Jackson stars, but Leinster stay top
Paddy Jackson scored all of Ulster's points as they secured a Pro12 play-off place.
The Ulstermen lost 20-22 at home to league leaders Leinster, but the losing bonus point was enough to book their place..
* In other Friday action the Scarlets secured a place in the top-six of the Pro12 with a high-scoring 34-23 bonus-point victory over Welsh rivals Newport Gwent Dragons.
* Tommy Seymour's hat-trick saw Glasgow Warriors romp to a 38-16 victory against Treviso to take a major step closer to a home semi-final in the Pro12 play-offs.
We look at Friday's matches!
Treviso 16-38 Glasgow Warriors
Tommy Seymour's hat-trick saw Glasgow Warriors romp to a 38-16 victory against Treviso to take a major step closer to a home semi-final in the Pro12 play-offs.
Seymour's treble, as well as a score for Gordon Reid, ensured it was a comfortable victory for the Warriors at Stadio Monigo, taking their winning streak in the Pro12 to seven.
In turn it puts the pressure on Munster, who must respond against Edinburgh on Saturday, if they are to challenge Gregor Townsend's men for a place in the top two.
For Treviso meanwhile, it's another blow in their quest for the Italian berth in next season's new look elite European competition as, following Zebre's win over the Ospreys on Thursday, they remain bottom of the Pro12 table.
After a tense opening ten minutes, it was Treviso who were first on the scoreboard when the Warriors were pinged in front of the posts – Mat Berquist on target with the penalty.
But the visitors didn't have to wait long to level and following a fine kick forward by scrum-half Henry Pyrgos, Finn Russell was presented with a tricky penalty that he made look easy.
Midway through the first half, the Warriors took control with the first try of the match when Seymour kicked a loose ball forward from near halfway and raced clear to dot down.
Russell converted but straight from the restart, the Warriors conceded another penalty and Berquist trimmed the deficit to 10-6.
On 28 minutes however, Russell notched another penalty but indiscipline was creeping in for both sides and on the half hour mark, Berquist was at it again to make it 13-9.
The pattern continued but on 33 minutes Russell was off target, however he found his range again just before the break after the Warriors' scrum forced a Treviso infringement.
And the visitors went into the break 19-9 to the good thanks to a booming Mark Bennett penalty from just inside his own half.
The visitors streaked clear at the start of the second half and two minutes in, Seymour had his second try of the match, rounding off a fine move following a delightful pass from Peter Horne.
Russell converted and the Warriors had try number three just five minutes later when prop Reid popped up on the wing and splashed over.
This time Russell was wayward with the conversion but not even a yellow card for Warriors flanker Tyrone Holmes could knock the wind out of their sails.
And just before the hour mark, Seymour completed his hat-trick after referee George Clancy consulted the TMO – this time Russell converted for a commanding 38-9 lead.
It seemed to be a case of job done for the Warriors at that stage with maximum points secured and Treviso dug in to ensure no further scores from the visitors.
They even grabbed a penalty try of their own in the closing stages – after the Warriors' flanker Rob Harley had been sent to the sin bin – to reduce the scoreline to 38-16 but in truth they were well beaten.
The scorers:
For Benetton Treviso:
Try: Penalty Try
Con: Ambrosini
Pens: Berquist 3
For the Glasgow Warriors:
Tries: Seymour 3, Reid
Cons: Russell 3
Pens: Russell 3, Bennett
Yellow cards: Tyrone Holmes (Glasgow Warriors, 55), Rob Harley (Glasgow Warriors, 76)
Teams:
Benetton Treviso: 15 Brendan Williams, 14 Ludovico Nitoglia, 13 Michele Campagnaro, 12 Luke McLean, 11 Angelo Esposito, 10 Mat Berquist, 9 Tobias Botes, 8 Marco Filippucci, 7 Paul Derbyshire, 6 Manoa Vosawai, 5 Marco Fuser, 4 Antonio Pavanello (captain), 3 Lorenzo Cittadini, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 1 Alberto De Marchi.
Replacements: 16 Giovanni Maistri, 17 Matteo Muccignat, 18 Ignacio Fernandez-Rouyet, 19 Valerio Bernabò, 20 Dean Budd, 21 Alberto Sgarbi, 22 Fabio Semenzato, 23 James Ambrosini.
Glasgow Warriors: 15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Tommy Seymour, 13 Mark Bennett, 12 Peter Horne, 11 Niko Matawalu, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Henry Pyrgos, 8 Josh Strauss (captain), 7 Tyrone Holmes, 6 Rob Harley, 5 Jonny Gray, 4 Tim Swinson, 3 Geoff Cross, 2 Pat MacArthur, 1 Gordon Reid.
Replacements: 16 Fraser Brown, 17 Ryan Grant, 18 Jon Welsh, 19 Leone Nakarawa, 20 Chris Fusaro, 21 Chris Cusiter, 22 Ruaridh Jackson, 23 Sean Maitland.
Referee: George Clancy
Assistant referees: Andrea Spadoni, Simone Boaretto
TMO: Stefano Penne
Scarlets 34-23 Dragons
The Scarlets secured a place in the top-six of the Pro12 with a high-scoring 34-23 bonus-point victory over Welsh rivals Newport Gwent Dragons.
The hosts had four different scorers at Parc y Scarlets as Jake Ball, Gareth Davies, Jordan Williams and Ken Owens all went over.
The Dragons, who have now failed to win any of their last seven outings, saw Tom Prydie cross in each half but it was not enough to inflict a first Pro12 home defeat on the Scarlets – who with victory ensured qualification for next year's European Cup – this calendar year.
It was the visitors who got the scores up and running when Kris Burton knocked over an 11th-minute penalty, after two minutes earlier missing the target.
But the Scarlets soon hit their stride and Ball crossed on 16 minutes to give the hosts the lead. Rhys Priestland added the extras to make it 7-3.
Wales international Priestland knocked over a penalty shortly after and the Scarlets grabbed their second try just before the half-hour mark through Davies.
A clinical lineout and some good build-up play allowed the Scarlets scrum-half to step and go over for a simple try.
By now the Scarlets were in full swing and three minutes later they all-but sealed the game with a scintillating break.
Jonathan Davies was the architect of the counter-attack, with Olly Barkley keeping up to offer his assistance before winger Williams was fed from close range.
Priestland was proving faultless from the tee, converting both tries, but the Dragons had a sting in the tail as the first half drew to a close.
The impressive Priestland made his first mistake of the game, passing straight to Burton on halfway.
The fly-half didn't have the legs to score but excellent support play from Pat Leach allowed Prydie, who had earlier missed a penalty, to reduce the Men from Gwent's arrears to 24-13 at the break.
That was down to 24-16 after another Burton penalty a minute after the restart, but the Scarlets secured the bonus point on 47 minutes when Owens bundled his way over.
Priestland's conversion added comfort to the scoreline, but that was short-lived when Prydie went over for his second try of the game to move the Dragons back within eight points – after Jason Tovey's conversion.
Taulupe Faletau won back possession for the visitors and a smart kick left Prydie with the simple task of running the ball home on the hour mark to make it a nervy finish.
Priestland's 69th-minute penalty eased the home nerves somewhat, and the Scarlets went on to seal their sixth consecutive victory at Parc y Scarlets in all tournaments with relative ease.
The scorers:
For Scarlets:
Tries: Ball, G Davies, Williams, Owens
Cons: Priestland 4
Pens: Priestland 2
For the Newport Gwent Dragons:
Tries: Prydie 2
Cons: Burton, Tovey
Pens: Burton 3
Yellow card: T. Rhys Thomas (Newport Gwent Dragons, 50)
Teams:
Scarlets: 15 Steven Shingler, 14 Kristian Phillips, 13 Jonathan Davies (captain), 12 Olly Barkley, 11 Jordan Williams, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Rob McCusker, 7 John Barclay, 6 Josh Turnbull, 5 George Earle, 4 Jake Ball, 3 Samson Lee, 2 Ken Owens, 1 Phil John.
Replacements: 16 Kirby Myhill, 17 Rob Evans, 18 Rhodri Jones, 19 Johan Snyman, 20 Aaron Shingler, 21 Rhodri Williams, 22 Gareth Maule, 23 Frazier Climo.
Newport Gwent Dragons: 15 Hallam Amos, 14 Tom Prydie, 13 Pat Leach, 12 Jack Dixon, 11 Will Harries, 10 Kris Burton, 9 Richie Rees, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Nic Cudd, 6 Lewis Evans, 5 Matthew Screech, 4 Andrew Coombs (captain), 3 Bruce Douglas, 2 T. Rhys Thomas, 1 Phil Price.
Replacements: 16 Sam Parry, 17 Owen Evans, 18 Duncan Bell, 19 Jevon Groves, 20 Darren Waters, 21 Jonathan Evans, 22 Jason Tovey, 23 Tyler Morgan.
Referee: Leighton Hodges
Assistant referees: Gwyn Morris, Kelvin Shorte
Ulster 20-22 Leinster
Paddy Jackson scored all of Ulster's points as they secured a Pro12 play-off place despite losing 22-20 at home to league leaders Leinster.
In a feisty contest, the hosts played most of the contest with 14 men after Tom Court's dismissal but a try and 15 points from the boot of Jackson saw Ulster gain the point they needed to seal a top-four place.
Leinster had Rob Kearney and Rhys Ruddock sin-binned but saw Shane Jennings cross in the second half.
On top of that, 14 points from fly-half Ian Madigan and a further three more from substitute Jason Tovey kept them four points above second-placed Glasgow Warriors in the Pro12 standings with just one game to go.
Leinster started ominously with the pack taking charge, and a huge scrum brought with it the first chance for Madigan to test his kicking skills on five minutes.
The Irish international made no mistake, and six minutes later he added another three-pointer from out wide on the left.
Madigan failed to make it three from three on 14 minutes, but Leinster's hopes were given a boost when Ulster prop Court, who is moving to London Irish next season, was shown a red card for a dangerous tackle on Devin Toner on 16 minutes.
The visitors tried to take advantage and thought they had scored moments later, but Jennings was deemed to have been held up on the line by a resilient Ulster defence.
Ulster's determination in defence was soon rewarded, after Leinster full-back Kearney had been sin-binned, when Jackson blocked Madigan's chip and crossed for the first try of the match on 24 minutes.
Jackson missed the subsequent conversion, but the hosts were back in the contest at 5-6 on the scoreboard and 14-14 on the pitch.
Another yellow card for Leinster, this time for Ruddock, gave the numerical advantage to the hosts and Jackson smashed over a penalty to give Ulster an 8-5.
But Madigan and Leinster had the last laugh of the half, with the visitors' penalty ensuring they went into half-time 9-8 to the good.
Madigan was proving hit and miss from the tee, missing his first two after the break, but a 53rd-minute success edged Leinster further ahead before Jackson responded with his own penalty five minutes later.
But almost straight from the restart Leinster grabbed their first try of the game through Jennings after some great play from Brian O'Driscoll – Madigan's extras made it 19-11 and temporarily left Ulster's play-off hopes in the balance.
Retiring captain Johann Muller was then given a rousing reception from the home fans after being replaced on the hour mark on what could have been his final appearance at Ravenhill, and it appeared to make the difference.
Jackson slotted three more penalties late on and – despite Leinster replacement Gopperth adding his own – it was enough to secure a top-four position for Ulster after picking up a losing bonus point.
The scorers:
For Ulster:
Try: Jackson
Pens: Jackson 5
For Leinster:
Try: Jennings
Con: Madigan
Pens: Madigan 4, Gopperth
Yellow cards: Rob Kearney (Leinster, 24), Rhys Ruddock (Leinster, 27)
Red card: Tom Court (Ulster, 17)
Teams:
Ulster: 15 Ricky Andrew, 14 Andrew Trimble, 13 Jared Payne, 12 Luke Marshall, 11 Tommy Bowe, 10 Paddy Jackson, 9 Paul Marshall, 8 Nick Williams, 7 Chris Henry, 6 Roger Wilson, 5 Iain Henderson, 4 Johann Muller (captain), 3 Andrew Warwick, 2 Rob Herring, 1 Tom Court.
Replacements: 16 Niall Annett, 17 Callum Black, 18 Adam Macklin, 19 Dan Tuohy, 20 Sean Doyle, 21 Michael Heaney, 22 James McKinney, 23 Darren Cave.
Leinster: 15 Rob Kearney, 14 Zane Kirchner, 13 Brian O'Driscoll, 12 Gordon D'Arcy, 11 Dave Kearney, 10 Ian Madigan, 9 Isaac Boss, 8 Jamie Heaslip (captain), 7 Shane Jennings, 6 Rhys Ruddock, 5 Mike McCarthy, 4 Devin Toner, 3 Martin Moore, 2 Sean Cronin, 1 Cian Healy.
Replacements: 16 Richardt Strauss, 17 Jack McGrath, 18 Mike Ross, 19 Leo Cullen, 20 Jordi Murphy, 21 Luke McGrath, 22 Jimmy Gopperth, 23 Luke Fitzgerald.
Referee: Luke Pearce
Assistant referees: John Lacey, David Connolly
TMO: Dermot Molony
