Leinster clinch top-spot

 

Ulster flyhalf James McKinney starred with the boot as his side warmed up for the PRO12 play-offs in fine style with a 19-17 win over Munster at Thomond Park.

 

Defending champions Leinster saw off a spirited Edinburgh 15-13 at the RDS to ensure they finished top of the PRO12 table and secure a home play-off berth.

 

Jason Tovey marked his 100th start for the Dragons with a dramatic late penalty that sealed a hard-fought 20-19 victory against Treviso.

 

Jonathan Davies' final game in a Scarlets shirt ended in victory over Cardiff Blues – but the Wales international had Steve Shingler to thank for securing a 27-15 triumph.

 

Glasgow Warriors secured a home fixture against Munster in the PRO12 play-offs after running in eight tries and securing second-spot in the process in a comprehensive 54-0 bonus-point win over Zebre.

 

Ospreys put their play-off disappointment aside as they produced a solid performance to claim a bonus point win over Connacht.

 

The Welsh side were eliminated from play-off contention last week after losing 30-27 to Zebre but ended their season with a convincing 45-20 win.

 

 

 

McKinney kicked 14 points while scrumhalf Michael Heaney dotted down for his first Ulster try in perfect preparation for next weekend's semifinal away to Leinster.

 

Munster meanwhile, who will travel to Glasgow Warriors next week, scored tries through Duncan Williams and Sean Dougall but slipped to back-to-back home defeats in the PRO12 for the first time since 2010.

 

Munster took the lead thanks to an Ian Keatley penalty on 11 minutes – expertly converted by the home flyhalf in blustery conditions in Limerick.

 

And Munster soon stretched their lead against a youthful Ulster side, scrumhalf Duncan Williams running in a fine try – his second of the season – in the left hand corner after the ball passed through numerous hands.

 

Keatley was on target with the conversion to hand Munster a 10-0 lead but just a minute later Ulster were back in the match with a fine try through their own scrum-half Heaney.

 

He sniped down the blindside before finding Michael Allen supporting on his right and the centre quickly returned the pass for Heaney to dot down for his first Ulster try.

 

Flyhalf McKinney nailed the conversion to bring Ulster to within three before there was a lengthy stoppage in play following a nasty looking injury to the visitors' No.8 Nick Williams.

 

On came Conor Joyce but the loss of Williams did little to affect Ulster, who pulled level on 36 minutes thanks to a fine McKinney penalty into the wind.

 

Halftime came with the sides locked at 10-10 and on 47 minutes, Ulster went ahead for the first time in the match following another excellent penalty from McKinney following an infringement from Paul O'Connell.

 

Munster hit back straight away however. Ulster gathered the restart but Munster turned the ball over and the visitors were unable to deal with Keatley's grubber kick and Dougall pounced on the loose ball to dive over.

 

Keatley added the extras to put Munster 17-13 to the good but Ulster would not lie down and on 53 minutes they were within a point thanks to another McKinney penalty.

 

And with 15 minutes to go Ulster were awarded a further penalty after a Munster infringement at the scrum and McKinney again continued his impressive form to put his side 19-17 ahead.

 

Munster set about laying siege to the Ulster try-line and with ten minutes remaining they had a scrum deep in enemy territory, but as they worked the ball wide, O'Connell knocked on.

 

The host side kept coming and went through phase after phase but they couldn't find a way through the resolute Ulster defence.

 

JJ Hanrahan missed a late drop goal for Munster and there was late drama when the full-time whistle was blown following an Ulster scrum, only for referee Nigel Owens to bring play back and award a penalty after Sean Doyle used his hand to keep the ball in the scrum.

 

Hanrahan was off target with the penalty from the halfway line however, ensuring an impressive win for Ulster.

 

 

Tries: Williams, Dougall

Cons: Keatley 2

Pen: Keatley

 

Try: Heaney

Con: McKinney

Pens: McKinney 3

 

 

Munster: 15 Felix Jones, 14 Gerhard van den Heever, 13 Casey Laulala, 12 James Downey, 11 Simon Zebo, 10 Ian Keatley, 9 Duncan Williams, 8 James Coughlan. 7 Sean Dougall, 6 Paddy Butler, 5 Paul O'Connell, 4 Dave Foley, 3 John Ryan, 2 Damien Varley (captain), 1 Dave Kilcoyne. 

Replacements: 16 Quentin MacDonald, 17 James Cronin, 18 Alan Cotter, 19 Billy Holland, 20 Tommy O'Donnell, 21 Conor Murray, 22 JJ Hanrahan, 23 Keith Earls

 

Ulster: 15 Craig Gilroy, 14 David McIlwaine, 13 Michael Allen, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Rory Scholes, 10 James McKinney, 9 Michael Heaney, 8 Nick Williams; 7 Sean Doyle, 6 Mike McComish, 5 Dan Tuohy (captain), 4 Lewis Stevenson, 3 Andrew Warwick, 2 Rob Herring, 1 Callum Black.

Replacements: 16 Kyle McCall, 17 Bronson Ross, 18 Adam Macklin, 19 Neil McComb, 20 Conor Joyce, 21 David Shanahan, 22 Ricky Andrew, 23 Peter Nelson.

 

 

Tries from flank Jordi Murphy and Dave Kearney did the trick, coupled with the boot of Jimmy Gopperth, but it was far from plain sailing for the hosts.

 

Edinburgh, bidding to end their season on a high after four straight PRO12 losses, pushed their hosts all the way and Tim Visser's late try sent nerves wrangling at the RDS.

 

But in the end it was not to be for the Scots as they suffered the narrow loss, while Leinster will welcome Ulster back to the RDS for their semi-final clash.

 

The first score of the game came from the boot of Edinburgh flyhalf Greig Laidlaw as he kicked the visitors into the lead after just five minutes.

 

But four minutes later and the RDS was rocking as superb play from the backs allowed Murphy to power through for the try – Gopperth failing with the conversion.

 

After quarter of an hour Edinburgh thought they had bagged a try of their own through Carl Bezuidenhout only for the effort to be ruled out.

 

This did little to deter the Scots however and after half an hour Leinster were pinned back in their half only to hold firm.

 

And soon it was Edinburgh's turn to dig deep as the hosts turned the screw, only for Laidlaw to give the Scots a 6-5 halftime lead as he knocked over his second penalty of the evening.

 

Leinster came out for the second half all guns blazing and after a period of sustained pressure Gopperth put the hosts back in the lead with a penalty.

 

And the home side's dominance was rewarded just before the hour when Kearney sped over for the try, Gopperth adding the extras.

 

However Edinburgh refused to lie down and just over five minutes later wing Visser finished off a fine move to bring the visitors to within two points.

 

But despite constant Scottish pressure Leinster held firm and saw out the narrow victory to finish top of the pile.

 

 

Tries: Murphy, D. Kearney

Con: Gopperth

Pen: Gopperth

 

Try: Visser

Con: Laidlaw

Pens: Laidlaw 2

 

 

Leinster: 15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Fergus McFadden, 13 Brian O'Driscoll, 12 Gordon D'Arcy, 11 Dave Kearney, 10 Jimmy Gopperth, 9 Isaac Boss, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Jordi Murphy, 6 Sean O'Brien, 5 Mike McCarthy, 4 Leo Cullen, 3 Mike Ross, 2 Richardt Strauss, 1 Jack McGrath.

Replacements: 16 Sean Cronin, 17 Cian Healy, 18 Martin Moore, 19 Rhys Ruddock, 20 Dominic Ryan, 21 Luke McGrath, 22 Ian Madigan, 23 Rob Kearney

 

Edinburgh: 15 Carl Bezuidenhout, 14 Sam Beard, 13 Matt Scott, 12 Andries Strauss, 11 Tim Visser, 10 Harry Leonard, 9 Greig Laidlaw (captain), 8 Dave Denton, 7 Tomas Leonardi, 6 Mike Coman, 5 Ben Toolis, 4 Grant Gilchrist, 3 WP Nel, 2 Ross Ford, 1 Al Dickinson.

Replacements: 16 James Hilterbrand, 17 Wicus Blaauw, 18 Simon Berghan, 19 Alex Toolis, 20 Dimitri Basilaia, 21 Grayson Hart, 22 Piers Francis, 23 Ben Atiga.

 

Referee: Leighton Hodges 

Assistant referees: Kieran Barry, Peter Fitzgibbon 

TMO: Seamus Flannery 

 

 

The losing bonus point for the Italians was enough however to leapfrog their rivals Zebre and claim the Italian European qualification spot.

 

Fabio Semenzato's early score and Manoa Vosawai's late one, coupled with the boot of flyhalf Alberto Di Bernardo, looked like it would be enough to extend the Dragons' losing streak to eight league games.

 

But the Welsh region, who scored two tries of their own through Tyler Morgan and Will Harries, held their nerve at the death as Tovey slotted a late kick to deny the Italians their first away victory of the season.

 

Indeed it was Tovey who opened the scoring, nailing a second-minute penalty to put the hosts into an early lead that did not last very long.

 

Weak defence around the fringes allowed scrumhalf Semenzato to dart over and although Di Bernardo missed the conversion the visitors were in front 5-3.

 

Indeed the Italians were the dominant force in the early exchanges and Harries found himself in the sin bin for ten minutes not long after as Christian Loamanu's fine break forced an infringement from the backtracking Welsh side.

 

The Italians smelt blood and, desperate to make the most of their their numerical advantage, continued to batter their hosts' line.

 

The Welsh region held out though and Treviso had to settle for just a Di Bernardo penalty to stretch the lead to 8-3.

 

Harries returned not long after and on the half hour mark the Dragons struck back, Morgan collecting Lewis Evans' offload to streak clear for a fine individual score, Tovey adding the extras to put them back in front at 10-8.

 

A Di Bernardo penalty just before half-time puts visitors back in front at the interval however although the Welsh region had finally begun to assert themselves.

 

And five minutes after the re-start Harries went over, Morgan again the catalyst with a fine break down the left before his chip over the top was collected by Harries who scored, Tovey's conversion making it 17-11.

 

However on the hour mark the Italians deservedly got back into the contest, Vosawai going over in the corner and although Di Bernardo's conversion missed when they could have re-taken the lead, a losing bonus point would be enough to lift them above Zebre.

 

They almost had the victory as well when Di Bernardo nailed a penalty moments later and with Lewis Evans in the sin bin the game looked up for the Welsh.

 

But Tovey kept calm to slot a late penalty that sealed victory and lifted the Dragons up to ninth in the final standings. 

 

 

Tries: Morgan, Harries

Cons: Tovey 2

Pens: Tovey 2

 

Tries: Semenzato, Vosawai

Pens: Di Bernardo 3

 

 

Dragons: 15 Hallam Amos, 14 Tom Prydie, 13 Pat Leach, 12 Jack Dixon, 11 Will Harries, 10 Jason Tovey, 9 Richie Rees, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Nic Cudd, 6 Lewis Evans, 5 Matthew Screech, 4 Andrew Coombs (captain), 3 Duncan Bell, 2 T Rhys Thomas, 1 Phil Price

Replacements: 16 Sam Parry, 17 Owen Evans, 18 Bruce Douglas, 19 Rob Sidoli, 20 Jevon Groves, 21 Jonathan Evans, 22 Kris Burton, 23 Tyler Morgan

 

Treviso: 15 Luke McLean, 14 Ludovico Nitoglia, 13 Michele Campagnaro, 12 Alberto Sgarbi, 11 Angelo Esposito, 10 Alberto Di Bernardo, 9 Fabio Semenzato, 8 Manoa Vosawai, 7 Paul Derbyshire, 6 Christian Loamanu, 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 Andrea Pratichetti, 22 James Ambrosini, 23 Mat Berquist.

 

Referee: John Lacey 

 

 

Davies captained the region for the final time before setting off for pastures new next season in a close-fought contest at Parc y Scarlets.

 

Rhodri Williams and Liam Williams crossed for Scarlets while Macauley Cook and a penalty try kept this Welsh derby interesting until the dying moments.

 

But Shingler's late intervention with boot – he kicked seven points – and hands – the centre going over with just five minutes to go – sealed the Scarlets win.

 

A swirling wind didn't help proceedings and Rhys Priestland was the first to do battle with the conditions on three minutes when he drifted his penalty wide.

 

The hosts were dominating the early possession and territory and eventually got the try they deserved on 13 minutes through Rhodri Williams.

 

Priestland was heavily involved, and his offload to Jake Ball created the space in which Williams was allowed to run the ball home from close range.

 

Priestland added the extras but five minutes later the Blues reduced the arrears when Cook crossed in the corner.

 

Full-back Dan Fish was the architect as his break set the Scarlets defence scarpering back.

 

Eventually the ball found its way out to second row Cook after Harry Robinson – who will swap Blues for the Scarlets next season – had let the ball slip from his grasp and he bundled his way over the line.

 

Simon Humberstone missed his conversion from a near impossible angle, given the conditions, from out wide but made no mistake with a penalty moments later to give the Blues the lead at 8-7.

 

Cardiff could have added to that advantage on the half-hour mark had Lewis Jones had a bit more pace – as it was the scrumhalf was brilliantly halted by Joe Snyman after a scintillating move involving Isaia Tuifua.

 

Moments later Scarlets' Rhodri Williams was denied his second try of the game by a great tackle from Jones in the corner.

 

But Priestland ensured the hosts did go into halftime 10-8 in the lead after notching a penalty just before the break.

 

A bit of Liam Williams magic saw the Scarlets fullback cross to extend the hosts' lead on 44 minutes, with Shingler's conversion making it 17-8.

 

But after the heavens opened at the Parc y Scarlets the Blues found a way back into the game when they were awarded a penalty try after a maul was pulled down.

 

Humberstone's extras brought the visitors back to with two points but a Shingler penalty gave the Scarlets a bit of breathing space as the game entered the last ten minutes.

 

Centre Shingler then made sure of the victory on 75 minutes when he converted his own try, ending the Blues' four-game PRO12 winning streak in the process.

 

 

Tries: R. Williams, L. Williams, S. Shingler

Cons: Priestland, S. Shingler 2

Pens: Priestland, S. Shingler

 

Tries: Cook, Penalty Try

Cons: Humberstone 2

 

 

Scarlets:15 Liam Williams, 14 Kristian Phillips, 13 Jonathan Davies (captain), 12 Steven Shingler, 11 Jordan Williams, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Rhodri Williams, 8 Rob McCusker 7 Aaron Shingler, 6 Josh Turnbull, 5 Johan Snyman, 4 Jake Ball, 3 Samson Lee, 2 Ken Owens, 1 Phil John.

Replacements: 16 Kirby Myhill, 17 Rob Evans, 18 Rhodri Jones, 19 Richard Kelly, 20 Sione Timani, 21 Gareth Davies, 22 Olly Barkley, 23 Gareth Maule.

 

Cardiff Blues : 15 Dan Fish, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Cory Allen, 12 Isaia Tuifua, 11 Harry Robinson, 10 Simon Humberstone, 9 Lewis Jones, 8 Robin Copeland, 7 Josh Navidi, 6 Macauley Cook, 5 Filo Paulo, 4 Bradley Davies, 3 Taufa'ao Filise, 2 Matthew Rees (captain), 1 Gethin Jenkins. 

Replacements: 16 Kristian Dacey, 17 Thomas Davies, 18 Scott Andrews, 19 Chris Dicomidis, 20 Ellis Jenkins, 21 Lloyd Williams, 22 Dafydd Hewitt, 23 Thomas Williams.

 

Referee: Ian Davies 

 

 

In their final fixture of the regular season, Glasgow produced a memorable performance in the opening 25 minutes, scoring five tries to effectively blow the Italians away.

 

Stuart Hogg scored twice, while Alex Dunbar, Al Kellock and Ryan Grant all scored in the opening quarter of the game. 

 

Nikola Matawalu scored try number six for Glasgow before the break and but the home side had to wait until the 65th minute for number seven as replacement Geoff Cross went over. 

 

And Matawalu wrapped up the win in the final minutes for the home team, taking Glasgow's try count to eight.

 

Sean Lamont – returning from long-term injury and replacing last week's hat-trick hero Tommy Seymour – collected an early high ball on the right wing.

 

Glasgow recycled the ball and a sweeping move saw Lions fullback Hogg turn on the gas to score in the corner inside a minute, with another returning international, Duncan Weir, adding the extras.

 

And it could have got worse for Zebre just four minutes later as Weir's long-range drop goal fell agonisingly short of the sticks.

 

The Warriors started like an express train, knowing a win would guarantee them a home play-off tie, while a bonus point victory would keep up the pressure on table-toppers Leinster.

 

On eight minutes Weir turned down a kick at goal and instead kicked for territory and from the resulting line-out Leone Nakarawa off-loaded to British Lion Grant, who burrowed over for a score.

 

Glasgow looked like scoring every time they got their hands on the ball and only a knock-on on nine minutes prevented Weir scoring in the corner after another powerful run and off-load by wrecking ball Nakarawa.

 

The home side went over their third score on 16 minutes as skipper Kellock collected a line-out in the corner and rumbled over for bizarre score, with Weir adding the extras to make the score 21-0.

 

And the bonus point was secured on 19 minutes as Hogg finished off a flowing move more suited to 7s than the 15-man game, with numerous off-loads, leading to the full-back having an easy run in for his second score – this time Weir missed his kick at goal. 

 

Try number five arrived on 23 minutes as Scotland international Dunbar was the lucky recipient of weak Italian tackling, running in four metres to score – with Weir again popping over the conversion.

 

Matawalu his side's sixth try on the half hour; the Glasgow wing won a foot race against his own player, Hogg, to finish off ball hacked through – Weir claimed the extra two points with a kick. 

 

Zebre refused to roll over as they looked to earn a first-ever run of three straight wins in the competition and in the process qualify for the next year's European Rugby Champions Cup.

 

After conceding 40 points in the opening half; Zebre produced a determined second 40 minutes in worsening conditions to keep Glasgow at bay, driving rain meant free-flowing rugby was replaced by the front five taking over.

 

Prop Cross finally went over on 65 minutes for Glasgow after a period of very little action, with birthday-boy Weir adding the extras to make the score 47-0. 

 

Matawalu wrapped up the win in the final minutes, filling in at scrum-half, as he ran in unopposed to score under the posts.

 

And to make matters worse for Zebre, Treviso collected a bonus point in defeat to Newport Gwent Dragons – good enough to secure the Italian berth in the European Rugby Champions Cup next season and condemn Zebre to the foot of the table in the process.

 

 

Tries: Hogg 2, Grant, Kellock, Dunbar, Matawalu 2, Cross

Cons: Weir 5, Jackson

 

 

Glasgow: 15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Sean Lamont, 13 Alex Dunbar, 12 Peter Horne, 11 Niko Matawalu, 10 Duncan Weir, 9 Henry Pyrgos, 8 Leone Nakarawa, 7 Chris Fusaro, 6 James Eddie, 5 Al Kellock (captain), 4 Tim Swinson, 3 Moray Low, 2 Pat MacArthur, 1 Ryan Grant.

Replacements: 16 Dougie Hall, 17 Jerry Yanuyanutawa, 18 Geoff Cross, 19 Rob Harley, 20 Tyrone Holmes, 21 Ruaridh Jackson, 22 Lee Jones, 23 Peter Murchie.

 

Zebre: 15 David Odiete, 14 Giulio Toniolatti, 13 Gonzalo Garcia, 12 Giovanbattista Venditti, 11 Dion Berryman, 10 Tommaso Iannone, 9 Guglielmo Palazzani, 8 Samuela Vunisa, 7 Andries van Schalkwyk, 6 Mauro Bergamasco, 5 Marco Bortolami (captain), 4 Quintin Geldenhuys, 3 Dario Chistolini, 2 Davide Giazzoni, 1 Salvatore Perugini.

Replacements: 16 Tommaso D'Apice, 17 Matias Aguero, 18 Dave Ryan, 19 George Biagi, 20 Emiliano Caffini, 21 Alberto Chillon, 22 Filippo Ferrarini, 23 Filippo Cristiano.

 

Referee: Alain Rolland 

Assistant referees: Neil Paterson, Graeme Marshall 

TMO: Jim Yuille 

 

 

Six tries for the home side and a man-of-the-match performance from Sam Lewis was enough to seal a comprehensive win.

 

Miah Nikora had opened the scoring when his penalty gave Connacht an early lead.

 

However on 12 minutes Lewis showed incredible cover defence to force a turnover and Jeff Hassler charged down the line and bulldozed his way through a late challenge to set Ospreys on their way.

 

Hassler was involved again five minutes later but this time for all the wrong reasons.

 

Connacht sprayed the ball out wide and Hassler was caught out of position as Darragh Leader ran in to restore Connacht's lead.

 

Ashley Beck, who is set for hip surgery that will keep him out for at least five months, responded on 27 minutes thanks to a quick offload from Sam Davies and Dan Biggar's conversion made it 14-8.

 

That signalled the beginning of the end for the Irish side as Biggar added a penalty five minutes later.

 

Alun Wyn Jones than ran under the posts to add another for Ospreys and Biggar duly converted the simple kick.

 

However, Ospreys had no answer to Connacht's line-out drive and Denis Buckley forced his way over on the stroke of half-time to give the away side hope.

 

But hope turned to despair after the restart as Beck collected Biggar's pass and showed great footwork to open a gap in the Connacht defence and a quick turn of pace made it 29-15.

 

Biggar's conversion put Ospreys 16 points ahead and he added another to his tally following Nicky Smith's try on 60 minutes.

 

Connacht responded instantly as Conor Gilsenan ran over but it would prove to be the last points that the Irish side would score this season after Nikora missed the conversion.

 

Dan Baker added Ospreys' final try on 68 minutes and Biggar made sure his final match of the season was a perfect one as he added another conversion – his sixth of the match.

 

Tries: Hassler 2, Beck, Wyn Jones, Smith

Cons: Biggar 4

Pen: Biggar

 

Tries: Leader, Buckley, Gilsenan

Con: Nikora

Pen: Nikora

 

 

Ospreys: 15 Sam Davies, 14 Hanno Dirksen, 13 Ashley Beck, 12 Andrew Bishop, 11 Jeff Hassler, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Tom Habberfield, 8 Dan Baker, 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 Sam Lewis, 5 Ian Evans, 4 Alun Wyn Jones (captain), 3 Aaron Jarvis, 2 Scott Baldwin, 1 Nicky Smith.

Replacements: 16 Scott Otten, 17 Marc Thomas, 18 Adam Jones, 19 Tyler Ardron, 20 Joe Bearman, 21 Tito Tebaldi, 22 Jonathan Spratt, 23 Aisea Natoga.

 

Connacht: 15 Darragh Leader, 14 Danie Poolman, 13 Eoin Griffin, 12 Dave McSharry, 11 Matt Healy, 10 Miah Nikora, 9 Kieran Marmion, 8 John Muldoon (captain), 7 Conor Gilsean, 6 Andrew Browne, 5 Mick Kearney, 4 Aly Muldowney, 3 Ronan Loughney, 2 Dave Heffernan, 1 Denis Buckley.

Replacements: 16 Jack Dinneen, 17 Finlay Beahlam, 18 Rodney Ah You, 19 Michael Swift, 20 Eoin McKeon, 21 Caolin Blade, 22 Dan Parks, 23 Robbie Henshaw.

 

Referee: Andrew McMenemy