Glasgow shock the Ospreys
Jon Welsh and Colin Shaw profited from a superb Glasgow forwards display to help the Warriors cement their place in the Pro 12 play-off places with a rare 20-26 victory at the Ospreys.
Welsh and Shaw both crossed in the first half to complete a first season’s double over their Welsh opponents by becoming only the second side to win at the Liberty Stadium in the league since October 2010.
The victory could have been even more comfortable had Ruaridh Jackson not missed a pair of penalties against an Ospreys side who never managed to build on Hanno Dirksen’s early try.
Late yellow cards for Glasgow duo Johnnie Beattie and Al Kellock allowed Ospreys to rally through a Kahn Fotuali’I score but it was too little too late.
Meanwhile, Stephen Jones turned in a vintage display to extend Scarlets’ winning streak to eight games at home with a comfortable 38-10 victory over Connacht.
The 34-year-old flyhalf may no longer be wanted by Wales coach Warren Gatland but he proved his worth to his region with a penalty and four conversions in a superb display.
Andy Fenby, Kieran Murphy, Emyr Phillips, Rhodri Jones and Phil John added to the scoreline with a try each to equal the club’s best run for six years.
In Italy – Ian Madigan’s trusty boot steered Leinster to a dogged 22-6 victory over Aironi to equal the Pro 12 record of 14 matches without defeat.
Deprived of their international stars, Leinster never reached top gear as bottom hosted top, but 22-year-old flyhalf Madigan saw his stock continue to rise with five penalties and a conversion while replacement Noel Reid added a late try to hand the league leaders the victory.
In Friday’s final match South African flyhalf Ruan Pienaar was the architect as Ulster continued their dominant form at Ravenhill with a comfortable 38-16 bonus-point victory over Edinburgh to maintain their push for the Pro12 play-offs.
Pienaar was at the fore for the hosts, who have now lost just one in 19 matches on home soil, as Paul Marshall, Stefan Terblanche, Adam D’Arcy, Chris Cochrane, Ian Humphreys and a penalty try handed Ulster the five points.
For Edinburgh, their miserable run of consecutive defeats in 2012 extended to 12 as Michael Bradley’s men continue to flounder in the league despite reaching the Heineken Cup quarterfinals.
Friday’s scores and scorers!
Ospreys 20-26 Glasgow
The scorers:
For Ospreys:
Tries: Dirksen, Fotuali’i
Cons: Biggar 2
Pens: Biggar 2
Yellow cards: Bevington (65th min), Smith (25th min)
For Glasgow:
Tries: Welsh, Shaw
Con: Jackson
Pens: Jackson 4
Yellow cards: Kellock (68th min), Beattie (74th min)
Teams:
Ospreys: 15 Ross Jones, 14 Hanno Dirksen, 13 Andrew Bishop, 12 Ashley Beck, 11 Eli Walker, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Rhys Webb, 8 Joe Bearman, 7 Sam Lewis, 6 Tom Smith (captain), 5 James King, 4 Ian Gough, 3 Joe Rees, 2 Richard Hibbard, 1 Ryan Bevington.
Replacements: 16 Scott Baldwin, 17 Will Taylor, 18 Aaron Jarvis, 19 Jonathan Thomas, 20 George Stowers, 21 Kahn Fotuali’i, 22 Matthew Morgan, 23 Tom Isaacs.
Glasgow: 15 Peter Murchie, 14 David Lemi, 13 Alex Dunbar, 12 Federico Aramburu, 11 Colin Shaw, 10 Ruaridh Jackson, 9 Henry Pyrgos, 8 Ryan Wilson, 7 Chris Fusaro, 6 Calum Forrester, 5 Al Kellock (captain), 4 Tom Ryder, 3 Jon Welsh, 2 Dougie Hall, 1 Ryan Grant.
Replacements: 16 Pat MacArthur, 17 Gordon Reid, 18 Ed Kalman, 19 Rob Verbakel, 20 Scott Wight, 21 Murray McConnell, 22 Johnnie Beattie, 23 Tommy Seymour.
Scarlets 38-10 Connacht
The scorers:
For Scarlets:
Tries: Fenby, R. Jones, Phillips, Murphy, John
Cons: S. Jones 5
Pen: S. Jones
Yellow card: Edwards (69th min)
For Connacht:
Try: Reynecke
Con: Nikora
Pen: Nikora
Yellow card: Muldoon (56th min)
Scarlets: 15 Dan Newton, 14 Liam Williams, 13 Gareth Maule (captain), 12 Adam Warren, 11 Andy Fenby, 10 Stephen Jones, 9 Liam Davies, 8 Kieran Murphy, 7 Johnathan Edwards, 6 Josh Turnbull, 5 Aaron Shingler, 4 Lou Reed, 3 Deacon Manu, 2 Emyr Phillips, 1 Rhodri Jones.
Replacements: 16 Kirby Myhill, 17 Phil John, 18 Peter Edwards, 19 Dominic Day, 20 Mat Gilbert, 21 Gareth Davies, 22 Nick Reynolds, 23 Liam Williams.
Connacht: 15 Gavin Duffy (captain), 14 Fetu’u Vainikolo, 13 Eoin Griffin, 12 Dave McSharry, 11 Tiernan O’Halloran, 10 Miah Nikora, 9 Frank Murphy, 8 George Naoupu, 7 Ray Ofisa, 6 Dave Heffernan, 5 Mick Kearney, 4 Michael Swift, 3 Peter Borlase, 2 Adrian Flavin, 1 Ronan Loughney.
Replacements: 16 Ethienne Reynecke, 17 Denis Buckley, 18 Stewart Maguire, 19 John Muldoon, 20 Eoghan Grace, 21 Dave Moore, 22 Matthew Jarvis, 23 Kyle Tonetti.
Aironi 6-22 Leinster
The scorers:
For Aironi:
Pens: Olivier, Orquera
Yellow card: Pavan (71st min)
For Leinster:
Try: Reid
Con: Madigan
Pens: Madigan 5
Yellow card: McGrath (80th min)
Aironi: 15 Giulio Toniolatti, 14 Riccardo Pavan, 13 Roberto Quartaroli, 12 Gabriel Pizarro, 11 Sinoti Sinoti, 10 Naas Olivier, 9 Tito Tebaldi, 8 Josh Sole, 7 Simone Favaro, 6 Nicola Cattina, 5 Carlo Del Fava, 4 George Biagi, 3 Lorenzo Romano, 2 Roberto Santamaria (captain), 1 Matias Aguero.
Replacements: 16 Fabio Ongaro, 17 Alberto De Marchi, 18 Salvatore Perugini, 19 Luca Redolfini, 20 Filippo Ferrarini, 21 Tyson Keats, 22 Luciano Orquera, 23 Gilberto Pavan.
Leinster: 15 Luke Fitzgerald, 14 Andrew Conway, 13 Eoin O’Malley, 12 Brendan Macken, 11 Fionn Carr, 10 Ian Madigan, 9 Isaac Boss, 8 Rhys Ruddock, 7 Shane Jennings (captain), 6 Kevin McLaughlin, 5 Devin Toner, 4 Damian Browne, 3 Nathan White, 2 Richardt Strauss, 1 Heinke van der Merwe.
Replacements: 16 Aaron Dundon, 17 Jack McGrath, 18 Jamie Hagan, 19 Leo Auva’a, 20 Dominic Ryan, 21 John Cooney, 22 Noel Reid, 23 Isa Nacewa.
Ulster 38-16 Edinburgh
The scorers:
For Ulster:
Tries: P Marshall, Terblanche, D’Arcy, Cochrane, Humphreys, penalty try
Cons: Pienaar 4
For Edinburgh:
Tries: S Visser, T Visser
Pens: Godman 2
Ulster: 15 Adam D’Arcy, 14 Craig Gilroy, 13 Ian Whitten, 12 Paddy Wallace (captain), 11 Stefan Terblanche, 10 Ruan Pienaar, 9 Paul Marshall, 8 Robbie Diack, 7 Willie Faloon, 6 Pedrie Wannenburg, 5 Dan Tuohy, 4 Lewis Stevenson, 3 John Afoa, 2 Andi Kyriacou, 1 Paddy McAllister.
Replacements: 16 Nigel Brady, 17 Callum Black, 18 Adam Macklin, 19 Neil McComb, 20 Mike McComish, 21 Ian Humphreys, 22 Luke Marshall, 23 Chris Cochrane.
Edinburgh: 15 Tom Brown, 14 Sep Visser ,13 Matt Scott, 12 John Houston, 11 Tim Visser, 10 Phil Godman, 9 Chris Leck, 8 Netani Talei, 7 Roddy Grant (captain), 6 Stuart McInally, 5 Sean Cox, 4 Grant Gilchrist, 3 Ulises Gamboa, 2 Andrew Kelly, 1 Kyle Traynor.
Replacements: 16 Alun Walker, 17 Robin Hislop, 18 Jack Gilding, 19 Robert McAlpine, 20 Hamish Watson, 21 Alex Black, 22 Harry Leonard, 23 Chris Paterson.
