SUN
DRAGONS 25-11 ZEBRE
DRAGONS UNLUCKY NOT
TO GET BONUS POINT
Prydie and Kelly Haimona exchanged penalties as both sides
found it difficult to break down each other's defences in the opening quarter.
Shortly afterwards the home side made the breakthrough, as
Wardle picked up Prydie's pass and glided through several challenges before
crashing over, with Prydie adding the conversion.
Haimona's second successful penalty reduced the Dragons'
lead to just four points, after Jason Tovey was penalised for handling on the
ground just inside his own 22.
On the stoke of half-time Prydie restored his side's seven
point advantage with a penalty, after Bergamasco was yellow-carded for
illegally thwarting a Dragons' attack.
Just minutes after the restart, Zebre were down to 13 men,
after wing Leonardo Sarto tip-tackled prop Brok Harris.
It did not take long for Dragons to take advantage of their
extra numbers, spreading the ball wide for Amos to dive over in the corner.
Four minutes later captain Landman crossed in the opposite
corner after the home side worked an overlap and Prydie added the conversion
from the touchline.
Back up to 14 men, Zebre hooker Manici crashed over
following a drive from an attacking line-out.
The visitors almost scored again with 20 minutes to go, but
Sarto, who was back on the pitch, was held up on the line.
The Italians pushed for a losing bonus point towards the
end, but were denied by some determined defence by the Dragons.
I definitely feel
that the fact that the dragons did not get the bonus point here may affect them
having any chance of going up the table
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/30537405
SAT
GLASGOW 21-18 MUNSTER
RUSSELL BOOT GIVES
GLASGOW IMPORTANT
Tries from Leone Nakarawa and Jonny Gray as well as Finn
Russell's 11 points with the boot saw Glasgow home.
Munster crossed through JJ Hanrahan and Robin Copeland, but
they could not stop Warriors going top of the Pro12.
Finn Russell endured a difficult day with the boot against
Toulouse last weekend, but did not display any nerves when he knocked over a
penalty to put Glasgow ahead.
Munster responded immediately, forcing Glasgow onto the back
foot and fly-half Hanrahan sold the Warriors defence a dummy-pass before
ghosting through a gap for the try to put the Irish side 5-3 up.
Russell sliced another penalty attempt wide of the posts,
but when Munster were penalised for an infringement at a lineout, the Scotland
international made no mistake with his third shot at goal to reclaim the lead
for Glasgow.
Munster were temporarily reduced to 14 men when Paul
O'Connell was sin-binned on 20 minutes. The Warriors were inviting pressure
though with a succession of handling errors and charged-down kicks, and
Hanrahan booted the visitors back in front when Glasgow conceded a penalty from
a scrum.
Russell and Hanrahan traded penalties before the Irish
struck a blow with the last play of the half.
This was a battle of
the teams on the top of the table. The fact that Glasgow got the win will give
them belief. The fact that this was close may help Munster in the long run.
Munster need to fix this right now or they will go down the table
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/30550347
OSPREYS 31-20 ULSTER
WEBB TRIES KILLS ULSTER HOPES
Dan Biggar burst clear before Webb underlined the hosts'
first half superiority by following suit.
Wales scrum-half Webb added a second and wing Hanno Dirksen
also powered over after the break.
Rob Herring and ex-Osprey Tommy Bowe hit back, but the hosts
denied the visitors a losing bonus point.
To make matters worse for the visitors, they lost influential
Springboks star Ruan Pienaar to an apparent knee problem before half-time
although there was no news on the extent of the injury after the game.
Steve Tandy's side took a direct, off-loading approach and
it paid dividends as skipper Alun Wyn Jones set fellow Wales star Biggar free
for the opening try after he and opposite number Ian Humphreys had exchanged
early penalties.
A similar sweeping attack allowed Biggar's international
half-back partner Webb to cross for his first try.
And with Biggar going on to convert all four Ospreys tries,
Ulster were up against it despite a history of close encounters between the two
teams.
Webb's second try heralded the debut of Wales flanker Dan
Lydiate, who came off the bench after moving from Racing Metro.
Dirksen took advantage of the time and space created by a
scrum drive to gather momentum before powering over with desperate Ulster
defenders clinging on.
Replacement Ulster hooker Herring gave his side hope as the
visitors produced the sort of line-out power play for which they are renowned.
Humphreys converted and added another after Bowe cut through
Ospreys' stretched defence.
Ulster were close to
a bonus point this year and I feel that they need to get their coaching things
changed as they seem to loose bonus points in close matches
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/30537422
FRI
BLUES 21-9 SCARLETS
NAVIDI TRIES KILL OFF
The number eight scored two tries in a dominant first-half
display by Blues at their Cardiff Arms Park home.
Gareth Anscombe added three penalties and a conversion, with
Rhys Priestland replying for Scarlets with six points.
Scarlets kept Blues scoreless after the break, but wasted
gilt-edged chances to claim tries and could only manage a third Priestland
penalty.
But the hosts made light of the form book to make an
impressive start to the game, with Anscombe converting two early penalty
chances before the game's opening try.
Blues front five 'outstanding' - Navidi
Navidi picked up from the base of a five-metre scrum and
drove forward before his fellow forwards arrived for the final shunt that saw
him over the try-line.
Anscombe converted to make it 13-0, although Priestland
replied with two penalties as Scarlets put the ball through the hands to gain
territory and exert pressure on Blues.
The relief was short-lived, though, as Blues drove from an
attacking line-out on the left and number eight Navidi again showed great power
to claim his second try.
Fly-half Anscombe could not add the conversion but the New
Zealander added a third penalty soon after, when Rob McCusker made a late
tackle on Lou Reed after the lock had made a great break out of his own 22.
The derby atmosphere boiled over soon after half-time when
rival locks Filo Paulo of the Blues and Johan Snyman of the Scarlets came to
blows, with referee Dudley Phillips sending the two heavyweights to cool off in
the sin-bin for 10 minutes.
With peace restored and both sides a man short up front, the
backs took centre stage and the crowd were treated to thrust and counter-thrust
as the Welsh rivals probed for an opening.
Scarlet's shaded that encounter and their reward was a third
Priestland penalty that cut the deficit to 21-9.
The blues are
definitely improving and with a win like this I could see them in the top 4
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/30534090
EDINBURGH 48-0
TREVISO
HIDALGO CLYNE AND
HEATHCOTE HAT TRICKS DEMOLISH TREVISO
Tries from Sam Hidalgo-Clyne and Mike Coman, and a penalty from the former, put the hosts in command at half time.
Hidalgo-Clyne added another penalty before WP Nel and Grayson Hart ran over, and Treviso's Romelu Acosta was sent off for punching Fraser McKenzie.
Roddy Grant scored the hosts' fifth try and David Denton added another
And Edinburgh made a flying start as Hidalgo-Clyne crossed the line in under a minute.
Full-back Jack Cuthbert did brilliantly to stay in touch while fielding a Treviso kick, before he fed Greig Tonks who played in Hidalgo-Clyne to charge over. Hidalgo-Clyne converted.
Edinburgh were bossing the scrum and earned another penalty that Hidalgo-Clyne scored for a 10-0 advantage.
Poor defending from the visitors allowed Edinburgh to keep the pressure on and captain Coman crossed in the corner after a well-executed maul, with Hidalgo-Clyne adding the extras.
Treviso enjoyed more of the ball in the closing stages of the first half, with flanker Francesco Minto at the heart of their good play as they stretched their hosts across the field, but the Edinburgh defence proved too strong.
The Italians looked bright in the opening stages of the second half, partly due to some Edinburgh errors, but the hosts' dominance in the scrum saved them again with Treviso in a threatening position.
When Alan Solomons' Edinburgh side finally got going, thanks to a Denton charge through the middle, they earned a penalty that Hidalgo-Clyne knocked over.
Minto made life even more difficult for the visitors when he picked up a yellow card, and minutes later Edinburgh almost added another try but Tim Visser was halted on a fine run down the left.
The third try arrived with the hosts still a man to the good, WP Nel finishing off after Alasdair Dickinson was stopped just short of the line. Hidalgo Clyne added the extras.
Grayson Hart secured the bonus point soon after, crossing in the left corner after being played in by Visser, and Tom Heathcote scored the conversion.
Treviso's Acosta then sparked a mass brawl when he threw punches at a grounded McKenzie, earning a red card for his actions, while Hart was yellow carded for retaliation.
Roddy Grant scored the fifth try following a well-worked rolling maul, with Heathcote converting.
Edinburgh kept pressing and Denton ran over in the corner to add even more gloss to the scoreline, with Heathcote adding the extras.
Edinburgh are showing
a sense of form and with a win like this no one can harm them they might become
a bit of a force again.
LEINSTER
21-11 CONNACHT
JENNINGS AND KIRCHNER
TRY KILLS OFF CONNACHT
Shane Jennings scored an early try from a lineout maul to
help Leinster into an 8-6 lead at the break.
Two penalties from Jimmy Gopperth increased the advantage
but Connacht hit back with George Naoupu driving over for an unconverted try.
Zane Kirchner swopped on a loose ball and touched down with
two minutes left to seal victory for the hosts.
Leinster made the early running and the pressure increased
on Connacht after lock Aly Muldowney saw yellow for taking out a support player
at a lineout in their 22.
Having turned down three kickable penalties, Leinster opened
the scoring in the 12th minute as fit-again flanker Jennings piled over on the
end of a maul.
Gopperth missed the conversion but nailed a close-in penalty
before Muldowney's return.
Connacht fly-half Jack Carty failed with a first penalty
attempt but he slotted between the posts on the half hour.
Hands in the ruck saw Leinster prop Tadhg Furlong binned and
Carty closed the gap to two points with the final kick of the first half.
The defending league champions answered back on the restart
with a long range Gopperth effort.
A deliberate knock-on by Willie Faloon allowed Gopperth to
open up a 14-6 scoreline.
Connacht built momentum off Leinster penalties, with Devin
Toner sin-binned for side-entry at a maul close to his line.
From the resulting lineout and drive number eight Naoupu
crashed over to give the visitors renewed hope.
Carty missed a very difficult conversion into the wind and
Kirchner had the final say with an opportunist try
Connacht is
definitely improving and can be a bit of a force this year
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/30533466
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