Connacht bully Scarlets into submission

The Irish side's pack scored three tries from catch-and-drives either side of half-time, two for Jake Heenan and one for Denis Buckley, and grabbed the bonus point try courtesy of Rodney Ah Who.

DTH van der Merwe had gone over early in the second half to give the Pro12 leaders hope but Connacht's dominance upfront meant the contest was already over by the time Gareth Owen scored the Welsh region's second try late on.

*Munster kept their play-off ambitions on track with a hard fought 16-12 win over Zebre at the Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi. Lying in fifth coming into the game, Munster were playing their first league match since early January, and showed all their experience to grind out the win.

In foggy conditions at the Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi, it was the visitors who narrowly led 13-12 at half-time, thanks to a converted try from Mark Chisholm and two Ian Keatley penalties. Zebre stayed in it though, largely thanks to the efforts of flyhalf Kelly Haimona, who knocked over four first-half penalties. But a Keatley drop goal after the break proved enough to stretch Munster clear and they saw out the remainder of the game.

*Sean Reidy's try broke Benetton Treviso's resistance in the second half as Ulster's patience paid off in a 32-13 victory at Stadio Monigo. Ian Humphreys scored two penalties to Jayden Hayward's one before the break, as Ulster took in a 6-3 lead – though Treviso had put the visitors under periods of heavy pressure.

But the dam burst when Reidy crossed in the 52nd minute, as he was quickly followed by Darren Cave and Rory Scholes. The bonus point was the only question left at that stage and it came via the lively Stuart Olding before Braam Steyn got a deserved try for the hosts.

*Dan Fish's early try proved to be the difference as Cardiff Blues notched a fourth consecutive triumph in a low-scoring affair with Edinburgh at Cardiff Arms Park. After going seven league games without a win at one point this term, the Blues are now right back in form as they dealt high-flying Edinburgh's top-four chances a real blow with a 10-3 triumph.

Fish crossed the whitewash inside two minutes while Rhys Patchell kicked the other five points for the hosts and Nathan Fowles' first-half penalty was all Edinburgh could muster in response. Manoa Vosawai was a constant thorn in the Scottish outfit's side.

All Saturday's scores and scorers!

Connacht 30-17 Scarlets

The hosts started in dominant fashion against Scarlets as they enjoyed 98 percent possession in the opening eight minutes before finally taking the lead. Their power at scrum time had already resulted in an early penalty – which Carty missed – before the flyhalf made no mistake for 3-0.

But Scarlets almost went ahead a quarter of an hour in, when Hadleigh Parkes burst through tackles to make it into the 22 and the returning Williams would have crossed to score had he not been held up by Danie Poolman.

Connacht's forward dominance continued to be the most telling factor though and when Aly Muldowney took a lineout close to the visitors' try-line, Heenan held the ball at the back of the driving maul and they powered over to make it 8-0, with Carty unable to convert from close to the touchline as he struck the post.

Scarlets were making more metres than their hosts but Connacht went into the interval 13-0 to the good after a break from Henshaw wide right saw him close in on the try-line. The Welsh region were once again overpowered in the scrum and having kicked to the corner, Connacht scored an almost identical try to the first, this time on the opposite side on the pitch, as Heenan once again finished off a driving maul, with Carty failing to convert.

Scarlets did mount a mini-revival early in the second half though, as a high tackle on Owen allowed Aled Thomas to make it 13-3, before the Welsh region grabbed their first try of the afternoon moments later. Ryan Elias' power saw him make a break and after the ball was moved through the hands of Rhodri Williams and Owen, van der Merwe was left with an easy score, which Thomas converted to make it a three-point game.

However, the momentum swung once again just a minute later when Scarlets were penalised at another Connacht scrum and prop Phil John was yellow carded and Carty kicked the penalty. Three minutes later, they were down to 13 men as lock Tom Price was sent to the sin-bin for a high tackle on Caolin Blade.

Connacht made the most of the two-man advantage when Carty's penalty to the corner saw a variation of a similar theme as the line-out was thrown to the back this time, and after another drive, Buckley went over and Carty made it 23-10.

The contest was effectively finished with a quarter of an hour remaining when Rodney Ah You picked a good line close to the try line and powered over the whitewash – Carty making it 30-10.

Scarlets were given hope of a bonus point when several minutes of pressure finally paid off, as the ball was moved wide and Owen touched down. Thomas then converted a superb kick from the touchline to make it 30-17. Shingler looked like he was going to set up a losing bonus-point kick in additional time but he was taken into touch close to the try-line.

Scorers:

For Connacht:

Tries: Heenan 2, Buckley, Ah You

Cons: Carty 2

Pens: Carty 2

For Scarlets:

Tries: Van der Merwe, Owen

Cons: Thomas 2

Pen: Thomas

Yellow cards: Phil John (Scarlets – 46), Tom Price (Scarlets – 49), Dave Heffernan (Connacht – 81)

Teams:

Connacht: 15 Tiernan O’Halloran, 14 Danie Poolman, 13 Robbie Henshaw, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 Matt Healy, 10 Jack Carty, 9 Caolin Blade, 8 Eoghan Masterson, 7 Jake Heenan, 6 John Muldoon (captain), 5 Aly Muldowney, 4 George Naoupu, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Tom McCartney, 1 Denis Buckley.

Replacements: 16 Dave Heffernan, 17 Ronan Loughney, 18 Rodney Ah You, 19 Ultan Dillane, 20 James Connolly, 21 Ian Porter, 22 Craig Ronaldson, 23 Rory Parata.

Scarlets: 15 Liam Williams, 14 Tom Williams, 13 Gareth Owen, 12 Hadleigh Parkes (captain), 11 DTH van der Merwe, 10 Aled Thomas, 9 Rhodri Williams, 8 Morgan Allen, 7 Will Boyde, 6 Aaron Shingler, 5 Lewis Rawlins, 4 Tom Price, 3 Rhodri Jones, 2 Ryan Elias, 1 Phil John.

Replacements: 16 Kirby Myhill, 17 Dylan Evans, 18 Peter Edwards, 19 Jack Jones, 20 Tom Phillips, 21 Connor Lloyd, 22 Steven Shingler, 23 Michael Collins.

Referee: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)

Zebre 12-16 Munster

Munster got off to the perfect start when second row Chisholm was able to work his way over after a powerful rolling maul, with the TMO deeming that he had got the ball down. Keatley converted to make it 7-0 but Zebre responded through a penalty from Haimona after a good scrum.

They cut the deficit to a point when Munster were caught offside, with Haimona slotting his second penalty of the afternoon from inside the 22. Midway through the half, Zebre took the lead for the first time, with Haimona knocking over his third penalty of the game but that was quickly cancelled out by Keatley.

A good break from flank Johan Meyer got Zebre deep into the Munster 22 but the visitors got back just in time to force a scrum. That held but a penalty at the next breakdown allowed Haimona to put the Italian side back in front, 12-10.

Zebre then lost hooker Oliviero Fabiani to a yellow card and Keatley took advantage with three points to give Munster a narrow lead at the break. Dave O'Callaghan came on at half-time for Munster, but was quickly off again after picking up a yellow card for a high tackle.

It didn't prove costly though, with Zebre failing to take advantage of their extra man during a 10-minute spell. Haimona had missed the penalty that followed the O'Callaghan card but Keatley returned the favour when his effort just after the hour fell short.

Still, Munster were winning the territory battle, and turned another shot at three points with 12 minutes to go, instead kicking for the corner. The Zebre defence was resolute though and Munster found themselves further and further back. Eventually Keatley took matters into his own hands with a crucial drop goal to make it 16-12 with eight minutes to go.

He could have eased the tension with five minutes to go when Zebre were slow to roll away from a ruck, but the flyhalf pulled his effort wide.

Scorers:

For Zebre:

Pens: Haimona 4

For Munster:

Try: Chisholm

Con: Keatley

Pens: Keatley 2

DG: Keatley

Yellow cards: Oliviero Fabiani (Zebre – 32), Dave O'Callaghan (Munster – 47)

Teams:

Zebre: 15 Kayle Van Zyl, 14 Dion Berryman, 13 Tommaso Boni, 12 Matteo Pratichetti, 11 Michele Visentin, 10 Kelly Haimona, 9 Luke Burgess, 8 Jean Cook, 7 Johan Meyer, 6 Emiliano Caffini, 5 Marco Bortolami (captain), 4 Gideon Koegelenberg, 3 Pietro Ceccarelli, 2 Oliviero Fabiani, 1 Andrea De Marchi

Replacements: 16 Emiliano Coria, 17 Bruno Postiglioni, 18 Guillermo Roan, 19 Federico Ruzza, 20 Filippo Cristiano, 21 Giulio Toniolatti, 22 Mils Muliaina, 23 Ulrich Beyers

Munster: 15 Andrew Conway, 14 Darren Sweetnam, 13 Francis Saili, 12 Rory Scannell, 11 Ronan O'Mahony, 10 Ian Keatley, 9 Tomás O'Leary, 8 Robin Copeland, 7 Jack O'Donoghue, 6 Billy Holland (captain), 5 Mark Chisholm, 4 Dave Foley, 3 John Ryan, 2 Niall Scannell, 1 James Cronin.

Replacements: 16 Mike Sherry, 17 Dave Kilcoyne, 18 Mario Sagario, 19 Dave O'Callaghan, 20 Shane Buckley, 21 Duncan Williams, 22 Cian Bohane, 23 Gerhard van den Heever.

Referee: Dudley Phillips (Ireland)

Cardiff Blues 10-3 Edinburgh

The Blues' first attack of the match saw them go wide at pace to release Aled Summerhill and the speedster fed Fish to go over with Patchell duly adding the extras. Edinburgh began to fling the ball about in their backs but it was the hosts who almost had the game's second try on 14 minutes, Vosawai barrelled over but the score was chalked off for a double movement.

Patchell settled for a penalty to increase the advantage to 10-0 shortly afterwards before Fowles slotted a three-pointer of his own to narrow the deficit.

A series of big carries from Vosawai and Josh Navidi kept the Edinburgh defence on its toes with the former doing his best impression of a one-man wrecking ball. Patchell hit the post with a penalty before the game settled down either side of half-time, although Edinburgh made things harder for themselves on 55 minutes when Rory Sutherland was sin-binned for trying to slow down a quick Cardiff penalty.

To their credit, the visitors didn't concede despite their man disadvantage as Patchell missed another penalty. The Blues then had a second try disallowed as Patchell dived over in the corner but the TMO disallowed it for the flyhalf having a foot in touch.

With time running out, Edinburgh pushed forward looking for the score that would get them back in the game but ultimately came up short as the Cardiff defence held firm to secure a fifth win of the season.

Scorers:

For Cardiff Blues:

Try: Fish

Con: Patchell

Pen: Patchell

For Edinburgh:

Pen: Fowles

Yellow card: Rory Sutherland (Edinburgh – 54),

Teams:

Cardiff Blues: 15 Dan Fish, 14 Blaine Scully, 13 Rey Lee-Lo, 12 Gavin Evans, 11 Aled Summerhill, 10 Rhys Patchell, 9 Tavis Knoyle, 8 Manoa Vosawai, 7 Josh Navidi, 6 Ellis Jenkins, 5 James Down, 4 Jarrad Hoeata,3 Salesi Ma'afu, 2 Matthew Rees (captain), 1 Thomas Davies.

Replacements: 16 Ethan Lewis, 17 Bradley Thyer, 18 Dillon Lewis, 19 Macauley Cook, 20 Jevon Groves, 21 Tomos Williams, 22 Jarrod Evans, 23 Elis-Wyn Benham.

Edinburgh: 15 Greig Tonks,14 Dougie Fife, 13 Michael Allen, 12 Andries Strauss, 11 Tom Brown, 10 Phil Burleigh, 9 Nathan Fowles, 8 Cornell Du Preez, 7 Hamish Watson, 6 Jamie Ritchie, 5 Mike Coman (captain), 4 Alex Toolis, 3 John Andress, 2 Neil Cochrane, 1 Rory Sutherland.

Replacements: 16 Stuart McInally, 17 Allan Dell, 18 Simon Berghan, 19 Magnus Bradbury, 20 George Turner, 21 Sean Kennedy, 22 Will Helu, 23 Blair Kinghorn.

Referee: David Wilkinson (Ireland)

Benetton Treviso 13-32 Ulster

Treviso were on the search for their first Pro12 win of the season and but they were pinned back by the boot of Humphreys early in the game. The flyhalf slotted a penalty with 12 minutes gone to hand his side the initiative.

But that seemed to poke the Italians into action and it took a backs-to-the-wall effort for Ulster to win a turnover and clear their lines. Ulster continued to soak up pressure, with Treviso fullback Hayward looking particularly dangerous.

A Paul Marshall break nearly conjured something out of nothing for the Ulstermen but Hayward cancelled out Humphreys' penalty with one of his own in the 33rd minute. Humphreys, however, had the last word of the half after Treviso were pinged for offside, nudging the visitors ahead in an attritional contest.

Treviso were the more expansive side early in the second half and they were applying pressure at the scrum too but Hayward missed a penalty that would have levelled the scores. Reidy then got the all-important breakthrough for Ulster, as the openside flank profited from a maul to barrel over before Humphreys converted.

A piece of Olding wizardry saw Ulster go on the attack deep into the Treviso 22 once more, and Cave ran an incisive line to collect Marshall's pass and dart over. Humphreys converted and suddenly, by the 58th minute, Ulster were 20-6 to the good.

Five minutes later Ulster were on the hunt for a bonus-point try after wing Scholes intercepted and ran the distance, thanks to Cave who had put Treviso under pressure. A shell-shocked Treviso shored things up but 10 minutes before time, Olding produced the all-important bonus-point try.

The hosts did take away a consolation try for their efforts after Steyn crossed and Hayward converted.

Scorers:

For Treviso:

Try: Steyn

Con: Hayward

Pens: Hayward 2

For Ulster:

Tries: Reidy, Cave, Scholes, Olding

Cons: Humphreys 2, Olding

Pens: Humphreys 2

Teams:

Treviso: 15 Jayden Hayward, 14 Ludovico Nitoglia, 13 Enrico Bacchin, 12 Alberto Sgarbi (captain), 11 Tommaso Iannone, 10 Sam Christie, 9 Alberto Lucchese, 8 Robert Barbieri, 7 Marco Lazzaroni, 6 Andrea De Marchi, 5 Tom Palmer, 4 Filo Palmer, 3 Simone Ferrari, 2 Roberto Santamaria, 1 Alberto De Marchi.

Replacements: 16 Luca Bigi, 17 Cherif Traorè, 18 Filippo Filippetto, 19 Jeff Montauriol, 20 Abraham Steyn, 21 James Ambrosini, 22 Simone Ragusi, 23 Andrea Pratichetti.

Ulster: 15 Louis Ludik, 14 Rory Scholes, 13 Darren Cave, 12 Stuart Olding, 11 Craig Gilroy, 10 Ian Humphreys, 9 Paul Marshall, 8 Roger Wilson, 7 Sean Reidy, 6 Clive Ross, 5 Franco van der Merwe, 4 Alan O'Connor, 3 Ricky Lutton, 2 Rob Herring (captain), 1 Callum Black.

Replacements: 16 John Andrew, 17 Andrew Warwick, 18 Bronson Ross, 19 Pete Browne, 20 Lorcan Dow, 21 Dave Shanahan, 22 Luke Marshall, 23 Jacob Stockdale.

Referee: Ian Davies (Wales)