Ospreys edge Scarlets in cliffhanger

A gripping first half saw John Barclay and Aled Davies cross over for the hosts but Hanno Dirksen and Alun Wyn Jones responded in kind as the two sides reached half-time level.

The boot of Aled Thomas edged the hosts in front but the Ospreys – the only Welsh region to beat the Scarlets in their own back yard since April 2010 – hit back through Eli Walker.

Dan Biggar missed a straightforward penalty and it looked as though he would be left to regret that, only for Shingler to follow suit and the Ospreys to inflict just the Scarlets' second league defeat in their last 23 games on home soil.

Scarlets took the early initiative and a rolling maul edged them towards the try line, only for Morgan Allen – taking on his former side – to knock on.

The danger was cleared but the hosts were not to be deterred and the opening try arrived on 11 minutes, following a series of pick-and-drives.

A resilient Ospreys defence looked to have kept them at bay, until the ball went wide and Hadleigh Parkes found flank Barclay on the right wing to cross over, Thomas converting.

Biggar soon hit back with a penalty but Thomas followed suit from distance with 18 minutes on the clock, after Josh Matavesi and Ben John were caught offside, to restore the seven-point lead.

Ken Owens was next to be penalised by referee Nigel Owens – for not rolling away – and Biggar duly doubled his tally for the afternoon from in front of the target.

The penalty pendulum swung again, Thomas tapping over from close range on 25 minutes, but the Scarlets soon suffered a setback when Barclay was forced off with a hand injury.

It soon got worse, Ospreys captain Jones charging down a Davies clearance on the Scarlets line and Dirksen driven over the line following the resulting scrum – Biggar's conversion drawing the visitors level.

Davies made amends five minutes before the break, quickly capitalising after Jack Condy was stopped short to sneak over the line and score. Thomas converted again.

But that was not the final act of the half as, following a yellow card for Scarlets lock Jake Ball, Jones was on the end of a rampaging Ospreys move to touch down, Biggar's conversion levelling things up at half time.

The numerical disadvantage didn't stop Scarlets edging ahead early in the second half, courtesy of a Thomas penalty – and he added three more points after a dangerous Matavesi tackle.

However, shortly before the hour mark the Ospreys struck, prop Dmitri Arhip skipping down the left touchline and offloading to Walker to streak clear.

Biggar's conversion put the visitors ahead for the first time but he missed the chance to extend that newfound lead from the tee, sending a penalty wide.

At the other end Martin Roberts denied the Scarlets a crucial try, reading a DTH van der Merwe offload to intercept and halt the hosts in their tracks.

With the Ospreys looking to wind down the clock, their hosts turned the ball over and found their way into the opposition 22, where Dan Lydiate was penalised for a dangerous tackle.

But, in the final minute, replacement flyhalf Shingler sent the penalty wide of the left-hand upright.

The scorers:

For Scarlets:

Tries: Barclay, A Davies

Cons: Thomas 2

Pens: Thomas 4

For Ospreys:

Tries: Dirksen, Jones, Walker

Cons: Biggar 3

Pens: Biggar 2

Scarlets: 15 Michael Collins, 14 Steff Evans, 13 Gareth Owen, 12 Hadleigh Parkes, 11 DTH van der Merwe, 10 Aled Thomas, 9 Aled Davies, 8 Morgan Allen, 7 John Barclay, 6 Aaron Shingler, 5 Lewis Rawlins, 4 Jake Ball, 2 Ken Owens (captain), 1 Rob Evans. 

Replacements: 16 Emyr Phillips, 17 Phil John, 18 Rhodri Jones, 19 George Earle, 20 Jack Condy, 21 Gareth Davies, 22 Steve Shingler, 23 Regan King.

Ospreys: 15 Dan Evans, 14 Hanno Dirksen, 13 Ben John, 12 Josh Matavesi, 11 Eli Walker, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Tom Habberfield, 8 James King, 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Alun Wyn Jones (captain), 4 Lloyd Ashley, 3 Dmitri Arhip, 2 Scott Baldwin, 1 Paul James. 

Replacements: 16 Sam Parry, 17 Nicky Smith, 18 Aaron Jarvis, 19 Rory Thornton, 20 Dan Baker, 21 Olly Cracknell, 22 Martin Roberts, 23 Sam Davies.

Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)

Assistant Referees: Leighton Hodges (Wales), Wayne Davies (Wales)

TMO: Jon Mason (Wales)

Connacht 3-10 Ulster

Ulster had to leave it late but Nick Williams' 76th minute try handed them a 10-3 victory at high-flying Connacht.

Paddy Jackson's penalty was all that separated the sides after a tight first period that belonged to the defences.

But after another nip-and-tuck second half which saw AJ MacGinty level the scores, Williams was set up by Luke Marshall – who had earlier seen yellow – for the game's decisive try that handed Pat Lam's troops their first defeat at home all season.

It was the high-flying Connacht who started the brighter side at the Sportsground, forcing some early pressure inside the Ulster 22 with Jack Carty kicking a penalty to the corner on four minutes.

Lam's side looked for the catch-and-drive, but Ulster stood firm before Carty's kick through was collected and the visitors were able to clear.

Ruan Pienaar caught Kieran Marmion in possession after 14 minutes and Paddy Jackson was able to kick for touch inside the Connacht 22 with the hosts penalised for holding on.

But skipper John Muldoon earned the turnover for his side getting in over the ball to relieve the pressure.

Neither side could force themselves into the ascendency with both defences winning crucial penalties or forcing knock-ons inside their own territory.

But the first real scoring opportunity came on 29 minutes when Connacht's numbers forced a penalty 15 metres outside the Ulster 22, but Craig Ronaldson's effort off the tee was both short and wide of the posts.

And Ulster punished their hosts, who were penalised for hands in the ruck three minutes later, and Jackson slotted his kick from ten metres inside the touchline to make it 3-0.

The visitors looked to add to their tally before half-time, and with Connacht pinged at the breakdown once more Ulster were able to kick to touch inside the 22.

But that line-out was turned over and Niyi Adeolokun was able to clear to keep it very tight at the interval.

Connacht began the second half in the ascendancy, with Tiernan O'Halloran and Adeolokun making key breaks, but the latter was hauled into touch.

Lam's side were dominating both the possession and territory, and were handed a golden opportunity to draw level after 48 minutes with Ulster off their feet on the 22, but again Ronaldson's kick was wide – shaving the left upright.

Ulster spurned a golden try-scoring opportunity when Luke Marshall's pass fell short of Andrew Trimble who was in space on the right wing, but momentum seemed to switch towards Connacht with the introduction of MacGinty after 56 minutes.

He almost made an immediate impact with a chip through for Bundee Aki and Marmion to chase, but in the aftermath Marshall saw yellow via the TMO for a deliberate trip on the 25-year-old.

And with Ulster a man down, Connacht made their advantage count, winning a penalty at the scrum for MacGinty to level the contest from the tee.

Ulster were soon back to full strength and began to go through the phases as the game entered the final ten minutes protecting possession well, and after a brilliant scrum the room was there for Marshall to charge towards the line before setting up Nick Williams to score.

Jackson added the extras, and while Connacht had the opportunity to run the ball back at Ulster, they were turned over on halfway meaning they still have just one win in their last 19 clashes with their Irish rivals.

The scorers:

For Connacht:

Pen: MacGinty

For Ulster: 

Try: Williams

Con: Jackson

Pen: Jackson

Teams:

Connacht: 15 Tiernan O'Halloran, 14 Niyi Adeolokun, 13 Bundee Aki, 12 Craig Ronaldson, 11 Matt Healy, 10 Jack Carty, 9 Kieran Marmion, 8 Eoghan Masterson, 7 James Connolly, 6 John Muldoon (captain), 5 Aly Muldowney, 4 Ultan Dillane, 3 Nathan White, 2 Dave Heffernan, 1 Finlay Bealham.

Replacements: 16 Shane Delahunt, 17 Ronan Loughney, 18 Rodney Ah You, 19 Andrew Browne, 20 Sean O'Brien, 21 Ian Porter, 22 AJ MacGinty, 23 Rory Parata.

Ulster: 15 L Ludik, 14 A Trimble, 13 L Marshall, 12 S McCloskey, 11 R Scholes, 10 P Jackson, 9 R Pienaar, 8 N Williams, 7 S Reidy, 6 R Diack, 5 F van der Merwe, 4 A O'Connor, 3 W Herbst, 2 R Herring (captain), 1 A Warwick.

Replacements: 16 J Andrew, 17 C Black, 18 R Lutton, 19 S Mulholland, 20 R Wilson, 21 P Marshall, 22 I Humphreys, 23 S Arnold.

Referee: Peter Ferguson (Ireland)

Assistant referees: Dudley Phillips (Ireland), Eddie Hogan-O'Connell (Ireland)

TMO: Jude Quins (Ireland)