Connacht 33-19 Treviso
Another great win for Connacht in the Sportsground but a strong start from Treviso meant Connacht had to work to pull away in the first half.
Craig Ronaldson began the weekend’s scoring with a kick at goal in the 3rd minute to give Connacht an early lead.
A lot of back and forth rugby commenced in the next fifteen minutes as both sides felt each other out but no sign of a scoring opportunity was created by either side.
Finally, after 20 minutes of play, Ronaldson was given another kick at the goal to increase the lead to six points.
Treviso attacked with urgency from the restart, feeling they were slowly falling behind and were rewarded with a try from fullback Jayden Hayward. Hayward was also on kicking duty for the day but was unable to bring it to seven.
Connacht, feeling threatened by the trailing Italians, increased the attacking tempo led by the returning Robbie Henshaw. The heightened pressure resulted in another penalty five minutes from the break, which Ronaldson easily slotted over.
Connacht were given one more kick before half-time, this time Ronaldson just pushing it wide.
Connacht looked to start the second half strong, again with Henshaw at the helm as he touched down in the corner for Connacht’s first try, two minutes into the half. Ronaldson converted to push Connacht further into the lead.
Treviso looked to keep Connacht on their toes, responding with a try of their own five minutes later. Jayden Hayward bundled over the line for his second of the day, this time managing to convert.
It only took five more minutes for another try to be scored, this time by the home side. Tom McCartney ran in Connacht’s second try after being on the pitch for only three minutes.
USA Eagles outhalf, AJ MacGinty, saw his Connacht debut with just under 20 minutes on the clock, replacing Jack Carty.
Connacht were awarded another penalty and Ronaldson converted giving Connacht a safe 14 point lead as they headed into the last 10 minutes.
Connacht crossed the line again with five minutes remaining, this time in the hands of Matt Healy. Ronaldson slotted home another superb kick for the extras.
However, Treviso refused to switch off until the final whistle as the Italians turned the ball over, giving Edoardo Gori the chance to score a consolation try.
Connacht move to the top, in the lead by a single point, while Treviso remain firmly rooted at the bottom, polar opposites.
Leinster 19-15 Scarlets
Scarlets lost their first game of the season after a hard fought match against Leinster in Dublin. Leinster denied the visitors any scoring chance in the second half to come from behind and win.
Scarlets got the scoring started early with a try in the fourth minute from Hadleigh Parkes after a prolonged period on the Leinster line. Daniel Jones converted an easy ball in front of the posts.
Poor discipline from Scarlets resulted in a yellow card for Jake Ball for a collapsed a maul and several minutes later an offside gave Ian Madigan a shot at the goal, which he used to bring the score to within four.
Leinster continued to slowly chip away at the visitors defense until they ended up with a kick in the 20th minute. Madigan put it over easily to bring it to a one point game.
Scarlets re-organised and went on the attack from the restart. A break from Gareth Davies at the scrum eventually led the ball to Gareth Owen who scored in the corner. Jones missed the conversion and Scarlets led by six.
Madigan kicked home another penalty after Davies took out the scrumhalf from the breakdown.
A kick at goal from Jones in the last 10 minutes of the half saw Scarlets last score of the game. A penalty taken from Aled Thomas at the stroke of half time was the last chance at goal Scarlets would see but fell short.
With five minutes gone in the second half, a maul off the back of a lineout brought Leinster to the Scarlets’ try-line. After a few pods drove at the Scarlets’ defense, it was Mike Ross who found his way over the line.
The game’s intensity began to wane as it hit the 50 minute mark due to a mixture of substitutions and discipline issues for the referee and TMO to sort out.
Leinster got another kick at goal in the 61st minute. Madigan retained his place at kicker despite Johnny Sexton entering play.
Well organised defense and good discipline in key areas allowed Leinster to hold off the visitors advances for the remainder of the match.
Leinster stay put at fourth but the Scarlets are booted out of their first place spot and down to third.
Ospreys 36-3 Zebre
Ospreys finished the game with only their second win of the season but with much improved form following the return of many key players from World Cup duty.
The scoring started with a try from Ospreys after eight minutes. Jonathan Spratt finished well in the corner but Dan Biggar struck the post from the conversion.
Zebre’s first opportunity was a kick at goal but Carlo Canna couldn’t find the target.
Ospreys scored a second try after only 16 minutes this time from Josh Matavesi under the posts. Biggar converted from an easy kick.
Seemingly running on an eight minute clock Ospreys ran in another try, Eli Walker the man to touch down but great work from Justin Tipuric, Dan Evans and Alun-Wyn Jones in the build up. However , Biggar couldn’t convert again.
With 30 minutes gone, Canna lined up a kick at goal for their only three points of the day after Ospreys interfered with the ruck.
The game went to half-time with another missed kick from Biggar from a long range penalty.
Zebre defended well going into the second half but couldn’t muster a score. They managed to withhold Ospreys for 15 minutes but eventually Tipuric broke through to give Ospreys the bonus point. Biggar missed another kick which made it four missed from five so far.
Ospreys pushed on defiantly with a point to prove after their poor start to the season and secured another try in the 62nd minute, a second for Eli Walker and Biggar managed to find the goal this time.
With just ten minutes to go the referee obstructed Sam Davies as he went for the line and gave the Ospreys a penalty. The ball ended up with substitute Sam Parry who drove over the line for an Ospreys’ sixth. Sam Davies took the final conversion for the day and slotting it over easily.
Ospreys take a large jump up to eight but face a huge mountain to climb to have any hope of reaching the top four while Zebre descend back down to tenth a familiar part of the table.
Cardiff Blues 30-35 Glasgow Warriors
The defending champions left the Cardiff Arms Park with a bonus point victory. A very entertaining game in which both teams performed well but the Warriors edged ahead to show why they are the title holders.
Glasgow drew first blood after five minutes as Finn Russell split the posts. Cardiff brought it back level quickly as Rhys Patchell stepped up to the tee.
Patchell was given another chance at goal after 13 and 20 minutes, converting both despite the windy conditions.
The Warriors also claimed the first try in the 26th minute through second row Leone Nakarawa but Russell wasn’t able to convert.
The Blues wasted no time in retaliating. Gavin Evans scored in the corner after some lovely backs play to give Cardiff a try of their own.
Glasgow’s poor discipline continued giving Patchell another chance to extend Cardiff’s lead as he added three points.
Just as Cardiff looked to go to the break with a nine points lead, Tommy Seymour made a break before feeding Taqele Naiyaravoro, who dived into the corner. Russell added the extras and Cardiff only led by two at half-time.
Russell got the second half underway with a penalty only a minute into the half, putting the Warriors in front.
An extremely tense 20 minutes commenced only to be broken by a yellow card being shown to Ryan Wilson for repeated infringements in the ruck. Cardiff used the penalty effectively and Rhys Patchell converted to go five from six.
Cardiff used the extra man to their advantage, forcing another penalty from the retreating Warriors. Patchell put one more over for Cardiff to lead by five.
The Blues’ lead lasted until the 70th minute, Ryan Grant burst through for Glasgow and Russell made good on the conversion to take the lead again.
Glasgow extended their lead further as Jonny Gray barged his way over the line to be awarded a try and a bonus point with the TMO’s approval.
With only five minutes to go, Russell looked to have sealed victory with another converted kick at goal but Cardiff still had some fight left with two minutes to go. Following Stuart Hogg being sent to the sin bin for a deliberate knock-on, Patchell slotted over a penalty try to bring them within five.
As the the clock hit the 83rd minute, Cardiff had pushed into Glasgow’s 22. It wasn’t enough, however, as Mike Blair stole possession and booted the ball dead.
Glasgow move up to sixth place as their wins now outweigh their losses, while Cardiff fall down to second from the bottom after a five loss streak.
Edinburgh 14-16 Munster
A hard fought but incredibly poor performance from both sides saw Munster leave Murrayfield with a narrow win.
Munster started strong with a try from John Ryan in the eight minute, coming from a short range burst after a number of phases on the Edinburgh line. Ian Keatley converted to put the visitors up by seven.
Edinburgh drew a few points back with a kick at goal and Sam Hidalgo-Clyne at the tee.
A minute later Gerhard Van Der Heever was binned for tackling Tom Brown in the air. This seemed to open the floodgates for the ill-discipline and poor play that plagued the remainder of the game.
Plenty of penalties were awarded but it wasn’t until the 30th minute that one was in range of the goals. Edinburgh were pinged for not driving straight in the scrum and Keatley took full advantage of the opportunity.
One more scoring chance was presented before the half, this time an Edinburgh penalty for not rolling away and Hidalgo-Clyne converted. Half-time came with Munster ahead by four points.
The poor play continued into the second half but Edinburgh managed to focus on the objective for a few phases and were rewarded with a try. Damien Hoyland made a break and the ball was moved back across the field for William Helu to go over in the corner. Hidalgo-Clyne missed the conversion and Edinburgh only go ahead by one.
Keatley squandered an opportunity to go back in front from a penalty several minutes later as the ball dropped short.
Edinburgh seemed to be shifting the tide after 55 minutes. The Scottish side now held dominance in the scrum and a yellow card for Francis Saili not rolling away looked to give Edinburgh the advantage.
Hidalgo-Clyne converted the penalty from Saili’s infringement but Keatley stopped Edinburgh from breaking away with a kick at goal of his own.
Another incident of poor play allowed fro Keatley to put Munster back in front with a two point lead in the 68th minute.
The comedy of errors continued for the rest of the game, as no other points were scored. The game was summed up in the 75th minute when Greig Tonks was shown a yellow for playing the scrumhalf at the breakdown, only one of several identical infringments to happen within the final ten minutes.
Edinburgh came close to a last minute win as Hidalgo-Clyne went for a drop goal, only for it to be blocked down by CJ Stander.
Munster push up to second, just a point behind leaders, Connacht. Edinburgh are lowered down to seventh behind country-men, Glasgow, only due to points difference.
Dragons 12-19 Ulster
A slow start for a Ulster side who had to dig deep to leave Rodney Parade with a win. The Dragons looked set to win early on with a nine point lead, but sloppy play at the breakdown gave Ulster a foothold to stay in it.
After some back and forth play in the first ten minutes, it was the Dragons who got the first score on the board. Dorian Jones had an easy shot right in front of the posts.
The Dragons looked to be pushing ahead and were given some room to breath when Stuart McCloskey was sent to the bin in the 15th minute for tripping Jones as he chased a grubber kick.
Jones racks up another two penalties in the proceeding 5 minutes giving the Dragons a nine point lead.
Paddy Jackson managed to claw three points back for Ulster after the Dragons were caught offside.
Ulster had another penalty five minutes before half-time, Jackson again making easy work of it.
Ulster looked like a different team coming out after the break. Ligtoring Landman was sent to the bin for slowing down the ball in the ruck, giving Ulster every opportunity to launch a counter attack.
Ulster exploited their one-man advantage, Paul Marshall sniped through the Dragons line from the edge of a ruck, untouched in the 50th minute. Jackson converted for Ulster to take the lead.
Rory best joined the game just after the 50 minute mark only to be sent back to the stand several minutes later with a yellow card for being offside at the ruck. The Dragons added three points from the resulting penalty.
With ten minutes to go, Jackson added two more penalties to the score sheet for Ulster to lead by seven.
The Dragons very nearly secured a draw as Landman tried to burst through the Ulster defense but the TMO determined that it was held up. The Dragons had a final go after the scrum but Ulster forced a penalty and brought the game to full-time.
Ulster stay at fifth for the third week in a row, while move down to ninth in the table.
