Leinster and Glasgow keep up good form
Conference leaders Leinster and Glasgow each picked up victories in Saturday’s PRO14 action, as did Ulster, Connacht and Benetton.
Ulster 16-12 Cardiff Blues
Kingspan Stadium
Ulster came back from 12-10 down at half-time to see off Cardiff Blues 16-12 with the help of a crucial yellow card decision from referee Stuart Berry.
The hosts drew first blood through an early John Cooney penalty after Nick Williams was pinged at the breakdown.
However, it was Cardiff who grabbed the first try of the game in the 10th minute, with Matthew Morgan going over in the left corner.
Ulster hit back just four minutes later, with Stuart McCloskey’s kick ahead setting Kieran Treadwell up for the finish.
Once again, the Blues responded, with a powerful maul setting Kristian Dacey up to cross the try-line in the 20th minute.
Neither side got on the scoreboard again until deep into the second-half. However, Cardiff Blues suffered a major blow in the 55th minute, with Seb Davies picking up a yellow card for a late hit on Ross Kane.
Shortly afterwards, Cooney kicked Ulster back into the lead after Dillon Lewis was penalised in his attempt to win a turnover.
After the clock ticked down into the last 15 minutes, Cooney added three more points from the tee.
Despite their best efforts, the Blues were unable to hit back one last time and Ulster held on for a vital four points.
The scorers:
For Ulster:
Try: Treadwell
Con: Cooney
Pens: Cooney 3
For Cardiff Blues:
Tries: Morgan, Dacey
Con: Evans
Yellow Card: Davies
Ulster: 15 Michael Lowry, 14 Henry Speight, 13 James Hume, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Louis Ludik, 10 Billy Burns, 9 John Cooney, 8 Marcell Coetzee, 7 Jordi Murphy, 6 Sean Reidy, 5 Kieran Treadwell, 4 Alan O’Connor (c), 3 Marty Moore, 2 Rob Herring, 1 Andy Warwick
Replacements: 16 Rory Best, 17 Eric O’Sullivan, 18 Ross Kane, 19 Ian Nagle, 20 Nick Timoney, 21 Dave Shanahan, 22 Johnny McPhillips, 23 Jacob Stockdale
Cardiff Blues: 15 Matthew Morgan, 14 Aled Summerhill, 13 Harri Millard, 12 Rey Lee-Lo, 11 Jason Harries, 10 Jarrod Evans, 9 Lloyd Williams (c), 8 Nick Williams, 7 Olly Robinson, 6 Samu Manoa, 5 Josh Turnbull, 4 Seb Davies, 3 Scott Andrews, 2 Kristian Dacey, 1 Rhys Gill
Replacements: 16 Liam Belcher, 17 Rhys Carré, 18 Dillon Lewis, 19 George Earle, 20 James Down, 21 Tomos Williams, 22 Steven Shingler, 23 Garyn Smith
Referee: Stuart Berry (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Nigel Correll (Ireland), Paul Haycock (Ireland)
TMO: Leo Colgan (Ireland)
Cheetahs 17-21 Connacht
Toyota Stadium
The Cheetahs were made to rue costly errors as Connacht snatched a 21-17 away win, having led 15-10 at half-time.
A magnificent solo run from Tom Farrell produced the first try of the game six minutes in, although the Connacht centre was aided by some poor tackling.
The visitors were more clinical than the Cheetahs in the early stages and extended their advantage in the 22nd minute, with the boot of Jack Carty taking it to double figures off the kicking tee.
To make matters worse for the South African outfit, Connacht drove their way over for a second try before the half-hour mark, with Gavin Thornbury profiting.
However, a trademark Malcolm Jaer burst then saw the full-back go all the way to the try-line at the other end, hitting back for the Cheetahs almost immediately.
Then, 35 minutes in, Joseph Dweba peeled off a well-executed maul to score the Cheetahs’ second try.
However, the hosts were unable to pick up where they left off following the break. Connacht stretched their lead back beyond a converted try through a David Horwitz penalty in the 58th minute after Daniel Maartens was blown up at the breakdown.
In the 65th minute, Horwitz added three more points from the tee after Dweba was penalised for not releasing.
However, the Cheetahs refused to give in, with William Small-Smith’s inside pass from the left setting Shaun Venter up for a 72nd minute try.
Nevertheless, Connacht ultimately ground out a victory that will have left Cheetahs coach Franco Smith seething.
The scorers:
For Cheetahs:
Tries: Jaer, Dweba, Venter
Con: Schoeman
For Connacht:
Tries: Farrell, Thornbury
Con: Carty
Pens: Carty, Horwitz 2
Cheetahs: 15 Malcolm Jaer, 14 Rhyno Smith, 13 William Small-Smith, 12 Nico Lee, 11 Darren Adonis, 10 Louis Fouche, 9 Shaun Venter (c), 8 Gerhard Olivier, 7 Abongile Nonkontwana, 6 Junior Pokomela, 5 JP du Preez, 4 Sintu Manjezi, 3 Erich de Jager, 2 Joseph Dweba, 1 Ox Nche
Replacements: 16 Marnus van der Merwe, 17 Charles Marais, 18 Aranos Coetzee, 19 Justin Basson, 20 Daniel Maartens, 21 Rudi Paige, 22 Tian Schoeman, 23 Benhard Janse van Rensburg
Connacht: 15 Tiernan O’Halloran, 14 Niyi Adeolokun, 13 Kyle Godwin, 12 Tom Farrell, 11 Matt Healy, 10 Jack Carty, 9 Caolin Blade, 8 Robin Copeland, 7 Jarrad Butler (c), 6 Paul Boyle, 5 Gavin Thornbury, 4 Ultan Dillane, 3 Conor Carey, 2 Tom McCartney, 1 Denis Buckley
Replacements: 16 Shane Delahunt, 17 Peter McCabe, 18 Dominic Robertson-McCoy, 19 James Cannon, 20 Colby Fainga’a, 21 James Mitchell, 22 David Horwitz, 23 Cian Kelleher
Referee: Dan Jones (Wales)
Assistant referees: Craig Evans (Wales), Ben Crouse (South Africa)
TMO: Johan Greeff (South Africa)
Dragons 10-59 Leinster
Rodney Parade
Leinster showed their class in a 59-10 away drubbing of Dragons, having led 19-3 at half-time.
The first try of the game came in the seventh minute, courtesy of Dave Kearney, who took advantage of a magnificent Ross Byrne cross-kick.
Overcoming Leinster was always going to be a tough task for Dragons, but it became even more difficult when Lewis Evans was yellow-carded.
The visitors immediately took advantage of their extra man, with their pack forcing Scott Penny over the line 12 minutes into the game.
Jason Tovey put Dragons on the board with a penalty, but it was Leinster who had the last laugh before half-time, with Jamison Gibson-Park’s skip pass setting Scott Fardy up for the finish.
The Conference B front-runners ran riot in the second-half, with Kearney getting the ball rolling by scoring his second try.
Dragons responded by breaking through the visiting defence before Harrison Keddie set Rhodri Williams up for their first try of the match.
However, if their victory was in any doubt, Leinster made sure there was soon to be none remaining. Caelan Doris, Hugo Keenan, Bryan Byrne and Jimmy O’Brien added tries to the visitors’ tally.
O’Brien capped the victory off in the dying minutes by scoring his second try of the game.
The scorers:
For Dragons:
Try: Williams
Con: Tovey
Pen: Tovey
Yellow card: Evans
For Leinster:
Tries: Kearney 2, Penny, Fardy, Doris, Keenan, B Byrne, O’Brien 2
Cons: R Byrne 5, Frawley 2
Dragons: 15 Jordan Williams, 14 Jared Rosser, 13 Tyler Morgan, 12 Jarryd Sage, 11 Hallam Amos, 10 Jason Tovey, 9 Rhodri Williams, 8 Ollie Griffiths, 7 Aaron Wainwright, 6 Harrison Keddie, 5 Lewis Evans, 4 Rynard Landman, 3 Lloyd Fairbrother, 2 Richard Hibbard (c), 1 Ryan Bevington
Replacements: 16 Elliot Dee, 17 Aaron Jarvis, 18 Leon Brown, 19 Cory Hill, 20 Ross Moriarty, 21 Tavis Knoyle, 22 Arwel Robson, 23 Adam Warren
Leinster: 15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Adam Byrne, 13 Jimmy O’Brien, 12 Conor O’Brien, 11 Dave Kearney, 10 Ross Byrne, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Caelan Doris, 7 Scott Penny, 6 Josh Murphy, 5 Scott Fardy (c), 4 Ross Molony, 3 Michael Bent, 2 James Tracy, 1 Ed Byrne
Replacements: 16 Bryan Byrne, 17 Peter Dooley, 18 Andrew Porter, 19 Mick Kearney, 20 Max Deegan, 21 Paddy Patterson, 22 Ciarán Frawley, 23 Tom Daly
Referee: Lloyd Linton (Scotland)
Assistant referees: Sam Grove-White (Scotland), Dewi Phillips (Wales)
TMO: Tim Hayes (Wales)
Glasgow Warriors 29-20 Scarlets
Scotstoun Stadium
14-man Glasgow Warriors saw off Scarlets 29-20, having led 13-3 at half-time.
The game got off to a slow start in terms of points, with Rhys Patchell and Brandon Thomson exchanging penalties.
However, the contest took a dramatic turn in the 19th minute, when Alex Allan was red-carded for a dangerous tackle on Jake Ball.
Nevertheless, 14-man Glasgow went in front through another Thomson penalty before a yellow card to Lewis Rawlins temporarily cancelled out the hosts’ numerical disadvantage.
After a lengthy build-up featuring pick-and-go after pick-and-go from Glasgow, Thomson scored the first try of the game out wide in the 30th minute.
Glasgow picked up where they left off in the second-half, with Nick Grigg getting on the end of Ruaridh Jackson’s kick over the top and scoring their second try.
However, Scarlets then finally scored their first try when Jonathan Davies powered over in the corner after being set up by Rob Evans.
In response, Glasgow kept the scoreboard ticking with two more Thomson penalties.
Scarlets then lost another player to the sin-bin for 10 minutes when Tom Phillips was yellow-carded, but they were not about to let the game go without a fight.
Tries from Steff Evans and Clayton Blommetjies set up a nervy finish for the hosts, but a late Thomson penalty put the result beyond doubt.
The scorers:
For Glasgow Warriors:
Tries: Thomson, Grigg
Cons: Thomson 2
Pens: Thomson 5
Red card: Allan
For Scarlets:
Tries: Davies, Evans, Blommetjies
Con: Patchell
Pen: Patchell
Yellow cards: Rawlins, Phillips
Glasgow Warriors: 15 Ruaridh Jackson, 14 Robbie Nairn, 13 Nick Grigg, 12 Stafford McDowall, 11 Niko Matawalu, 10 Brandon Thomson, 9 George Horne, 8 Adam Ashe, 7 Chris Fusaro (c), 6 Matt Smith, 5 Scott Cummings, 4 Tim Swinson, 3 D’Arcy Rae, 2 George Turner, 1 Alex Allan
Replacements: 16 Kevin Bryce, 17 Oli Kebble, 18 Siua Halanukonuka, 19 Kiran McDonald, 20 Tevita Tamielau, 21 Nick Frisby, 22 Paddy Kelly, 23 Ratu Tagive
Scarlets: 15 Johnny McNicholl, 14 Tom Prydie, 13 Jonathan Davies (c), 12 Kieron Fonotia, 11 Steff Evans, 10 Rhys Patchell, 9 Kieran Hardy, 8 Uzair Cassiem, 7 Dan Davis, 6 Will Boyde, 5 Steve Cummins, 4 Jake Ball, 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Ryan Elias, 1 Rob Evans
Replacements: 16 Dafydd Hughes, 17 Wyn Jones, 18 Simon Gardiner, 19 Lewis Rawlins, 20 Tom Phillips, 21 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, 22 Paul Asquith, 23 Clayton Blommetjies
Referee: Frank Murphy (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Kieran Barry (Ireland), Dunx McClement (Scotland)
TMO: Charles Samson (Scotland)
Southern Kings 19-22 Benetton
Madibaz Stadium
Benetton claimed a 22-19 win over Southern Kings at the Madibaz Stadium, compounding the Port Elizabeth outfit’s woes after leading 17-7 at half-time.
The visitors drew first blood in the sixth minute, when Hame Faiva went over in the corner for the game’s opening try.
However, Kings responded five minutes later, with Tertius Kruger keeping an excellent line to dart through the defence and dot down.
In the 26th minute, Benetton hit back, with Faiva once again forcing his way over after a strong driving maul.
Then, shortly before half-time, the hooker completed his hat-trick, once again from the driving maul.
Benetton’s bonus-point try was a spectacular one. Tommaso Iannone’s grubber kick was chased down diligently and kept in play acrobatically by Monty Ioane, who finished in the corner 10 minutes after the break.
The hosts persevered, but came up against a solid defence. However, eventually, the South African side added another try to their tally. Luvuyo Pupuma powered his way over after a tap-and-go from Godlen Masimla.
Kings ended the match with 14 men after Masixole Banda was yellow-carded for cynically tripping an opponent. However, they were able to finish in style when Harlon Klaasen’s run upfield led to a second try for Kruger.
In any case, Benetton finished as deserved winners, snatching four points away from home.
The scorers:
For Southern Kings:
Tries: Kruger 2, Pupuma
Cons: Banda 2
Yellow card: Banda
For Benetton:
Tries: Faiva 3, Ioane
Con: McKinley
Southern Kings: 15 Michael Botha, 14 Yaw Penxe, 13 Meli Rokoua, 12 Tertius Kruger, 11 Bjorn Basson, 10 Masixole Banda, 9 Stefan Ungerer, 8 Ruaan Lerm, 7 Martinus Burger, 6 Cyril-John Velleman, 5 JC Astle (c), 4 Stephan Greeff, 3 Pieter Scholtz, 2 Kerron van Vuuren, 1 Nicolaas Oosthuizen
Replacements: 16 Tango Balekile, 17 Alulutho Tshakweni, 18 Luvuyo Pupuma, 19 Schalk Oelofse, 20 Andries van Schalkwyk, 21 Godlen Masimla, 22 Ulrich Beyers, 23 Harlon Klaasen
Benetton: 15 Angelo Esposito, 14 Ratuva Tavuyara, 13 Tommaso Iannone, 12 Marco Zanon, 11 Monty Ioane, 10 Ian McKinley, 9 Dewaldt Duvenage, 8 Marco Barbini (c), 7 Michele Lamaro, 6 Giovanni Pettinelli, 5 Federico Ruzza, 4 Irné Herbst, 3 Marco Riccioni, 2 Hame Faiva, 1 Nicola Quaglio
Replacements: 16 Engjel Makelara, 17 Alberto De Marchi, 18 Giuseppe Di Stefano, 19 Niccolò Cannone, 20 Marco Lazzaroni, 21 Giorgio Bronzini, 22 Antonio Rizzi, 23 Alberto Sgarbi
Referee: Sean Gallagher (Ireland)
Assistant referees: George Clancy (Ireland), Ruhan Meiring (South Africa)
TMO: Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)