Hogg hat-trick can't stop Munster
Stuart Hogg’s hat-trick was in vain as Glasgow relinquished ground to Pro12 play-off rivals Munster in a thrilling 35-29 victory by the defending champions.
The two sides locked horns level on 56 points prior to the contest, but tries from Luke O’Dea, Peter O’Mahony and Conor Murray helped Tony McGahan’s troops a crucial victory.
But it was the boot of flyhalf Ian Keatley that made the difference, his 20 points winning the battle of wits with counterpart Ruaridh Jackson.
Warriors fullback Hogg looked in imperious form, but his three second-half tries failed to overturn an 18-6 half-time deficit but did secure what could prove to be a crucial bonus point, especially considering Ulster’s surprise defeat to Connacht.
In Galway Connacht flyhalf Miah Nikora claimed a 16-point haul as his side dented Ulster’s play-off hopes in a thrilling 26-21 derby win.
Gavin Duffy, Tiernan O’Halloran and Nikora went over for the home side while the 26-year-old Kiwi also kicked 11 points.
Centre Paddy Jackson also scored 16 for Ulster and scrumhalf Paul Marshall nipped in but the play-off chasers were unable to match Sunday’s Heineken Cup heroics.
Ospreys produced a stunning second-half comeback to boost their play-off hopes with a fifth-straight win over Welsh rivals Cardiff Blues at the Cardiff City Stadium.
Leigh Halfpenny kicked four first-half penalties to give the hosts a 12-6 half-time lead, despite Ospreys’ superiority in the scrum.
But after the interval Ospreys inflicted an onslaught with 27 unanswered points as Alun-Wyn Jones and Adam Jones crashed over the whitewhash before Tom Smith scored a late try to seal a crucial bonus point.
Connacht 26-21 Ulster
The scorers:
For Connacht:
Tries: Nikora, Duffy, O’Halloran
Con: Nikora
Pens: Nikora 3
For Ulster:
Tries: Marshall, Jackson
Con: Jackson
Pens: Jackson 3
Connacht: 15 Gavin Duffy, 14 Tiernan O’Halloran, 13 Kyle Tonetti, 12 Henry Fa’afili, 11 Fetu’u Vainikolo, 10 Miah Nikora, 9 Frank Murphy, 8 George Naoupu, 7 Ray Ofisa, 6 John Muldoon, 5 Mike McCarthy, 4 Michael Swift, 3 Ronan Loughney, 2 Ethienne Reynecke, 1 Brett Wilkinson.
Replacements: 16 Adrian Flavin, 17 Denis Buckley, 18 Rodney Ah You, 19 Mick Kearney, 20 Johnny O’Connor, 21 Paul O’Donohoe, 22 Matthew Jarvis, 23 Eoin Griffin.
Ulster: 15 Stefan Terblanche, 14 Ian Whitten, 13 Nevin Spence, 12 Paddy Jackson, 11 Adam D’Arcy, 10 Ian Humphreys, 9 Paul Marshall, 8 Robbie Diack, 7 Willie Faloon, 6 Mike McComish, 5 Neil McComb, 4 Lewis Stevenson, 3 Tom Court, 2 Nigel Brady, 1 Paddy McAllister.
Replacements: 16 Andi Kyriacou, 17 Callum Black, 18 Adam Macklin, 19 Iain Henderson, 20 Ali Birch, 21 Ruan Pienaar, 22 Craig Gilroy, 23 Michael Allen.
Referee: Dudley Phillips
Glasgow Warriors 29-35 Munster
The scorers:
For Munster:
Tries: O’Dea, O’Mahony, Murray
Cons: Keatley
Pens: Keatley 6
For Glasgow:
Tries: Hogg 3
Pens: Jackson 2, Weir 2
Yellow card: Aramburu (Glasgow – 70th min)
Munster: 15 Felix Jones, 14 Luke O’Dea, 13 Johne Murphy, 12 Lifeimi Mafi, 11 Simon Zebo, 10 Ian Keatley, 9 Tomas O’Leary, 8 Peter O’Mahony, 7 Tommy O’Donnell, 6 Donnacha Ryan, 5 Mick O’Driscoll, 4 Donncha O’Callaghan, 3 Stephen Archer, 2 Mike Sherry, 1 Wian du Preez.
Replacements: 16 Damien Varley, 17 Marcus Horan, 18 Billy Holland, 19 John Ryan, 20 Paddy Butler, 21 Conor Murray, 22 Scott Deasy, 23 Ivan Dineen
Glasgow Warriors: 15 Peter Murchie, 14 Federico Aramburu, 13 Stuart Hogg, 12 Alex Dunbar, 11 Colin Shaw, 10 Ruaridh Jackson, 9 Chris Cusiter, 8 Johnnie Beattie, 7 Chris Fusaro, 6 Rob Harley, 5 Al Kellock (captain), 4 Richie Gray, 3 Mike Cusack, 2 Pat MacArthur, 1 Jon Welsh.
Replacements: 16 Dougie Hall, 17 Ryan Grant, 18 Moray Low, 19 Tom Ryder, 20 Calum Forrester, 21 Henry Pyrgos, 22 Duncan Weir, 23 Tommy Seymour.
Referee: Nigel Owens
Ospreys 33-12 Cardiff Blues
The scorers:
For Cardiff Blues:
Pens: Halfpenny 4
For Ospreys:
Tries: AW Jones, AR Jones, Smith
Cons: Biggar 3
Pens: Biggar 4
Yellow cards: Evans (Cardiff – 9th min); Sweeney ( Cardiff – 53rd min)
Cardiff Blues: 15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Gavin Evans, 12 Dafydd Hewitt, 11 Harry Robinson, 10 Ceri Sweeney, 9 Lloyd Williams, 8 Luke Hamilton, 7 Martyn Williams, 6 Michael Paterson, 5 James Down, 4 Bradley Davies (c), 3 Sam Hobbs, 2 Marc Breeze, 1 John Yapp.
Replacements: 16 Kristian Dacey, 17 Nathan Trevett, 18 Ryan Harford, 19 Josh Navidi, 20 Maama Molitika, 21 Richie Rees, 22 Dan Parks, 23 Casey Laulala.
Ospreys: 15 Richard Fussell, 14 Hanno Dirksen, 13 Tom Isaacs, 12 Andrew Bishop, 11 Shane Williams, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Kahn Fotuali’i, 8 Joe Bearman, 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 Ryan Jones, 5 Ian Evans, 4 Alun Wyn Jones (c), 3 Adam Jones, 2 Richard Hibbard, 1 Paul James.
Replacements: 16 Scott Baldwin, 17 Ryan Bevington, 18 Aaron Jarvis, 19 James King, 20 Tom Smith, 21 Rhys Webb, 22 Matthew Morgan, 23 Sonny Parker.
Referee: George Clancy
