Edinburgh front row club scores big in bonus-point win
* In other Friday action Leinster bounced back from successive European losses to beat Ulster 8-3 at the RDS.
* Adam Ashe rode to the rescue for Glasgow Warriors as the Scotland No.8 denied a superb Benetton Treviso their first Pro12 win of the season after crossing late on.
We look at all the Friday action!
Edinburgh 32-13 Newport Gwent Dragons
Two tries from their props were enough for Edinburgh to cruise past Newport Gwent Dragons 32-6 at Murrayfield in the Pro12.
Willem Nel went over in the first half as the Scots led 13-6 but in the second half the Dragons paid the price for their indiscipline.
They picked up four yellow cards in the second 40 minutes, with Alasdair Dickinson and then Tom Brown crossing for the home side.
And Matt Scott finished the scoring in the final minute to hand Edinburgh the bonus point in front of their home fans.
Edinburgh took the lead in the sixth minute with a penalty from Sam Hidalgo-Clyne but the Dragons responded in kind through Dorian Jones.
Still, the home side were enjoying more territory and possession and that told midway through the half when they went over from close range.
After a series of pick and drives, Nel had enough power to crash through around the fringe for his first Pro12 try of the season. Hidalgo-Clyne converted to stretch the lead to 10-3 to Alan Solomons' men.
The scrumhalf added another penalty to push the lead to double figures, but that was matched by Jones with four minutes remaining in the half to get the Dragons back to within a score.
Edinburgh will have thought they deserved to be further clear, and they looked to be over again through Nel right on the stroke of half-time.
After some lovely hands and offloading between forwards and backs, Nel picked from a ruck and powered forward. He was hauled down just short and tried to reach for the line.
It was clear after checking with the TMO that Nel had committed a double movement however and the try was ruled out, allowing the Dragons to escape at half-time.
One area in which Edinburgh were completely dominant was at scrum-time, and that continued in the second half.
A final warning for the Dragons wasn't heeded, and Boris Stankovich was soon given ten minutes in the bin as Edinburgh continued to turn the screw through Nel.
He was soon joined by his replacement Phil Price as the Dragons continued to suffer in the scrum.
Edinburgh should have made them pay with one great break from Will Helu who set up Blair Kinghorn on the angle but the replacement full-back knocked on.
They didn't have to wait long for their second try though, and just as Stankovich prepared to return, opposite number Dickinson was on hand out wide on the left to just squeeze over.
The punishment was doubled when the Dragons lost Jones to a yellow card for a tip tackle in the build-up, and Hidalgo-Clyne converted to make it 20-6 as Edinburgh stretched away.
The Dragons coped well a man down, but just as Jones prepared to return, Nic Cudd was given a yellow card for some cynical play, and against 14 men, Hidalgo-Clyne used the overlap to send his winger Brown over.
And after Will Helu had been stopped just short of the line, Scott added the fourth try, bursting through in midfield and sprinting over.
The scorers:
For Edinburgh:
Tries: Nel, Dickinson, Brown, Scott
Cons: Hidalgo-Clyne 2, Kinghorn
Pens: Hidalgo-Clyne 2
Newport Gwent Dragons:
Try: Cudd
Con: Jones
Pens: Jones 2
Yellow cards: Boris Stankovich (Newport Gwent Dragons, 47), Phil Price (Newport Gwent Dragons, 53), Dorian Jones (Newport Gwent Dragons, 59), Nic Cudd (Newport Gwent Dragons, 70)
Teams:
Edinburgh: 15 Greig Tonks, 14 Tom Brown, 13 Chris Dean, 12 Matt Scott, 11 Will Helu, 10 Phil Burleigh, 9 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, 8 Cornell Du Preez, 7 John Hardie, 6 Mike Coman (captain), 5 Fraser McKenzie, 4 Alex Toolis, 3 WP Nel, 2 Ross Ford, 1 Alasdair Dickinson.
Replacements: 16 Neil Cochrane, 17 Rory Sutherland, 18 John Andress, 19 Jamie Ritchie, 20 Hamish Watson, 21 Sean Kennedy, 22 Mike Allen, 23 Blair Kinghorn.
Newport Gwent Dragons: 15 Carl Meyer, 14 Tom Prydie, 13 Adam Hughes, 12 Adam Warren, 11 Ashton Hewitt, 10 Dorian Jones, 9 Charlie Davies, 8 Ed Jackson, 7 Ollie Griffiths, 6 Nick Crosswell, 5 Rynard Landman (captain), 4 Matthew Screech, 3 Shaun Knight, 2 Elliot Dee, 1 Boris Stankovich.
Replacements: 16 Thomas Rhys Thomas, 17 Phil Price, 18 Lloyd Fairbrother, 19 Cory Hill, 20 Nic Cudd, 21 Sarel Pretorius, 22 Jason Tovey, 23 Ross Wardle.
Referee: Marius Mitrea (Italy)
Assistant referees: Sam Grove-White (Scotland), Cammy Rudkin (Scotland)
TMO: Jim Yuille (Scotland) & Neil Paterson (Scotland)
Glasgow Warriors 13-6 Benetton Treviso
Adam Ashe rode to the rescue for Glasgow Warriors as the Scotland No.8 denied a superb Benetton Treviso their first Pro12 win of the season after crossing late on.
History suggested Treviso would be in for an uphill struggle – they had not won on their travels in the Pro12 since 2013, while the Warriors had won their last 15 games against Italian opposition.
But on a night where the weather played its part, Treviso made the fewest mistakes following Finn Russell's early penalty for Glasgow.
Jayden Hayward responded for Treviso by slotting two penalties in the first half, though missed two further efforts either side of half-time as the visitors failed to pull away.
It came back to haunt Treviso as with nine minutes left, Ashe rumbled over following a five-metre scrum before Duncan Weir added the conversion and a penalty.
The hosts got off to a lightning start as Scotland fly-half Russell split the posts with a penalty in the third minute.
But after Russell kicked out to halfway on the full, Treviso started to build pressure and put the Warriors on the backfoot.
And though no try came from it, Hayward took the opportunity to level the scores from the tee after a Glasgow infringement.
The Italians continued to look like the team most likely to make a breakthrough, prodding and probing without making an incisive break, after a promising Warriors attack came to a halt due to a knock-on.
But the key difference was that Treviso held firm in defence while Glasgow leaked penalties – and one of them saw Hayward boot his side into the lead in the 32nd minute.
Glasgow did have a golden chance to seize back the initiative after winning a penalty just side their own half, which Russell kicked to touch.
That led to a line-out with the try-line looming but Treviso won back the ball before racing back up the field and winning another shot at goal that Hayden missed.
Upon the restart it continued tit-for-tat and there were no signs of Treviso, the only team yet to win in the Pro12 this season, slowing down.
Indeed they won another attempt at goal in the 50th minute but Hayward missed his second consecutive kick to leave the score hinged on 6-3.
Conditions were only worsening at a rain-swept Scotstoun and Warriors brought on Scotland internationals Ryan Grant – on his 100th appearance for the club – and Josh Strauss as they strived to turn the tide.
Those replacements certainly made a difference and Glasgow pinned a defiant Treviso back well into their own 22 as the game entered the final 15 minutes.
Having won a penalty five metres out from the try-line the Warriors chose to scrum down – and the decision paid off.
Ashe was the one to dive over the line in the 71st minute and Weir made no mistake with the conversion to give Warriors a seven-point buffer.
With Treviso's resistance finally broken, Weir added another penalty moments from time before Scotstoun breathed a sigh of relief.
The scorers:
For Glasgow Warriors:
Try: Ashe
Con: Weir
Pens: Russell, Weir
For Benetton Treviso:
Pens: Hayward 2
Teams:
Glasgow Warriors: 15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Taqele Naiyaravoro, 13 Mark Bennett, 12 Alex Dunbar, 11 Sean Lamont, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Grayson Hart, 8 Adam Ashe, 7 Chris Fusaro, 6 Rob Harley, 5 Jonny Gray (captain), 4 Tim Swinson, 3 Mike Cusack, 2 Shalva Mamukashvili, 1 Gordon Reid.
Replacements: 16 James Malcolm, 17 Ryan Grant, 18 Sila Puafisi, 19 Greg Peterson, 20 Josh Strauss, 21 Ali Price, 22 Duncan Weir, 23 Sam Johnson.
Treviso: 15 Luke McLean (captain), 14 Andrea Pratichetti, 13 Tommaso Iannone, 12 Sam Christie, 11 Simone Ragusi, 10 Jayden Hayward, 9 Chris Smylie, 8 Abraham Steyn, 7 Francesco Minto, 6 Marco Barbini, 5 Jeff Montauriol, 4 Teofilo Paulo, 3 Filippo Filippetto, 2 Ornel Gega, 1 Matteo Zanusso.
Replacements: 16 Luca Bigi, 17 Alberto De Marchi, 18 Salesi Manu, 19 Dean Budd, 20 Marco Lazzaroni, 21 Andrea De Marchi, 22 Edoardo Gori, 23 James Ambrosini.
Referee: David Wilkinson (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Lloyd Linton (Scotland), Graeme Wells (Scotland)
Leinster 8-3 Ulster
Leinster bounced back from successive to European losses to beat Ulster 8-3 at the RDS and cement their place in the play-off places in the Pro12.
They managed just one try in cold conditions in Dublin, through Sean Cronin, but showed their defensive ability, particularly through the impressive flanker Josh van der Flier.
And in the end they were able to hold on as Ulster couldn't find a way through in the second half, which ended scoreless.
The home side started the better and led after just five minutes thanks to a Johnny Sexton penalty, while Paddy Jackson was off-target with his first attempt soon after.
Jackson did level matters on 13 minutes, but Leinster were looking the more dangerous side, and on a couple of occasions they were close to going over.
They looked sure to score midway through the half after a long period of possession in the Ulster 22. When the forwards couldn't quite bludgeon their way over, Leinster turned to their backs, but an uncharacteristically poor pass from Isa Nacewa gave Zane Kirchner no chance, and the Springbok knocked on out wide.
Leinster were then dealt a blow when Luke McGrath picked up what looked to be a serious knee injury and had to be replaced by Eoin Reddan.
Dominating possession, Leinster turned down an easy shot at goal to kick for the corner, only to see Robbie Diack steal a second successive line-out.
Cronin was the guilty party with the throw, but soon made up for it when he emerged from the pile of bodies to score the game's first try.
After Ulster were caught offside in midfield, Leinster this time won the line-out, and set the up the rolling maul perfectly. Ulster had no answer and Cronin was the man at the back of the drive who claimed the try. Sexton missed the conversion but the home side led 8-3 at the break.
It was scant reward for Leinster's territorial dominance, and they managed to maintain that advantage in the early stages of the second period.
As had been the case for much of the first half, they struggled to turn it into points though, and Ulster eventually got some territory of their own.
Like Leinster they were struggling to take their opportunities, and one incursion into the opposition 22 ended with a penalty for the home side when Marty Moore got over the ball before the Ulster support.
It was scrappy stuff with neither team really able to find a way through as the half remained scoreless before a long delay when Noel Reid appeared to pick up a serious leg injury which saw him depart minutes after coming on.
And although Ulster had their chances late on, there was no way through.
The scorers:
For Leinster:
Try: Cronin
Pen: Sexton
For Ulster:
Pen: Jackson
Teams:
Leinster: 15 Rob Kearney, 14 Zane Kirchner, 13 Ben Te'o, 12 Ian Madigan, 11 Luke Fitzgerald, 10 Johnny Sexton, 9 Luke McGrath, 8 Jamie Heaslip (captain), 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Rhys Ruddock, 5 Mike McCarthy, 4 Devin Toner, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Sean Cronin, 1 Jack McGrath.
Replacements: 16 James Tracy, 17 Peter Dooley, 18 Martin Moore, 19 Ross Molony, 20 Dominic Ryan, 21 Eoin Reddan, 22 Noel Reid, 23 Garry Ringrose.
Ulster: 15 Peter Nelson, 14 Andrew Trimble, 13 Darren Cave, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Craig Gilroy, 10 Paddy Jackson, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Nick Williams, 7 Sean Reidy, 6 Robbie Diack, 5 Dan Tuohy, 4 Iain Henderson, 3 Wiehahn Herbst, 2 Rory Best (captain), 1 Kyle McCall.
Replacements: 16 Rob Herring, 17 Andrew Warwick, 18 Ricky Lutton, 19 Roger Wilson, 20 Chris Henry, 21 Paul Marshall, 22 Ian Humphreys, 23 Louis Ludik.
Referee: John Lacey (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Peter Fitzgibbon (Ireland), Olly Hodges (Ireland)
TMO: Dermot Moloney (Ireland)
Source: @PRO12rugby
