Munster leave it late in Cardiff

Paddy Butler's 77th-minute try broke Cardiff Blues' hearts as Munster came from behind late to record a 28-24 win at Cardiff Arms Park.

Tries from Lucas Amorosino and Manoa Vasowai looked to have given Cardiff an unlikely victory, but Butler scored Munster's only try of the game in the dying moments.

JJ Hanrahan was flawless with the boot for the visitors with seven from seven, and has now managed 22 successful kicks in a row against the Blues.

Two tries from fullback Stuart Olding were enough for Ulster to return to third spot in the PRO12 table at the expense of Newport Gwent Dragons.

Handling the ball in the first-half was tricky at a wet Kingspan Stadium but Olding's score and the boot of Paddy Jackson ensured the home side held an 11-3 half-time lead.

Olding touched down in the corner early in the second period and Declan Fitzpatrick crossed late on as the best the Dragons could offer was a couple of penalties from Angus O'Brien, meaning the final whistle blew with the score reading 23-6.

Steve Shingler's sublime kicking display and Steffan Hughes' try on his PRO12 debut guided Scarlets to a 28-13 triumph over a resilient Zebre at Parc y Scarlets.

Wayne Pivac's side trailed 12-13 at half-time through Valerio Bernabo's charge-down try but ultimately prevailed to extend their unbeaten run at home to 12 games due to the efforts of Hughes and Shingler.

Flyhalf Shingler kicked 23 points, landing all but one attempt from the tee, to settle his side's nerves and ensure John Barclay was victorious in his first game as captain.

All of Saturday's scores and scorers:

Cardiff Blues 24-28 Munster

The scorers:

For Cardiff Blues:

Tries: Amorosino, Vosawai

Con: Davies

Pens: Patchell 3

For Munster:

Try: Butler

Con: Holland

Pens: Hanrahan 7

Cardiff Blues: 15 Rhys Patchell, 14 Richard Smith, 13 Adam Thomas, 12 Gavin Evans, 11 Lucas González Amorosino, 10 Gareth Davies, 9 Lloyd Williams, 8 Manoa Vosawai, 7 Josh Navidi, 6 Josh Turnbull, 5 Filo Paulo, 4 Jarrad Hoeata, 3 Adam Jones, 2 Matthew Rees (captain), 1 Sam Hobbs.

Replacements: 16 Kristian Dacey, 17 Thomas Davies, 18 Taufa'ao Filise, 19 Macauley Cook, 20 Ellis Jenkins, 21 Lewis Jones, 22 Garyn Smith, 23 Dan Fish.

Munster: 15 Johne Murphy, 14 Andrew Conway, 13 Andrew Smith, 12 Rory Scannell, 11 Gerhard van den Heever, 10 JJ Hanrahan, 9 Duncan Williams, 8 Robin Copeland, 7 Paddy Butler, 6 CJ Stander, 5 Billy Holland, 4 Donncha O'Callaghan (captain), 3 BJ Botha; 2 Kevin O'Byrne, 1 John Ryan.

Replacements: 16 Eusebio Guinazu, 17 Alan Cotter, 18 Stephen Archer, 19 Sean McCarthy, 20 Barry O'Mahony, 21 Cathal Sheridan, 22 Johnny Holland, 23 Ronan O'Mahony.

Referee: Marius Mitrea (Italy)

Assistant Referees: Leighton Hodges (Wales), Simon Rees (Wales)

TMO: Gareth Simmonds (Wales)

Ulster 23-6 Newport Gwent Dragons

The scorers:

For Ulster:

Tries: Olding 2, Fitzpatrick

Con: Humphreys

Pens: Jackson 2

For Dragons:

Pens: O'Brien 2

Ulster: 15 Stuart Olding, 14 Louis Ludik, 13 Darren Cave, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Peter Nelson, 10 Paddy Jackson, 9 Paul Marshall, 8 Roger Wilson (captain); 7 Sean Reidy, 6 Clive Ross, 5 Franco van der Merwe, 4 Lewis Stevenson, 3 Wiehahn Herbst, 2 Rob Herring, 1 Calum Black.

Replacements: 16 John Andrew, 17 Andrew Warwick, 18 Declan Fitzpatrick, 19 Neil McComb, 20 Robbie Diack, 21 Michael Heaney, 22 Ian Humphreys, 23 Ricky Andrew.

Dragons: 15 Jason Tovey, 14 Matthew Pewtner, 13 Rhys Williams, 12 Ashley Smith, 11 Aled Brew, 10 Angus O'Brien, 9 Richie Rees, 8 Andy Powell. 7 James Benjamin, 6 Lewis Evans, 5 Rynard Landman (captain), 4 James Thomas, 3 Dan Way, 2 Thomas Rhys Thomas, 1 Boris Stankovich.

Replacements: 16 Elliot Dee, 17 Owen Evans, 18 Lloyd Fairbrother, 19 Scott Andrews, 20 Ollie Griffiths, 21 Jonathan Evans, 22 Geraint Rhys Jones,23 Ashton Hewitt.

Referee: Matteo Liperini (Italy)

Assistant Referees: Nigel Correll (Ireland), Paul Haycock (Ireland)

TMO: Simon McDowell (Ireland)

Scarlets 28-13 Zebre

The scorers:

For Scarlets:

Try: Hughes

Con: Shingler

Pens: Shingler 7

For Zebre:

Try: Bernarbo

Con: Padovani

Pens: Padovani 2

Scarlets: 15 Steffan Evans, 14 Harry Robinson, 13 Michael Tagicakibau, 12 Gareth Owen, 11 Kristian Phillips, 10 Steven Shingler, 9 Aled Davies, 8 John Barclay (captain), 7 James Davies, 6 Aaron Shingler, 5 Johan Snyman, 4 George Earle, 3 Peter Edwards, 2 Kirby Myhill, 1 Rob Evans.

Replacements: 16 Ryan Elias, 17 Phil John, 18 Jacobie Adriaanse, 19 Sion Bennett, 20 Rory Pitman, 21 Rhodri Davies, 22 Josh Lewis, 23 Steffan Hughes.

Zebre: 15 David Odiete, 14 Giulio Toniolatti, 13 Mirco Bergamasco, 12 Matteo Pratichetti, 11 Leonardo Sarto, 10 Edoardo Padovani, 9 Brendon Leonard, 8 Andries Van Schalkwyk, 7 Filippo Cristiano, 6 Mauro Bergamasco (captain), 5 Valerio Bernabò, 4 Quintin Geldenhuys, 3 Dario Chistolini, 2 Andrea Manici, 1 Matias Aguero.

Replacements: 16 Oliviero Fabiani, 17 Andrea Lovotti, 18 Luciano Leibson, 19 Samuela Vunisa, 20 Marco Bortolami, 21 Marcello Violi, 22 Dion Berryman, 23 Luciano Orquera.

Referee: Gary Conway (Ireland)

Assistant Referees: Wayne Davies (Wales), Greg Morga (Wales)