Jackson's boot moves Ulster up
Paddy Jackson kicked all the points as Ulster ground out a 9-3 victory over Edinburgh at Murrayfield on Friday.
The win allowed the Irish province to move into second place in the Pro12 table.
* In other Friday action two tries from Luke Fitzgerald saw Leinster cruise to a 27-0 victory over Zebre, with the Irish outfit extending their lead at the top of the Pro12 table.
* Aisea Natoga scored a hat-trick of tries to secure Ospreys a 34-9 bonus-point victory over Cardiff Blues and strengthen their grip on a Pro12 play-off place.
We look at Friday's action!
Ospreys 34-9 Cardiff Blues
Aisea Natoga scored a hat-trick of tries to secure Ospreys a 34-9 bonus-point victory over Cardiff Blues and strengthen their grip on a Pro12 play-off place.
Natoga's two first-half tries followed the opening score of the match from Ashley Beck and the winger added a third of his own once Rhys Webb had wrapped up the bonus point after the break.
Dan Biggar also kicked nine points while Gareth Davies slotted three penalties for the Blues but they have now lost six straight Pro12 contests against their Welsh rivals.
The victory extended Ospreys' advantage over Glasgow Warriors in the race for the final play-off spot to eight points – though the Scots now boast three games in hand.
Ospreys bossed the opening exchanges and took a deserved lead when Wales fly-half Biggar and centre Jonathan Spratt combined well and once the ball was worked wide, Beck ran a fine line to cross the whitewash.
Biggar converted to put Ospreys 7-0 up and while Gareth Davies slotted a penalty for Cardiff Blues, Ospreys soon extended their lead.
A grubber kick from Webb was helped on by the boot of Natoga, with the winger winning the race to the loose ball to touch down.
Two Gareth Davies penalties again reduced the score but once more Ospreys hit back to establish a 17-9 lead at half-time.
The home side swept from right to left and Sam Davies showed wonderfully quick hands to move the ball sharply for Natoga to collect and score.
Biggar missed the conversion but Ospreys built on their healthy half-time lead eight minutes into the second period when Webb wriggled his way over for a score.
Biggar added the extras to put Ospreys 24-9 up and the fly-half slotted a further three points to keep the score ticking over on 52 minutes.
Robin Copeland did cross the line for the Blues but the ball had already been lost forward and Ospreys earned the penalty.
And Fijian flyer Natoga secured his hat-trick with a superb piece of finishing as he kept himself in play right in the corner and extended his right arm to dot down.
There was still time for Blues winger Alex Cuthbert to be denied by a superb tap tackle from Joe Bearman before winger Harry Robinson was taken off with a serious looking leg injury to cap a miserable match.
The scorers:
For Ospreys:
Tries: Beck, Natoga 3, Webb
Cons: Biggar 3
Pen: Biggar
For Cardiff Blues:
Pens: Davies 3
Teams:
Ospreys: 15 Sam Davies, 14 Jeff Hassler, 13 Jonathan Spratt, 12 Ashley Beck, 11 Aisea Natoga, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Rhys Webb, 8 Dan Baker, 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 Sam Lewis, 5 Alun Wyn Jones, 4 Ryan Jones, 3 Aaron Jarvis, 2 Scott Baldwin, 1 Duncan Jones.
Replacements: 16 Scott Otten, 17 Marc Thomas, 18 Adam Jones, 19 James King, 20 Joe Bearman, 21 Morgan Allen, 22 Tom Habberfield, 23 Hanno Dirksen.
Cardiff Blues: 15 Dan Fish, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Cory Allen, 12 Gavin Evans, 11 Harry Robinson, 10 Gareth Davies, 9 Lloyd Williams, 8 Robin Copeland, 7 Josh Navidi, 6 Ellis Jenkins, 5 Filo Paulo, 4 Chris Dicomidis, 3 Taufa'ao Filise, 2 Rhys Williams, 1 Gethin Jenkins (captain).
Replacements: 16 Kristian Dacey, 17 Sam Hobbs, 18 Scott Andrews, 19 Lou Reed, 20 Macauley Cook, 21 Lewis Jones, 22 Simon Humberstone, 23 Isaia Tuifua.
Referee: Nigel Owens
Assistant Referees: Ian Davies, Jon Mason
TMO: Derek Bevan
Leinster 27-0 Zebre
Two tries from Luke Fitzgerald saw Leinster cruise to a 27-0 victory over Zebre who extended their lead at the top of the Pro12 table.
Fitzgerald went over twice in the second half, adding to Noel Reid's first-half score as Leinster racked up a seventh straight Pro12 win, and the margin would have been wider had Ian Madigan, celebrating his 25th birthday, brought his shooting boots.
Jordi Murphy dotted down at the last to secure the bonus point and with Munster hosting Treviso on Saturday, Leinster gave themselves some breathing space at the summit.
Leinster dominated the early proceedings and took the lead on eight minutes thanks to a Madigan penalty.
The hosts had hoped it would be more after a driving maul took them to within inches of the line but an infringement at the breakdown saw referee Marius Mitrea award the penalty, easily converted by Madigan.
On 16 minutes, Zebre were presented with the chance to draw level but a penalty from Tommaso Iannone, from just to the left of the posts, dropped just short while he also missed another soon after.
Things soon got worse for Iannone when was shown a yellow card for not releasing – a sacrificial move with Leinster looking certain to score the first try of the match on 30 minutes.
Madigan missed the resulting penalty but three minutes later Reid had his score after further forwards pressure from Leinster.
They were held up but the ball was worked to Reid on the left and he jinked inside to dot down – Madigan again wayward from the tee, ensuring Leinster held an 8-0 lead at the break.
Leinster continued on the front foot in the second half but try as they might, they couldn't break down a resolute Zebre defence in the early stages, despite knocking on the door on plenty of occasions.
The pressure from the home side eventually told just before the hour mark however when Fitzgerald dived over in the left corner after another Leinster maul was stopped just short.
Madigan was on target with the extras this time and six minutes later Fitzgerald had his second score of the match and this time it was the backs who set him on his way.
They went through numerous phases and Zebre simply couldn't live with wave after wave of blue, Fitzgerald producing a tidy finish for 20-0, only for Madigan to again miss from the tee.
Leinster then set about scoring the fourth try for the bonus point and it eventual came in the closing stages through Murphy, this time Madigan adding the extras to wrap up the comfortable win.
The scorers:
For Leinster:
Tries: Reid, Fitzgerald 2, Murphy
Cons: Madigan 2
Pen: Madigan
For Zebre:
None
Yellow card: Tommaso Iannone (Zebra, 29)
Teams:
Leinster: 15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Darragh Fanning, 13 Fergus McFadden, 12 Noel Reid, 11 Luke Fitzgerald, 10 Ian Madigan, 9 Issac Boss, 8 Jordi Murphy, 7 Dominic Ryan, 6 Kevin McLaughlin, 5 Mike McCarthy, 4 Leo Cullen (captain), 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Richardt Strauss, 1 Michael Bent
Replacements: 16 Aaron Dundon, 17 Jack McGrath, 18 Martin Moore, 19 Tom Denton, 20 Shane Jennings, 21 Eoin Reddan, 22 Jimmy Gopperth, 23 Brendan Macken
Zebre: 15 David Odiete, 14 Giulio Toniolatti, 13 Giovanbattista Venditti, 12 Kameli Ratuvou, 11 Dion Berryman, 10 Tommaso Iannone, 9 Brendon Leonard, 8 Samuela Vunisa, 7 Andries van Schalkwyk, 6 Filippo Ferrarini, 5 Marco Bortolami (captain), 4 George Biagi, 3 David Ryan, 2 Tommaso D'Apice, 1 Salvatore Perugini
Replacements: 16 Davide Giazzon, 17 Andrea de Marchi, 18 Dario Chistolini, 19 Michael van Vuuren, 20 Guglielmo Palazzani, 21 Alberto Chillon, 22 Emiliano Caffini, 23 Filippo Cristiano.
Referee: Marius Mitrea
Assistant Referees: Kieran Barry, Andy Brace
TMO: Kevin Beggs
Edinburgh 3-9 Ulster
Paddy Jackson kicked all the points as Ulster ground out a 9-3 victory over Edinburgh at Murrayfield to move into second place in the Pro12 table.
Carl Bezuidenhout opened the scoring for Edinburgh but Jackson struck three times from the tee as Ulster racked up a sixth straight victory in the Pro12 competition to move above Munster, who face Treviso on Saturday.
Edinburgh impressed in spells but their indiscipline was their undoing, ensuring their impressive run of four wins in five matches came to a halt – head coach Alan Solomons seeing his former side get one over his current outfit.
Edinburgh began brightly and the Murrayfield faithful were on their feet early on after Dougie Fife raced down the wing, only to be forced into touch short of the try-line.
That didn't knock the wind out of the hosts' sails however and the impressive Bezuidenhout notched a superb penalty on 15 minutes to break the deadlock.
Ulster were struggling three minutes later when Iain Henderson was sent to the sin bin for a dangerous tackle, although Bezuidenhout was wayward with the resulting penalty.
It seemed to stir Ulster into life however and after keeping things simple while a man down, Ulster were awarded a penalty on 23 minutes after Edinburgh were pinged for coming into a maul at the side.
Jackson made no mistake from the tee to level the scores and on 36 minutes the Ireland fly-half kicked Ulster into a 6-3 lead after Edinburgh were penalised at a scrum.
He had another effort two minutes before half-time – this time the penalty awarded for obstruction – but he couldn't find the target and Edinburgh pressed in the closing stages, only to be pinged on the Ulster 22, ensuring they went into the break three points down.
After the break Edinburgh found that their indiscipline was letting them down again and after another penalty from a scrum on 46 minutes, Jackson further extended Ulster's lead.
Edinburgh then enjoyed some promising possession but they found Ulster in uncompromising mood and the visitors began to exert a stranglehold on the game.
The hosts responded however and with 12 minutes to go they threatened the first try of the match, only for a knock-on to cost them dear after good work from Harry Leonard and Josh Strauss.
With seven minutes to go Jackson attempted a drop goal to give Ulster the cushion they were after but his effort drifted wide, ensuring a tense finish.
Edinburgh threatened with four minutes to go but Ulster forced a superb turnover on the half-way line but again the hosts kept pushing, only for their discipline to let them down again – conceding a penalty at the breakdown near the visitors' 22.
And that was as close as they came as Ulster held out for a valuable victory in the race for the Pro12 play-offs.
The scorers:
For Edinburgh:
Pen: Bezuidenhout
For Ulster:
Pens: Jackson 3
Yellow card: Iain Henderson (Ulster, 18)
Teams:
Edinburgh: 15 Jack Cuthbert, 14 Dougie Fife, 13 Sam Beard, 12 Andries Strauss, 11 Tom Brown, 10 Carl Bezuidenhout, 9 Grayson Hart, 8 Cornell du Preez, 7 Roddy Grant, 6 Mike Coman (captain), 5 Izak van der Westhuizen, 4 Grant Gilchrist, 3 WP Nel, 2 Ross Ford, 1 Al Dickinson.
Replacements: 16 James Hilterbrand, 17 Wicus Blaauw, 18 Ewan McQuillin, 19 Ollie Atkins, 20 Tomas Leonardi, 21 Sean Kennedy, 22 Harry Leonard, 23 Nick De Luca.
Ulster: 15 Jared Payne, 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Darren Cave, 12 Luke Marshall, 11 Craig Gilroy, 10 Paddy Jackson, 9 Michael Heaney, 8 Roger Wilson, 7 Sean Doyle, 6 Stephen Ferris, 5 Iain Henderson, 4 Johann Muller (captain), 3 John Afoa, 2 Rob Herring, 1 Tom Court.
Replacements: 16 Niall Annett, 17 Andrew Warwick, 18 Ricky Lutton 19 Dan Tuohy, 20 Nick Williams, 21 Robbie Diack, 22 Paul Marshall, 23 Stuart McCloskey.
Referee: John Lacey
Assistant Referees: Neil Paterson, Bob Nevins
