-19 win over the former PRO12 leaders. Alun Wyn Jones’ 200th appearance in an Ospreys shirt was almost memorable for a fine comeback, but in the end his side went down by four tries to three. Josh van der Flier grabbed a try-double while Sexton crossed for one of his own and Leinster were awarded a penalty try, meaning efforts from Ben John, Dafydd Howells and James King, for Ospreys, were in vain.

BENETTON RUGBY TREVISO banished the demons of last week’s heavy defeat to Ospreys to secure their first victory of the campaign with a 27-11 victory over Newport Gwent Dragons. Treviso led the game from start to finish, with Tommaso Benvenuti’s score leading the way in a 10-8 half-time advantage, while Filo Paulo and Marco Fuser compounded Dragons to a third defeat of the Guinness PRO12 season at the Stadio Comunale di Monigo. The Dragons fought back at the close of the first half, with lock Rynard Landman crossing but it was not enough to stop the Italians securing a second successive victory over Newport on home territory.

IRELAND scrum-half Conor Murray scored a try-double for Munster but it was the Irish province’s pack that came to the fore in this comfortable bonus-point victory over Edinburgh. Edinburgh centre Chris Dean scored the game’s opening try but Munster responded immediately through Murray – and did not look back from there. Murray completed his double – both tries coming off the back of fierce scrum pushes – and academy product Conor Oliver showed neat footwork to notch Munster’s third shortly after the break. The bonus point was all wrapped up with 25 minutes to go, as Dave O’Callaghan surged over to cap a fine day for the Munstermen before John Hardie grabbed a consolation score.

CARDIFF BLUES maintained their 100 per cent PRO12 record as they clung on to beat Zebre 23-21 in an enthralling encounter at Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi. The Blues had won just one of their last eight matches in Italy and while they couldn’t relax until the final whistle, Danny Wilson’s men did just enough to leave Parma with the four points. A lively first half saw Guglielmo Palazzani’s close-range try give Zebre the lead before Blaine Scully and Matthew Morgan got the Blues on top at the break. Tom James’ score early in the second half looked to have sealed the contest, but when Giulio Bisegni and Giovanbattista Venditti dotted down, the visitors were forced to hold on for the final five minutes. But hold on they did and now sit second in the Guinness PRO12 table, level on points with leaders Ulster and yet to taste defeat this term.

Pat Lam’s side remained winless while Liam Williams’ try double secured a 17-8 win for Scarlets as they earned a first PRO12 win of the season and condemned champions Connacht to 12th place. Niyi Adeolokun’s first-half score had cancelled out Williams’ first converted try, before Jack Carty’s penalty gave Connacht a one-point half-time advantage. But Wayne Pivac’s side looked a different animal after the second-half, piling the pressure on a resilient Connacht side who eventually crumpled when Williams grabbed his second before Rhys Patchell turned the screw with a drop goal.

RESULTS

GLASGOW WARRIORS 17 - 22 ULSTER

Scotstoun Stadium - 23 September 2016
KO: 19:35 HT: 7-15 Att: 7,351

WARRIORS: 15 Stuart Hogg 14 Leonardo Sarto 13 Mark Bennett 12 Alex Dunbar 11 Tommy Seymour 10 Finn Russell 9 Henry Pyrgos (cc) 8 Ryan Wilson 7 Lewis Wynne 6 Tjiuee Uanivi 5 JONNY GRAY (C) 4 Greg Peterson 3 Zander Fagerson 2 Fraser Brown 1 Gordon Reid BENCH: 16 Pat MacArthur 17 Alex Allan 18 Sila Puafisi 19 Sam Thomson 20 Matt Fagerson 21 Ali Price 22 Nick Grigg 23 Rory Hughes

SCORERS: Reid, Seymour C: Russell (2) P: Russell Sarto

ULSTER: 15 Jared Payne 14 Louis Ludik 13 Darren Cave 12 Stuart McCloskey 11 Charles Piutau 10 Paddy Jackson 9 Ruan Pienaar 8 Roger Wilson 7 Sean Reidy 6 Iain Henderson 5 Franco van der Merwe 4 Alan O'Connor 3 Rodney Ah You 2 ROB HERRING (C) 1 Andrew Warwick BENCH: 16 Rory Best 17 Callum Black 18 Ross Kane 19 Pete Browne 20 Clive Ross 21 Paul Marshall 22 Stuart Olding 23 Rob Lyttle

SCORERS T: Cave, PT: Jackson C: Jackson (2) P: Jackson Henderson

Referee: Ian Davies (Wales)

 

LEINSTER RUGBY 31 - 19 OSPREYS

RDS Arena - 23 September 2016
KO: 19:35 HT: 24-0 Att: 13,357

LEINSTER: 15 Zane Kirchner 14 ISA NACEWA (C) 13 Garry Ringrose 12 Noel Reid 11 Dave Kearney 10 Johnny Sexton 9 Luke McGrath 8 Jamie Heaslip 7 Josh van der Flier 6 Jordi Murphy 5 Mick Kearney 4 Devin Toner 3 Tadhg Furlong 2 Sean Cronin 1 Cian Healy BENCH: 16 James Tracy 17 Jack McGrath 18 Mike Ross 19 Ross Molony 20 Rhys Ruddock 21 Dan Leavy 22 Jamison Gibson-Park 23 Joey Carbery

SCORERS T: van der Flier (2), PT, Sexton C: Sexton (4) P: Sexton Sexton

OSPREYS: 15 Sam Davies 14 Jeff Hassler 13 Ashley Beck 12 Josh Matavesi 11 Ben John 10 Dan Biggar 9 Rhys Webb 8 Tyler Ardron 7 Justin Tipuric 6 James King 5 ALUN WYN JONES (C) 4 Lloyd Ashley 3 Dmitri Arhip 2 Scott Baldwin 1 Paul James BENCH: 16 Sam Parry 17 Nicky Smith 18 Ma’afu Fia 19 Bradley Davies 20 Dan Baker 21 Tom Habberfield 22 Dafydd Howells 23 Dan Evans

SCORERS T: John, Howells, King C: Biggar (2) Arhip

Referee: Marius Mitrea (Italy)

 

BENETTON RUGBY 27 - 11 DRAGONS

Stadio Monigo - 23 September 2016
KO: 20:05 HT: 10-8 Att: 2,800

TREVISO: 15 Jayden Hayward 14 Angelo Esposito 13 Tommaso Benvenuti 12 ALBERTO SGARBI (C) 11 Luke McLean 10 Tommaso Allan 9 Giorgio Bronzini 8 Dean Budd 7 Marco Lazzaroni 6 Francesco Minto 5 Filo Paulo 4 Marco Fuser 3 Simone Ferrari 2 Ornel Gega 1 Nicola Quaglio BENCH: 16 Luca Bigi 17 Alberto De Marchi 18 Cherif Traore 19 Filippo Gerosa 20 Abraham Steyn 21 Tito Tebaldi 22 Ian McKinley 23 David Odiete

SCORERS T: Benvenuti, Paulo, Fuser C: Allan (3) P: Allan (2)

DRAGONS: 15 Carl Meyer 14 Ashton Hewitt 13 Tyler Morgan 12 Adam Warren 11 HALLAM AMOS (C) 10 Angus O’Brien 9 Charlie Davies 8 Ed Jackson 7 Nic Cudd 6 James Thomas 5 Rynard Landman 4 Cory Hill 3 Lloyd Fairbrother 2 Rhys Buckley 1 Sam Hobbs BENCH: 16 Thomas Rhys Thomas 17 Thomas Davies 18 Craig Mitchell 19 Matthew Screech 20 Harri Keddie 21 Luc Jones 22 Sam Beard 23 Geraint Rhys Jones

SCORERS T: Landman P: O'Brien (2)

Referee: Johnny Lacey (Ireland)

 

MUNSTER RUGBY 28 - 14 EDINBURGH RUGBY

Thomond Park - 24 September 2016
KO: 15:00 HT: 14-7 Att: 12,826

 

MUNSTER: 15 Ian Keatley 14 Darren Sweetnam 13 Keith Earls 12 Cian Bohane 11 Ronan O'Mahony; 10 Tyler Bleyendaal 9 Conor Murray 8 CJ Stander 7 Jack O'Donoghue 6 Dave O'Callaghan 5 BILLY HOLLAND (C) 4 Jean Kleyn 3 John Ryan 2 Niall Scannell Dave Kilcoyne BENCH: 16 Duncan Casey 17 James Cronin 18 Stephen Archer 19 Donnacha Ryan 20 Conor Oliver 21 Duncan Williams 22 Dan Goggin 23 Alex Wootton

SCORERS T: Murray (2), Oliver, O'Callaghan C: Bleyendaal (4)

EDINBURGH: 15 Glenn Bryce 14 Damien Hoyland 13 Michael Allen 12 Chris Dean 11 Tom Brown 10 Duncan Weir 9 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne 8 Cornell Du Preez 7 Hamish Watson 6 Magnus Bradbury 5 Ben Toolis 4 Fraser McKenzie 3 Kevin Bryce 2 STUART MCINALLY (C) 1 Rory Sutherland BENCH: 16 Neil Cochrane 17 Jack Cosgrove 18 Allan Dell 19 Lewis Carmichael 20 John Hardie 21 Sean Kennedy 22 Blair Kinghorn 23 Rory Scholes

SCORERS T: Dean, Hardie C: Weir, Kinghorn McKenzie, Dell

Referee: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)

 

ZEBRE RUGBY 21 - 23 CARDIFF BLUES

Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi - 24 September 2016
KO: 17:05 HT: 11-18 Att: 2,000

 

ZEBRE: 15 Edoardo Padovani 14 Gabriele Di Giulio 13 Giulio Bisegni 12 Tommaso Boni 11 Giovanbattista Venditti 10 Carlo Canna 9 Guglielmo Palazzani 8 Derick Minnie 7 Johan Meyer 6 Maxime Mbandà 5 Federico Ruzza 4 QUINTIN GELDENHUYS (C) 3 Pietro Ceccarelli 2 Oliviero Fabiani 1 Andrea Lovotti BENCH: 16 Tommaso D'Apice 17 Bruno Postiglioni 18 Dario Chistolini 19 Valerio Bernabò 20 Jacopo Sarto 21 Carlo Engelbrecht 22 Tommaso Castello 23 Kayle Van Zyl

SCORERS T: Palazzani, Bisegni, Venditti P: Canna, Padovani Fabiani, Ruzza

BLUES: 15 Matthew Morgan 14 Blaine Scully 13 Cory Allen 12 Rey Lee-Lo 11 Tom James 10 Steven Shingler 9 Lloyd Williams 8 Nick Williams 7 SAM WARBURTON (C) 6 Josh Navidi 5 Josh Turnbull 4 George Earle 3 Scott Andrews 2 Matthew Rees 1 Rhys Gill BENCH: 16 Kristian Dacey 17 Gethin Jenkins 18 Taufa'ao Filise 19 Macauley Cook 20 Ellis Jenkins 21 Tomos Williams 22 Gareth Anscombe 23 Garyn Smith

SCORERS T: Scully, Morgan, James C: Shingler, P: Shingler (2) YC Turnbull, Gill

Referee: David Wilkinson (Ireland)

 

SCARLETS 17 - 8 CONNACHT RUGBY

Parc y Scarlets - 24 September 2016
KO: 19:35 HT: 7-8 Att: 5,630

 

SCARLETS: 15 Aled Thomas 14 Liam Williams 13 Jonathan Davies 12 Hadleigh Parkes 11 Steff Evans 10 Rhys Patchell 9 Gareth Davies 8 John Barclay 7 James Davies 6 Aaron Shingler 5 David Bulbring 4 Jake Ball 3 Werner Kruger 2 Ken Owens (C) 1 Wyn Jones BENCH: 16 Ryan Elias 17 Luke Garrett 18 Peter Edwards 19 Lewis Rawlins 20 Morgan Allen 21 Aled Davies 22 Scott Williams 23 Will Boyde

SCORERST: Liam Williams (2) C: Patchell (2) DG: Patchell

CONNACHT: 15 Tiernan O'Halloran 14 Niyi Adeolokun 13 Bundee Aki 12 Eoin Griffin 11 Matt Healy 10 Jack Carty 9 Kieran Marmion 8 JOHN MULDOON (C) 7 Jake Heenan 6 Ultan Dillane 5 Andrew Browne 4 Quinn Roux 3 Finlay Bealham 2 Tom McCartney Denis Buckley BENCH: 16 Dave Heffernan 17 Ronan Loughney 18 JP Cooney 19 Lewis Stevenson 20 Eoin McKeon 21 Caolin Blade 22 Shane O'Leary 23 Cian Kelleher

SCORERS T: Adeolokun P: Carty

Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)

 

 

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CARDIFF BLUES maintained their dream start to the season as they edged a thriller against Glasgow Warriors 23-19 at the BT Sport Cardiff Arms Park. First-half tries from Alex Cuthbert and Rey Lee-Lo got them on their way, and despite huge pressure from the Warriors, who scored three tries of their own through Stuart Hogg, Peter Horne and Ali Price, Danny Wilson’s men held on. The win allows the Blues to maintain a start which has seen them beat Edinburgh and Munster already, and they carried that form into this clash with a blistering opening in the Welsh capital.

LOUIS LUDIK and Iain Henderson grabbed the tries as Ulster beat Scarlets 19-8 on Friday night at the Kingspan Stadium to move top of the PRO12 standings. The men from Belfast have now won three from three to kick off the new campaign – the first time they have done that since the 2013/13 season. By contrast the Scarlets have now slipped to three defeats on the spin to kick off the new campaign but they can take plenty of credit from a resilient defensive display in Belfast.

ISA NACEWA scored a try on his 150th Leinster appearance as the Irish side put in a stellar first-half performance in their 33-20 victory away at Edinburgh. The winger scored Leinster’s third with a simple finish down the right as Leo Cullen’s side put Edinburgh to the sword, despite falling behind to an early Mike Allen try. However, three tries in 12 minutes, followed by a fourth shortly before the break that secured a bonus point, seemingly settled the game at Murrayfield as Leinster’s irresistible attacking game fired on all cylinders. But Edinburgh fought back thanks to second-half tries from Hamish Watson and Magnus Bradbury, but Dan Leavy scored his second try in the dying seconds to see off their threat.

CIAN BOHANE’S second-half try was enough to ensure Munster scraped past a battling Newport Gwent Dragons 20-16 at Rodney Parade. A Tyler Bleyendaal penalty and Jean Kleyn’s first try for the Men in Red ensured they stretched out to an early lead, but Welsh international winger Hallam Amos replied with a well-judged interception and Angus O’Brien kicked well to leave the sides inseparable at the break. Kingsley Jones’ side took the lead immediately after the break, O’Brien and Bleyendaal trading penalties before the young Welsh pivot put the hosts ahead. Bohane was on hand to finish with just over 20 minutes remaining, earning Rassie Erasmus’ outfit a second win of the Guinness PRO12 campaign as they rebounded from last weekend’s loss to the still unbeaten Cardiff Blues.

DESPITE Zebre Rugby clinically giving Connacht Rugby a routing in the first half of the match, going into the break three tries to one with a 22-10 lead, the universe had other plans. Thunder, lightning and a dangerous hailstorm brought the match to an abrupt halt during the break, and referee Ian Davies took the decision to postpone the match for the safety and players and spectators alike. Because the game was abandoned after only 40 minutes of play, the result of the fixture is null and void. As such, a replay of the fixture will be required and the date of the rearranged game, which will be played across the regulation period of 80 minutes, will be announced in due course.

SAM DAVIES starred for Ospreys as they continued their impressive start to the season with an emphatic 64-10 win over Benetton Treviso. The Welsh side are the first team to have secured maximum points from the first three games, after earlier wins against Zebre and defending champions Connacht. Fly-half Davies was at his creative best as he set up tries for Ben John and Jeff Hassler in the first half during a hot 15-minute spell where Ospreys ran riot and scored four times. And they continued after the break as Dafydd Howells, Keelan Giles and Alun Wyn Jones all scored to rack up the points in a comprehensive win, though the Italian visitors did manage a consolation try at the death from Dean Budd.

RESULTS

CARDIFF BLUES 23 - 19 GLASGOW

BT Sport Cardiff Arms Park - 16 September 2016
KO: 19:00 HT: 20-14 Att: 8,024

BLUES: 15 Matthew Morgan 14 Alex Cuthbert 13 Cory Allen 12 Rey Lee-Lo 11 Tom James 10 Gareth Anscombe 9 Lloyd Williams 8 Josh Navidi 7 Ellis Jenkins 6 Sam Warburton 5 Josh Turnbull 4 George Earle 3 Taufa'ao Filise 2 Kristian Dacey 1 Gethin Jenkins BENCH: 16 Matthew Rees 17 Rhys Gill 18 Scott Andrews 19 Macauley Cook 20 Nick Williams 21 Tomos Williams 22 Steven Shingler 23 Blaine Scully

SCORERS T: Cuthbert, Lee-Lo C: Anscombe (2) P: Anscombe (2), Shingler

WARRIORS: 15 Stuart Hogg 14 Tommy Seymour 13 Nick Grigg 12 Peter Horne 11 Lee Jones 10 Rory Clegg 9 Ali Price 8 Josh Strauss 7 Ryan Wilson 6 Rob Harley 5 JONNY GRAY (C) 4 Tim Swinson 3 Zander Fagerson 2 Fraser Brown 1 Gordon Reid BENCH: 16 Pat MacArthur 17 Alex Allan 18 Sila Puafisi 19 Greg Peterson 20 Lewis Wynne 21 Grayson Hart 22 Mark Bennett 23 Rory Hughes

SCORERS T: Hogg, Horne, Price C: Clegg (2)

Referee: George Clancy

 

ULSTER RUGBY 19 - 8 SCARLETS

Kingspan Stadium - 16 September 2016
KO: 19:05 HT: 11-0 Att: 13,663

ULSTER: 15 Charles Piutau 14 Craig Gilroy 13 Stuart Olding 12 Stuart McCloskey 11 Louis Ludik 10 Paddy Jackson 9 Ruan Pienaar 8 Robbie Diack 7 Sean Reidy 6 Clive Ross 5 Alan O’Connor 4 Pete Browne 3 Rodney Ah You 2 ROB HERRING (C) 1 Callum Black BENCH: 16 John Andrew 17 Andrew Warwick 18 Ross Kane 19 Franco van der Merwe 20 Iain Henderson 21 Angus Lloyd 22 Luke Marshall 23 Rob Lyttle

SCORERS T: Ludik, Henderson P: Jackson (3)

SCARLETS: 15 Aled Thomas 14 Liam Williams 13 Jonathan Davies 12 Hadleigh Parkes 11 Steff Evans 10 Rhys Patchell 9 Gareth Davies 8 John Barclay 7 James Davies 6 Lewis Rawlins 5 David Bulbring 4 Jake Ball 3 Werner Kruger 2 KEN OWENS (C) 1 Wyn Jones BENCH: 16 Ryan Elias 17 Luke Garrett 18 Peter Edwards 19 Tadhg Beirne 20 Will Boyde 21 Aled Davies 22 Scott Williams 23 Steff Hughes

SCORERS T: Boyde P: Patchell Ball

Referee: Ben Whitehouse

 

EDINBURGH 20 - 33 LEINSTER

BT Murrayfield - 16 September 2016
KO: 19:35 HT: 8-26 Att: 3,484

EDINBURGH: 15 Glenn Bryce 14 Michael Allen 13 Sasa Tofilau 12 Phil Burleigh 11 Tom Brown 10 Duncan Weir 9 Nathan Fowles 8 Magnus Bradbury 7 John Hardie 6 Jamie Ritchie 5 GRANT GILCHRIST (C) 4 Ben Toolis 3 WP Nel 2 Ross Ford 1 Rory Sutherland BENCH: 16 Stuart McInally 17 Allan Dell 18 Kevin Bryce 19 Fraser McKenzie 20 Hamish Watson 21 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne 22 Blair Kinghorn 23 Solomoni Rasolea

SCORERS T: Allen, Watson, Bradbury C: Weir P: Weir Gilchrist

LEINSTER: 15 Zane Kirchner 14 ISA NACEWA (C) 13 Garry Ringrose 12 Noel Reid 11 Dave Kearney 10 Joey Carbery 9 Jamison Gibson-Park 8 Jamie Heaslip 7 Dan Leavy 6 Jordi Murphy 5 Mike McCarthy 4 Devin Toner 3 Mike Ross 2 Sean Cronin 1 Jack McGrath BENCH: 16 Bryan Byrne 17 Cian Healy 18 Tadhg Furlong 19 Ross Molony 20 Josh van der Flier 21 Luke McGrath 22 Cathal Marsh 23 Rory O'Loughlin

SCORERS T: Leavy (2), Ringrose, Nacewa, Gibson-Park C: Nacewa (2) Leavy

Referee: David Wilkinson

 

DRAGONS 16 - 20 MUNSTER RUGBY

Rodney Parade - 17 September 2016
KO: 17:15 HT: 10-10 Att: 3,841

 

DRAGONS: 15 Carl Meyer 14 Pat Howard 13 Tyler Morgan 12 Jack Dixon 11 Hallam Amos 10 Nick Macleod 9 Sarel Pretorius 8 Ed Jackson 7 Ollie Griffiths 6 LEWIS EVANS (C) 5 Rynard Landman 4 Nick Crosswell 3 Brok Harris 2 Rhys Buckley 1 Sam Hobbs BENCH: 16 Darran Harris 17 Thomas Davies 18 Craig Mitchell 19 Cory Hill 20 James Thomas 21 Charlie Davies 22 Angus O’Brien 23 Adam Warren

SCORERS T: Amos C: O'Brien P: O'Brien (3)

MUNSTER: 15 Andrew Conway 14 Darren Sweetnam 13 Keith Earls 12 Dan Goggin 11 Ronan O'Mahony 10 Tyler Bleyendaal 9 Conor Murray 8 CJ Stander 7 Jack O'Donoghue 6 BILLY HOLLAND (C) 5 Donnacha Ryan 4 Jean Kleyn 3 John Ryan 2 Niall Scannell 1 James Cronin BENCH: 16 Duncan Casey 17 Dave Kilcoyne 18 Brian Scott 19 Dave O'Callaghan 20 Conor Oliver 21 Duncan Williams 22 Ian Keatley 23 Colm O'Shea

SCORERS T: Kleyn, Bohane C: Bleyendaal (2) P: Bleyendaal (2)

Referee: Dudley Phillips

 

ZEBRE RUGBY P - P CONNACHT RUGBY

Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi - 17 September 2016
KO: 18:05 HT: 22-10 Att: tbc

Match postponed at half time after a thunderous storm halted the possibility of continuing the match in Parma. The match will be rescheduled at a later date.

ZEBRE: 15 Edoardo Padovani 14 Gabriele Di Giulio 13 Giulio Bisegni 12 Tommaso Boni 11 Venditti Giovanbattista 10 Carlo Canna 9 Guglielmo Palazzani 8 Federico Ruzza 7 Maxime Mbandà 6 Jacopo Sarto 5 GEORGE BIAGI (C) 4 Quintin Geldenhuys 3 Pietro Ceccarelli 2 Oliviero Fabiani 1 Andrea De Marchi BENCH: 16 D'Apice Tommaso 17 Postiglioni Bruno 18 Guillermo Roan/Dario Chistolini 19 Gideon Koegelenberg 20 Derick Minnie 21 Carlo Engelbrecht 22 Tommaso Castello 23 Kayle Van Zyl

SCORERS T: Boni, Mbanda, Sarto C: Canna (2) P: Canna

CONNACHT: 15 Tiernan O’Halloran 14 Niyi Adeolokun 13 Bundee Aki 12 Eoin Griffin 11 Cian Kelleher 10 Jack Carty 9 Caolin Blade 8 JOHN MULDOON (C) 7 James Connolly 6 Eoin McKeon 5 Andrew Browne 4 Lewis Stevenson 3 JP Cooney 2 Tom McCartney 1 Denis Buckley BENCH: 16 Dave Heffernan 17 Ronan Loughney 18 Conor Carey 19 Ultan Dillane 20 Rory Moloney 21 Kieran Marmion 22 Shane O’Leary 23 Matt Healy

SCORERS T: O'Halloran C: Carty P: Carty

Referee: Ian Davies

 

OSPREYS 64 - 10 BENETTON RUGBY

Liberty Stadium - 17 September 2016
KO: 19:35 HT: 31-3 Att: 6,760

 

OSPREYS: 15 Dan Evans 14 Jeff Hassler 13 Ben John 12 Josh Matavesi 11 Dafydd Howells 10 Sam Davies 9 TOM HABBERFIELD (C) 8 Tyler Ardron 7 Justin Tipuric 6 James King 5 Rory Thornton 4 Lloyd Ashley 3 Dmitri Arhip 2 Sam Parry 1 Paul James BENCH: 16 Scott Baldwin 17 Gareth Thomas 18 Ma'afu Fia 19 Alun Wyn Jones 20 Olly Cracknell 21 Rhys Webb 22 Dan Biggar 23 Keelan Giles

SCORERS T: John, Parry, Hassler, Evans, Howells, PT, Giles, Fia, Jones C: Davies (4), Biggar (4) P: Davies

TREVISO: 15 Luke McLean 14 David Odiete 13 Tommaso Benvenuti 12 ALBERTO SGARBI (C) 11 Andrea Buondonno 10 Tommaso Allan 9 Edoardo Gori 8 Marco Barbini 7 Marco Lazzaroni 6 Dean Budd 5 Filo Paulo 4 Filippo Gerosa 3 Tiziano Pasquali 2 Roberto Santamaria 1 Alberto De Marchi BENCH: 16 Luca Bigi 17 Matteo Zanusso 18 Cherif Traore 19 Guglielmo Zanini 20 Abraham Steyn 21 Tito Tebaldi 22 Ian McKinley 23 Andrea Pratichetti

SCORERS T: Budd C: McKinley P: Allan Bigi, McKinley, Steyn

Referee: Lloyd Linton

 

 

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PAT HOWARD’S second try in two Guinness PRO12 games was enough for Newport Gwent Dragons to secure a narrow 11-6 win over a battling Zebre side at Rodney Parade. Kingsley Jones welcomed back Hallam Amos and Tyler Morgan after losing 29-8 away to Ulster on opening night, but it was Howard’s combination with barrelling lock Rynard Landman and Sarel Pretorius that ultimately proved vital. Zebre were much improved from their 59-5 loss to Ospreys last week and Carlo Canna struck with penalties early and late in the first half, but Howard’s finish followed by two Nick Macleod’s penalties were enough to secure a first win of the Guinness PRO12 season for Jones’ men. The scoring was done in the initial 40 and the second stanza only saw a raft of hat trick of yellow cards for both sides collectively. Dragons will take confidence from grinding out victory before a tough task up next against Rassie Erasmus’ resurgent Munster side, while Gianluca Guidi will surely be happy with the way his men responded to last week’s heavy loss by securing a first point of the season away from home.

DUNCAN WEIR was the chief architect with the boot as Edinburgh claimed their first win of the season 20-9 against Scarlets at Murrayfield. Weir scored ten points off the tee but also created the opening score for wing Michael Allen, with a delightful kick-through to add to a further effort from Magnus Bradbury. Despite more possession and territory, the visitors could not capitalise on their advantage, and Edinburgh heaped on all their points in the first half. The second saw the homeside a man down for 20 minutes with Bradbury and Phil Burleigh in the bin, but they held back the Scarlets defence, allowing only a solitary penalty to add to two earlier, relegating the visitors to a second consecutive defeat.

DAN FISH scored the winning try as Cardiff Blues battled past Munster 24-23 in a fascinating battle at Thomond Park to secure their second win of the season. The full-back burst through to score with 12 minutes left just after Munster had seemingly gained control, and a strong defensive effort repelled the Irish side in the final minutes. Tom James crossed twice for the Blues in an open first half, but Munster gradually edged back and took the lead through Dave Kilcoyne’s close-range try in the final quarter. However, Fish won it for the visitors after a slick move, to maintain their 100% start to the season after an opening-day win against Edinburgh.

TOMMY SEYMOUR starred for Glasgow Warriors as he scored four tries in their thrilling 33-25 win over Leinster at Scotstoun Stadium. The winger scored the game’s first try with a neat finish in the corner, before Leinster hit back through Rob Kearney. Two more tries from Josh van der Flier and Zane Kirchner before the break gave Leo Cullen’s side a 12-19 half-time lead, but Seymour took over in the second period and capitalised on two major Leinster errors to complete his hat-trick. Joey Carbery's boot brought the visitors to within a point of the Warriors in the final quarter, but Seymour capped off a fine display with a late fourth to secure Glasgow their second win of the season after last week’s opening victory at Connacht.

RUAN PIENAAR continued his impressive start to his final PRO12 season with Ulster as his 12 points proved crucial in a 22-11 win at Benetton Treviso. Pienaar crossed in the second half for the visitors’ third score, following up tries from Luke Marshall and captain Robert Herring, with the South African also adding seven points from the boot. Two Tommaso Allan penalties kept Treviso in contention at 6-10 by half-time, themselves touching down through No.8 Marco Barbini in the final stages at the Stadio Comunale di Monigo. But neither team was able to secure a bonus point, with Treviso still yet to get off the mark after two games while Ulster missed out on maximum points from their first away trip of the campaign.

THREE tries in the last ten minutes handed Ospreys a 32-11 victory at reigning champions Connacht. Rhys Webb grabbed himself two tries as Tyler Ardron and Jeffrey Hassler also got on the scoresheet, with Sam Davies kicking 12 points for the travelling region. Conor McKeon got Connacht’s try and Jack Carty kicked points but Connacht’s title defence has yet to get off the ground, while Ospreys made it two wins from two this season.

RESULTS

DRAGONS 11 - 6 ZEBRE RUGBY

Rodney Parade - 09 September 2016
KO: 19:15 HT: 11-6 Att: 4,454

DRAGONS: 15 Hallam Amos 14 Adam Warren 13 Tyler Morgan 12 Sam Beard 11 Pat Howard 10 Nick Macleod 9 Sarel Pretorius 8 Ed Jackson 7 Nic Cudd 6 LEWIS EVANS (C) 5 Rynard Landman 4 Nick Crosswell 3 Brok Harris 2 Thomas Rhys Thomas 1 Thomas Davies BENCH: 16 Rhys Buckley 17 Sam Hobbs 18 Lloyd Fairbrother 19 Matthew Screech 20 James Thomas 21 Charlie Davies 22 Angus O’Brien 23 Geraint Rhys Jones

SCORERS T: Howard P: Macleod (2) Harris

ZEBRE: 15 Kurt Baker 14 Lloyd Greeff 13 Giulio Bisegni 12 Tommaso Boni 11 Gabriele Di Giulio 10 Carlo Canna 9 Guglielmo Palazzani 8 Andries Van Schalkwyk 7 Maxime Mbandà 6 Jacopo Sarto 5 GEORGE BIAGI (C) 4 Quintin Geldenhuys 3 Pietro Ceccarelli 2 Oliviero Fabiani 1 Andrea De Marchi BENCH: 16 Carlo Festuccia 17 Guillermo Roan 18 Dario Chistolini 19 Gideon Koegelenberg 20 Federico Ruzza 21 Carlo Engelbrecht 22 Matteo Pratichetti 23 Edoardo Padovani

SCORERS P: Canna (2) Roan, de Marchi

Referee: Lloyd Linton

 

EDINBURGH RUGBY 20 - 9 SCARLETS

BT Murrayfield - 09 September 2016
KO: 19:35 HT: 20-6 Att: 2,650

EDINBURGH: 15 Glenn Bryce 14 Michael Allen 13 Sasa Tofilau 12 Phil Burleigh 11 Tom Brown 10 Duncan Weir 9 Nathan Fowles 8 Magnus Bradbury 7 John Hardie 6 Jamie Ritchie 5 GRANT GILCHRIST(C) 4 Ben Toolis 3 WP Nel 2 Ross Ford 1 Rory Sutherland BENCH: 16 Stuart McInally 17 Allan Dell 18 Kevin Bryce 19 Fraser McKenzie 20 Hamish Watson 21 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne 22 Blair Kinghorn 23 Solomoni Rasolea

SCORERS T: Allen, Bradbury C: Weir (2) P: Weir (2) Bradbury, Burleigh

SCARLETS: 15 Liam Williams 14 Hadleigh Parkes 13 Jonathan Davies 12 Scott Williams 11 Steff Evans 10 Rhys Patchell 9 Aled Davies 8 John Barclay 7 James Davies 6 Aaron Shingler 5 David Bulbring 4 Jake Ball 3 Werner Kruger 2 KEN OWENS(C) 1 Wyn Jones BENCH: 16 Ryan Elias 17 Luke Garrett 18 Peter Edwards 19 Tadhg Beirne 20 Josh Macleod 21 Gareth Davies 22 Dan Jones 23 Aled Thomas

SCORERS P: Patchell (3) Ball 

Referee: Andrew Brace

 

MUNSTER RUGBY 23 - 24 CARDIFF BLUES

Irish Independent Park - 09 September 2016
KO: 19:35 HT: 10-17 Att: 7,405

 

MUNSTER: 15 Andrew Conway 14 Darren Sweetnam 13 Dan Goggin 12 Rory Scannell 11 Ronan O’Mahony 10 Ian Keatley 9 Duncan Williams 8 Jack O’Donoghue 7 Tommy O’Donnell 6 Dave O’Callaghan 5 BILLY HOLLAND (C) 4 Dave Foley 3 John Ryan 2 Niall Scannell 1 James Cronin BENCH: 16 Duncan Casey 17 Dave Kilcoyne 18 Brian Scott 19 Donnacha Ryan 20 CJ Stander 21 Tomás O’Leary 22 Cian Bohane 23 Stephen Fitzgerald

SCORERS T: Conway, Kilcoyne C: Keatley (2) P: Keatley (3)

BLUES: 15 Dan Fish 14 Alex Cuthbert 13 Corey Allen 12 Rey Lee-Lo 11  Tom James 10 Gareth Anscombe 9 Tomos Williams 8 Nick Williams 7 Ellis Jenkins 6 Josh Navidi 5 Macauley Cook 4 George Earle 3 Taufa’ao Filise 2 Kristian Dacey 1 GETHIN JENKINS (C) BENCH: 16 Matthew Rees 17 Rhys Gill 18 S Andrews 19 Josh Turnbull 20 Sam Warburton 21 Loyd Williams 22 Steve Shingler 23 Matthew Morgan

SCORERS T: James (2), Fish C: Anscombe (2), Shingler P: Anscombe

Referee: Ian Davies

 

GLASGOW WARRIORS 33 - 25 LEINSTER

Scotstoun Stadium - 10 September 2016
KO: 15:00 HT: 12-19 Att: 7,251

 

WARRIORS: 15 Stuart Hogg 14 Leonardo Sarto 13 Alex Dunbar 12 Sam Johnson 11 Tommy Seymour 10 Peter Horne 9 HENRY PYRGOS (CC) 8 Ryan Wilson 7 Simone Favaro 6 Rob Harley 5 JONNY GRAY (CC) 4 Tim Swinson 3 Sila Puafisi 2 Fraser Brown 1 Gordon Reid BENCH: 16 Corey Flynn 17 Alex Allan 18 Zander Fagerson 19 Tjiuee Uanivi 20 Lewis Wynne 21 Ali Price 22 Rory Clegg 23 Lee Jones

SCORERS T: Seymour (4), Swinson C: Pyrgos (4) Sarto

LEINSTER: 15 Rob Kearney 14 Fergus McFadden 13 Garry Ringrose 12 Noel Reid 11 Dave Kearney 10 Joey Carbery 9 LUKE MCGRATH (C) 8 Jordi Murphy 7 Josh van der Flier 6 Dan Leavy 5 Ross Molony 4 Mike McCarthy 3 Michael Bent 2 James Tracy 1 Cian Healy BENCH: 16 Bryan Byrne 17 Peter Dooley 18 Tadhg Furlong 19 Mick Kearney 20 Dominic Ryan 21 Jamison Gibson-Park 22 Cathal Marsh 23 Zane Kirchner

SCORERS T: Rob Kearney, van der Flier, Kirchner C: Carbery (2) P: Carbery (2)

Referee: John Lacey

 

BENETTON RUGBY 11 - 22 ULSTER RUGBY

Stadio Monigo - 10 September 2016
KO: 18:05 HT: 6-10 Att: 2,800

 

TREVISO: 15 Jayden Hayward 14 Angelo Esposito 13 Tommaso Benvenuti 12 LUKE MCLEAN (C) 11 Andrea Buondonno 10 Thomas Allan 9 Giorgio Bronzini 8 Marco Barbini 7 Marco Lazzaroni 6 Francesco Minto 5 Filo Paulo 4 Marco Fuser 3 Simone Ferrari 2 Ornel Gega 1 Nicola Quaglio BENCH: 16 Roberta Santamaria 17 Alberto De Marchi 18 Titian Pasquali 19 Filippo Gerosa 20 Dean Budd 21 Edoardo Gori 22 Ian McKinley 23 David Odiete

SCORERST: Benvenuti P: Allan (2) Paulo

ULSTER: 15 Louis Ludik 14 Rob Lyttle 13 Luke Marshall 12 Stuart Olding 11 Jacob Stockdale 10 Brett Herron 9 Ruan Pienaar 8 Roger Wilson 7 Sean Reidy 6 Clive Ross 5 Franco van der Merwe 4 Kieran Treadwell 3 Rodney Ah You 2 Rob Herring 1 Kyle McCall BENCH: 16 John Andrew 17 Andy Warwick 18 Ross Kane 19 Pete Browne 20 Robbie Diack Angus Lloyd Stuart McCloskey Darren Cave

SCORERS T: Marshall, Herring, Pienaar C: Pienaar (2) P: Pienaar Herring, Olding

Referee: Dudley Phillips

 

CONNACHT RUGBY 11 - 32 OSPREYS

Sportsground - 10 September 2016
KO: 19:35 HT: 3-10 Att: 5,749

 

CONNACHT: 15 Tiernan O'Halloran 14 Niyi Adeolokun 13 Eoin Griffin 12 Bundee Aki 11 Matt Healy 10 Jack Carty 9 Kieran Marmion 8 JOHN MULDOON (C) 7 James Connolly 6 Eoin McKeon 5 Danny Qualter 4 Ultan Dillane 3 Finlay Bealham 2 Tom McCartney 1 Ronan Loughney BENCH: 16 Dave Heffernan 17 Dominic Robertson-McCoy 18 JP Cooney 19 Lewis Stevenson 20 Rory Moloney 21 Caolin Blade 22 Shane O'Leary 23 Danie Poolman

SCORERS T: McKeon P: Carty (2)

OSPREYS: 15 Dan Evans 14 Jeff Hassler 13 Ben John 12 Josh Matavesi 11 Eli Walker 10 Sam Davies 9 RHYS WEBB (C) 8 Tyler Ardron 7 Justin Tipuric 6 Olly Cracknell 5 Rory Thornton 4 Bradley Davies 3 Dmitri Arhip 2 Sam Parry 1 Nicky Smith BENCH: 16 Scott Baldwin 17 Paul James 18 Ma'afu Fia 19 Lloyd Ashley 20 James King 21 Dan Baker 22 Tom Habberfield 23 Dafydd Howells

SCORERS T: Webb (2), Ardron, Hassler C: Sam Davies (3) P: Sam Davies (2) Ardron

Referee: Ben Whitehouse

 

 

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JOEY CARBERY enjoyed a full debut to remember as he scored two tries for Leinster in their opening 20-8 Guinness PRO12 victory over Treviso. The 20-year-old was given his first start at fly-half by Leo Cullen and it paid off with two tries in the first half as Leinster flew out of the blocks. But they were pushed hard by a Treviso side who kept battling, and thanks to Marco Fuser’s try late in the first half, continued to dream of a first win in Dublin. But in the end, Leinster had a little too much, and replacement hooker James Tracy’s try wrapped up the win.

THE Ospreys were targeting a fast start after stuttering out of the gate a year ago and they did just that with a brilliant 59-5 win over Zebre at the Liberty Stadium with a hat-trick from the most unlikely of sources. Sam Parry bookended the first half with two tries from mauls, as the Welsh side wrapped up a bonus point before the break, completing his treble early in the second half. And the Welsh team managed eight tries in all, as Ben John got a second-half double in a brilliant display in Swansea.

A dream debut for Rob Lyttle inspired Ulster to come from behind to kick off the new campaign in style with a comfortable 29-8 victory over Newport Gwent Dragons. On the third occasion the sides have met in the opening fixture, it was the visitors who broke the deadlock through a Nick Macleod penalty, before Pat Howard scored their first try of the night on his senior debut. But it did not take long for Ulster, chasing their first title in ten years, to bring themselves back into the lead, Lyttle, an early replacement for Craig Gilroy, going over first before a clever solo effort from Jacob Stockdale gave them the lead. And maximum points were sealed after the break as Ruan Pienaar, Lyttle with his second, and Rob Herring touched over in a dominant second half performance.

RASSIE ERASMUS enjoyed a dream start to life with Munster as the Irish side claimed a 23-13 win away to the Scarlets to kick off their campaign. The South African arrived in Limerick this summer and got his first taste of competitive action in West Wales but early on his team found themselves under huge pressure. However the Scarlets struggled to convert their chances, whereas first-half tries from James Cronin and Ronan O’Mahony put Munster comfortably clear. Gareth Davies’ fine score brought the Scarlets back into it, but 13 points from the boot of Tyler Bleyendaal ended up being crucial.

LAST season’s Guinness PRO12 champions Connacht suffered a humbling 41-5 defeat to Glasgow Warriors at the Sportsground. Wing Tommy Seymour got two with Niyi Adeolokun replying for the hosts as the Warriors, looking to avenge last season’s semi-final defeat, took a 13-5 lead into half-time. And the Warriors were dominant in the second half as man-of-the-match Stuart Hogg, Tim Swinson, Sila Puafisi and Sean Lamont ensured the visitors secured a try bonus point and a 41-5 win.

NICK WILLIAMS proved a smash hit in the opening game of his Cardiff Blues career as the former Ulster No.8 scored the decisive second-half try in a 34-16 victory over Edinburgh. Williams would have been a sure-fire contender for man of the match without his try after delivering a ball-carrying masterclass. Tomos Williams followed him over in the latter stages to bag the bonus point, while another new arrival in Steven Shingler crossed over in the first half as part of an impressive 15-point haul.

RESULTS

LEINSTER RUGBY 20 - 8 BENETTON RUGBY

RDS Arena - 02 September 2016
KO: 19:35 HT: 15-5 Att: 11,217

LEINSTER: 15 Rob Kearney 14 Zane Kirchner 13 Garry Ringrose 12 Noel Reid 11 Fergus McFadden 10 Joey Carbery 9 LUKE MCGRATH (C) 8 Dan Leavy 7 Josh van der Flier 6 Dominic Ryan 5 Mike McCarthy 4 Ross Molony 3 Michael Bent 2 Bryan Byrne 1 Cian Healy BENCH: 16 James Tracy 17 Andrew Porter 18 Mike Ross 19 Hayden Triggs 20 Jordi Murphy 21 Jamison Gibson-Park 22 Cathal Marsh 23 Rory O'Loughlin

SCORERS T: Carbery (2), Tracy C: McFadden P: McFadden

TREVISO: 15 Jayden Hayward 14 Angelo Esposito 13 Tommaso Benvenuti 12 Luke McLean 11 Andrea Buondonno 10 Tommaso Allan 9 Giorgio Bronzini 8 ALESSANDRO ZANNI (C) 7 Marco Lazzaroni 6 Francesco Minto 5 Filo Paulo 4 Marco Fuser 3 Simone Ferrari 2 Ornel Gega 1 Nicola Quaglio BENCH: 16 Roberto Santamaria 17 Alberto De Marchi 18 Tiziano Pasquali 19 Dean Budd 20 Marco Barbini 21 Edoardo Gori 22 Ian McKinley 23 David Odiete

SCORERS T: Fuser P: Allan

Referee: Ben Whitehouse

 

OSPREYS 59 - 5 ZEBRE RUGBY

Liberty Stadium - 02 September 2016
KO: 19:35 HT: 31-5 Att: 6,509

OSPREYS: 15 Dan Evans 14 Jeff Hassler 13 Ashley Beck 12 Josh Matavesi 11 Eli Walker 10 Sam Davies 9 TOM HABBERFIELD (C) 8 Tyler Ardron 7 Justin Tipuric 6 Olly Cracknell 5 Rory Thornton 4 Lloyd Ashley 3 Dmitri Arhip 2 Sam Parry 1 Nicky Smith BENCH: 16 Hugh Gustafson 17 Paul James 18 Ma'afu Fia 19 Bradley Davies 20 Dan Baker 21 Rhys Webb 22 Ben John 23 Dafydd Howells

SCORERS T: Parry (3), Ashley, Beck, John (2), Howells C: Sam Davies (8) P: Sam Davies

ZEBRE: 15 Kurt Baker 14 Lloyd Greeff 13 Giulio Bisegni 12 Tommaso Castello 11 Gabriele Di Giulio 10 Edoardo Padovani 9 Guglielmo Palazzani 8 Andries Van Schalkwyk 7 Maxime Mbandà 6 Jacopo Sarto 5 GEORGE BIAGI (C) 4 Federico Ruzza 3 Pietro Ceccarelli 2 Tommaso D'Apice 1 Andrea Lovotti BENCH: 16 Carlo Festuccia 17 Andrea De Marchi 18 Dario Chistolini 19 Valerio Bernabò 20 Giovanni Pettinelli 21 Fabio Semenzato 22 Carlo Canna 23 Tommaso Boni

SCORERS T: d'Apice Boni

Referee: Andrew Brace

 

ULSTER RUGBY 29 - 8 DRAGONS

Kingspan Stadium - 02 September 2016
KO: 19:35 HT: 12-8 Att: 13,789

ULSTER: 15 Charles Piutau 14 Craig Gilroy 13 Stuart Olding 12 Stuart McCloskey 11 Jacob Stockdale 10 Brett Herron 9 Ruan Pienaar 8 Roger Wilson 7 Sean Reidy 6 Clive Ross 5 Franco van der Merwe 4 Pete Browne 3 Ross Kane 2 ROB HERRING (C) 1 Callum Black BENCH: 16 John Andrew 17 Kyle McCall 18 Andy Warwick 19 Alan O'Connor 20 Robbie Diack 21 Paul Marshall 22 Sam Windsor 23 Robert Lyttle

SCORERS T: Lyttle (2), Stockdale, Pienaar, Herring C: Pienaar (2)

DRAGONS: 15 Carl Meyer 14 Adam Warren 13 Sam Beard 12 Jack Dixon 11 Pat Howard 10 Nick Macleod 9 Sarel Pretorius 8 Ed Jackson 7 Nic Cudd 6 Ollie Griffiths 5 Rynard Landman 4 Cory Hill 3 Craig Mitchell 2 THOMAS RHYS THOMAS (C) 1 Sam Hobbs BENCH: 16 Rhys Buckley 17 Tom Davies 18 Lloyd Fairbrother 19 Nick Crosswell 20 Lewis Evans 21 Charlie Davies 22 Angus O’Brien 23 Tyler Morgan

SCORERS T: Howard P: Macleod

Referee: Marius Mitrea

 

SCARLETS 13 - 23 MUNSTER RUGBY

Parc y Scarlets - 03 September 2016
KO: 15:00 HT: 10-17 Att: 6,107

SCARLETS: 15 Liam Williams 14 DTH van der Merwe 13 Scott Williams 12 Hadleigh Parkes 11 Steff Evans 10 Rhys Patchell 9 Gareth Davies 8 Josh Macleod 7 John Barclay 6 Aaron Shingler 5 Lewis Rawlins 4 Jake Ball 3 Werner Kruger 2 KEN OWENS (C) 1 Dylan Evans BENCH: 16 Ryan Elias 17 Wyn Jones 18 Peter Edwards 19 David Bulbring 20 Tadhg Beirne 21 Jonathan Evans 22 Dan Jones 23 Jonathan Davies

SCORERS T: Gareth Davies C: Patchell P: Patchell (2)

MUNSTER: Munster: 15 Simon Zebo 14 Darren Sweetnam 13 Dan Goggin 12 Rory Scannell 11 Ronan O'Mahony 10 Tyler Bleyendaal 9 Duncan Williams 8 Jack O'Donoghue 7 Tommy O'Donnell 6 Dave O'Callaghan 5 BILLY HOLLAND (C) 4 Dave Foley 3 John Ryan 2 Niall Scannell 1 James Cronin BENCH: 16 Kevin O'Byrne 17 Dave Kilcoyne 18 Brian Scott 19 Jean Kleyn 20 Donnacha Ryan 21 Tomás O'Leary 22 Ian Keatley 23 Cian Bohane

SCORERS T: Cronin, O'Mahony C: Bleyendaal (2) P: Bleyendaal (2), Keatley 

Referee: Lloyd Linton

 

CONNACHT 5 - 41 GLASGOW WARRIORS

Sportsground - 03 September 2016
KO: 17:15 HT: 5-13 Att: 6,063

CONNACHT: 15 Cian Kelleher 14 Niyi Adeolokun 13 Eoin Griffin 12 Bundee Aki 11 Matt Healy 10 Jack Carty 9 Caolin Blade 8 JOHN MULDOON (C) 7 Nepia Fox-Matamua 6 Eoin McKeon 5 Danny Qualter 4 Ultan Dillane 3 Finlay Bealham 2 Tom McCartney 1 Denis Buckley BENCH: 16 Dave Heffernan 17 Ronan Loughney 18 JP Cooney 19 Lewis Stevenson 20 James Connolly 21 Kieran Marmion 22 Shane O’Leary 23 Peter Robb

SCORERS T: Adeolokun

WARRIORS: 15 Stuart Hogg 14 Leonardo Sarto 13 Alex Dunbar 12 Sam Johnson 11 Tommy Seymour 10 Peter Horne 9 HENRY PYRGOS (CC) 8 Ryan Wilson 7 Simone Favaro 6 Rob Harley 5 JONNY GRAY (CC) 4 Tim Swinson 3 Zander Fagerson 2 Pat MacArthur 1 Gordon Reid BENCH: 16 Corey Flynn 17 Ryan Grant 18 Sila Puafisi 19 Tjiuee Uanivi 20 Lewis Wynne 21 Ali Price 22 Rory Clegg 23 Sean Lamont

SCORERS T: Seymour (2), Hogg, Swinson, Puafisi, Lamont C: Pyrgos (3),Clegg P: Pyrgos Wilson

Referee: Ian Davies

 

CARDIFF BLUES 34 - 16 EDINBURGH RUGBY

BT Sport Cardiff Arms Park - 03 September 2016
KO: 19:35 HT: 17-13 Att: 4,807

 

BLUES: 15 Dan Fish 14 Blaine Scully 13 Cory Allen 12 Rey Lee-Lo 11 Tom James 10 Steve Shingler 9 Tomos Williams 8 Nick Williams 7 ELLIS JENKINS (C) 6 Josh Navidi 5 Macauley Cook 4 George Earle 3 Taufa'ao Filise 2 Kirby Myhill 1 Rhys Gill BENCH: 16 Kristian Dacey 17 Gethin Jenkins 18 Scott Andrews 19 James Down 20 Cam Dolan 21 Lewis Jones 22 Gareth Anscombe 23 Matthew Morgan

SCORERS T: Shingler, PT, Nick Williams, Tomas Williams C: Shingler (2), Anscombe (2) P: Shingler (2)

EDINBURGH: 15 Glenn Bryce 14 Rory Scholes 13 Sasa Tofilau 12 Solomoni Rasolea 11 Tom Brown 10 Duncan Weir 9 Nathan Fowles 8 Nasi Manu 7 Hamish Watson 6 Jamie Ritchie 5 GRANT GILCHRIST (C) 4 Fraser McKenzie 3 WP Nel 2 Ross Ford 1 Rory Sutherland BENCH: Stuart McInally 17 Jack Cosgrove 18 Simon Berghan 19 Ben Toolis 20 Magnus Bradbury 21 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne 22 Blair Kinghorn 23 Chris Dean

SCORERS T: Rasolea C: Weir P: Weir (3) Ritchie

Referee: John Lacey

 

 

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†Rescheduled match

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