Munster top, Treviso qualify for Champions Cup
Munster will host Ospreys while Leinster face Scarlets in the PRO12 semi-finals after a busy last day of the regular-season on Saturday.
Along with those four, Ulster, Glasgow and Treviso all qualify for next season's Champions Cup, with the latter beating Zebre to a spot.
Results
Glasgow 18-29 Edinburgh
Munster 50-14 Connacht
Dragons 24-26 Cardiff Blues
Scarlets 40-17 Ospreys
Ulster 17-13 Leinster
Zebre 3-19 Treviso
Semi-finals
Munster v Ospreys
Leinster v Scarlets
Qualified for Champions Cup: Munster, Leinster, Scarlets, Ospreys, Ulster, Glasgow, Treviso
Qualified for Champions Cup 20th place play-offs: Cardiff Blues, Connacht
Scarlets 40-17 Ospreys
Scarlets ended the regular-season with a bonus-point 40-17 victory over the Ospreys in an impressive performance at Parc y Scarlets.
Scarlets led 23-10 at the turnaround after a thoroughly entertaining first-half, which saw the hosts run in two tries to the Ospreys one.
Ospreys started well and were up 10-3 after 11 minutes thanks to a strong finish from Keelan Giles and five points from Dan Biggar's boot.
But the Scarlets dominated the scoring until the break, with a disallowed try for Johnny McNicholl failing to stop them from crossing for scores from number eight Will Boyde and wing Steff Evans, the latter coming on 38 minutes after a fine run from scrum-half Gareth Davies.
Ospreys suffered a blow early in the second-half when fly-half Dan Biggar limped off, as their hopes of victory was starting to look slim.
The derby game was put to bed as a contest on the hour mark when a break from Liam Williams, who is leaving for Saracens at the end of the season, from his own half led to Jonathan Davies putting the ball back inside for flanker Aaron Shingler for a run-in under the uprights.
McNicholl then added a fourth try on 72 minutes as he raced around the outside for a brilliant individual crossing before Davies finished off for their fifth three minutes later, with the scoreline stretched out to 40-10 before Dan Baker had the final say for the Ospreys, making it 40-17.
The scorers:
For Scarlets:
Tries: Boyd, Evans, Shingler, McNicholl, Davies
Cons: Patchell 3
Pens: Patchell 3
For Ospreys:
Tries: Giles, Baker
Cons: Biggar, Evans
Pen: Biggar
Yellow Card: Webb
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
Replacements: 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
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
Replacements: 16 Scott Otten, 17 Paul James, 18 Dan Suter, 19 Lloyd Ashley, 20 Dan Baker, 21 Brendon Leonard, 22 Jonathan Spratt, 23 Dafydd Howells
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant Referees: Dan Jones (Wales), Wayne Davies (Wales)
TMO: Jon Mason (Wales)
Glasgow 18-29 Edinburgh
Jonny Gray grabbed the only try of the first half as Glasgow went into the break 11-9 up. Damien Hoyland helped Edinburgh to extend their lead after the break though with their first try, but Stuart Hogg kept Warriors in it on his 100th appearance. Kevin Bryce’s late try sealed victory for Edinburgh though with a 29-18 win, ruining Gregor Townsend’s final game as Head Coach.
It took less than a minute for Warriors to grab the foothold in the 1872 encounter, with Finn Russell slotting an early penalty safely through the sticks. Duncan Weir was on hand to draw his side level though, in what turned out to be an enthralling encounter. Both sides fired through another penalty each inside the opening 20 minutes in a tight opening, before Edinburgh retook the lead with a third kick.
The visitors lost Sam Hidalgo-Clyne to a yellow card though and the man advantage paved the way for Warriors to get the first try right on half-time. Scott Cummings burst through and offloaded into the waiting arms of Gary who touched down for a half-time lead.
Weir kicked Edinburgh back into a single point lead but it looked like that lead had been taken back when Lee Jones went over early in the second-half. But the TMO halted the celebrations after spotting a foot had gone over the line in the build up. Another three points from Weir made it 15-11 to Edinburgh as their start to the half turned the game around. Hoyland stepped through a couple of challenges to breeze past the sticks, but Warriors kept in it.
Their second try of the evening came from Hogg, who marked his 100th appearance with a try to drag Glasgow right back into the game. But at the death, Bryce went through for Edinburgh to see out a win and claim bragging rights and the trophy for the third year in a row.
The scorers:
For Glasgow:
Tries: Gray, Hogg
Con: Russell
Pens: Russell 2
For Edinburgh:
Tries: Hoyland, Bryce
Cons: Weir 2
Pens: Weir 5
Yellow Cards: Hidalgo-Clyne, Ford
Glasgow: 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
Replacements: 16 Pat MacArthur, 17 Alex Allan, 18 Sila Puafisi, 19 Tim Swinson, 20 Adam Ashe, 21 Henry Pyrgos, 22 Nick Grigg, 23 Sean Lamont
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
Replacements: 16 Neil Cochrane, 17 Murray McCallum, 18 Kevin Bryce, 19 Fraser McKenzie, 20 George Turner, 21 Sean Kennedy, 22 Junior Rasolea, 23 Rory Scholes
Referee: Mike Adamson (Scotland)
Assistant Referees: Sam Grove-White (Scotland), Keith Allen (Scotland)
TMO: Charles Samson (Scotland)
Ulster 17-13 Leinster
Ulster denied Leinster top spot in the PRO12 but their 17-13 victory at Kingspan Stadium wasn't enough to see them make the semi-finals.
It was a low-scoring first-half in Belfast as only a Roger Wilson try meant Ulster were in front, with Paddy Jackson kicking five points. Pre-game league leaders Leinster's only points came via the boot of fly-half Joey Carbery, who slotted two penalties in a 10-6 scoreline.
Ulster knew they needed a miracle to sneak into the top four spots but they kept on trying and in his last game for the province, scrum-half Ruan Pienaar's cross kick out to wing Andrew Trimble saw him cross on 55 minutes. The successful conversion made it a 17-6 cushion.
But a big scrum from Leinster eventually told on the Ulster line as they were awarded a penalty try on 62 minutes to end Ulster's hopes, with Pienaar at least getting a winning send-off in his farewell game for the province.
The scorers:
For Ulster:
Tries: Wilson, Trimble
Cons: Jackson 2
Pen: Jackson
For Leinster:
Try: Penalty try
Con: Carbery
Pens: Carbery 2
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
Replacements: 16 John Andrew, 17 Kyle McCall, 18 Wiehahn Herbst, 19 Chris Henry, 20 Nick Timoney, 21 Paul Marshall, 22 Peter Nelson, 23 Jacob Stockdale
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
Replacements: 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
Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistant Referees: John Lacey (Ireland), Eddie Hogan-O’Connell (Ireland)
TMO: Olly Hodges (Ireland)
Dragons 24-26 Cardiff Blues
Carl Meyer’s early try was countered by Matthew Morgan and Willis Halaholo as Cardiff took a 14-11 lead into half-time. A late try from Sam Beard wasn't enough for Dragons as Gareth Anscombe’s penalties saw them through.
The Dragons found their way into the lead after only five minutes as the first try quickly arrived. A perfectly weighted cross field kick from Angus O’Brien fell into the arms of Meyer who touched down. O’Brien missed the kick but fired through a three pointer to make it an eight point advantage for Dragons.
The Blues fired their way back into the game with Morgan who got their opening try. He played a part in the build up before Alex Cuthbert’s kick fell back into his path. Conversion followed from Gareth Anscombe. O’Brien kicked back immediately with another penalty for the hosts but Blues started to come into their own and Halaholo gave them the lead. He side-stepped a host of defenders to find the line, Anscombe making it 14-11 to Blues at the break.
Cardiff Blues continued to perform well in the early stages of the second 40 and Anscombe kicked through another three points to increase the advantage to six. Dragons lost Thomas Rhys Thomas to the sin bin as their task got just a little bit more difficult midway through the half. Anscombe took his points tally to double figures with another penalty as Blues started to break free from the hosts. That was until Meyer was at the double with two penalties to drag that gap back down to only three with 10 minutes left on the clock.
Anscombe kept things ticking along though with two more penalties and although a late try from Beard made things nervy, the Blues saw out a 26-24 win.
The scorers:
For Dragons:
Tries: Meyer, Beard
Con: O'Brien
Pens: O'Brien 2, Meyer 2
Yellow Card: Thomas
For Cardiff Blues:
Tries: Morgan, Halaholo
Cons: Anscombe 2
Pens: Anscombe 4
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
Replacements: 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
Cardiff 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
Replacements: 16 Ethan Lewis, 17 Anton Peikrishvili, 18 Keiron Assiratti, 19 Seb Davies, 20 Kirby Myhill, 21 Tomos Williams, 22 Steve Shingler, 23 Tom James
Referee: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)
Assistant Referees: Rhys Thomas (Wales), Simon Rees (Wales)
TMO: Paul Adams (Wales)
Munster 50-14 Connacht
Keith Earls, Jack O’Donoghue and Andrew Conway helped Munster to a 24-0 half-time lead. James Cronin extended the lead with Cian Kelleher going through for Connacht. Conway got a second as Munster continued their domination, but Naulia Dawai got a second for the beleaguered visitors. Francis Saili completed the job late on, with Conor Oliver’s final minute effort finishing it at 50-14.
It was a dominant first 40 for Munster who blew Connacht away with 25 first half points. Earls started the first-half rout on seven minutes when he was the recipient of Dan Goggin’s offload, Keatley neatly adding the two. In truth, Connacht didn't look bad going forward but it was at the other end that the hosts really dominated and the second try followed midway through the half.
O’Donoghue had the final say but there were notable touches in the build up from Conway and Cronin. The extras followed and so did the third try before half-time. The TMO gave the all clear to Conway as he went from provider to scorer to go inside the right corner. Keatley was on good form on his 150th appearance and he kicked Munster into a 24-0 half-time lead.
It only took three second half minutes for that lead to get even bigger as Cronin took advantage of the defensive lapses to grab the fourth try. Connacht did get themselves onto the scoresheet though as a cross-field kick helped Kelleher go through. Conway grabbed his second though to continue the rout for Munster, with Dawai soon after getting a second for Connacht who at least kept it competitive.
Saili got another for Munster late on and the half century was brought up by Oliver as they ended the regular season with six wins on the spin and a 50-14 rout to top the PRO12 table.
The scorers:
For Munster:
Tries: Earls, O'Donoghue, Conway 2, Cronin, Saili, Oliver
Cons: Keatley 6
Pen: Keatley
For Connacht:
Tries: Kelleher, Dawai
Cons: Ronaldson 2
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
Replacements: 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
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
Replacements: 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
Referee: David Wilkinson (Ireland)
Assistant Referees: Stuart Gaffikin (Ireland), Mark Patton (Ireland)
TMO: Simon McDowell (Ireland)
Zebre 3-19 Treviso
Treviso booked their passage into next season's Champions Cup as they defeated Italian rivals Zebre on their own patch, 19-3 on Saturday.
In a tense battle in Italy it was Treviso who enjoyed the better opening period, leading 10-3 at the break thanks to Marco Fuser's score. New Italy call-up Ian McKinley added a conversion and penalty while for Zebre their only points came via Carlo Canna's boot on 17 minutes.
McKinley extended his side's lead to 10 points three minutes after the break with his second penalty goal, with Zebre having it all to do.
The fly-half added to his and his team's tally on 50 and 54 minutes with his third and fourth penalty, which made it 19-3 to the visitors.
The scorers:
For Zebre:
Pen: Canna
For Treviso:
Try: Fuser
Con: McKinley
Pens: McKinley 4
Yellow Cards: Fuser, Pasquali
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
Replacements: 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
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
Replacements: 16 Davide Giazzon, 17 Alberto Porolli, 18 Tiziano Pasquali, 19 Teofilo Paulo, 20 Marco Lazzaroni, 21 Edoardo Gori, 22 Tito Tebaldi, 23 Andrea Pratichetti
Referee: Marius Mitrea (Italy)
Assistant Referees: Emanuele Tomo (Italy), Simone Boaretto (Italy)
TMO: Carlo Damasco (Italy)