Trimble secures top spot for Ulster
Andrew Trimble scored twice in a blistering second-half spell for Ulster who secured top spot in the Pro12 and a home semifinal.
Ulster recorded a bonus-point 37-13 victory over Cardiff Blues in the final round of league action on Friday.
* And Munster-bound wing Andrew Conway bagged a hat-trick as Leinster secured a home Pro12 play-off with a 37-19 victory over Ospreys.
* Four fine tries from Treviso secured their most successful Pro12 season with an impressive 41-17 victory away to the Scarlets, who scraped into the semifinals.
* British & Irish Lions duo Sean Maitland and Stuart Hogg came off the bench to ensure Glasgow Warriors ended the regular Pro12 season on a high with a 20-3 victory at Connacht.
* Replacement BJ Botha scored the decisive try as Munster ended their Pro12 season on a high with a 27-25 victory at Zebre, while at the same time condemning the Italians to a winless campaign.
* A first-half blitz with tries from Greig Tonks, Greig Laidlaw and Netani Talei ensured Edinburgh finished their Pro12 campaign with a 31-24 win over the Dragons, withstanding a late onslaught from their visitors.
We look at all the Round 22 action!
Zebre 25-27 Munster
Replacement BJ Botha scored the decisive try as Munster ended their Pro12 season on a high with a 27-25 victory at Zebre, while at the same time condemning the Italians to a winless campaign.
The Springbok prop, Botha, scored within two minutes of coming on for John Ryan in the second half and that, coupled with first-half tries from Johne Murphy and Paddy Butler, saw Munster pick up just their second victory in eight Pro12 matches.
Sinoti Sinoti and Giovanbattista Venditti efforts for the hosts ultimately proved in vain, and their ninth losing bonus point will do little to ease the pain of their 22nd straight league defeat.
Zebre got off to a solid start and within the opening two minutes found themselves ahead when flyhalf Daniel Halangahu slotted home a penalty.
The visitors were quick to respond though – wing Murphy showcased some good hands and went over on five minutes. Centre Ian Keatley did the honours with the boot.
But Zebre stood up to the Munstermen and on 14 minutes they found themselves ahead when Sinoti – after a TMO review – was adjudged to have crossed and Halangahu added the extras.
However, four minutes later Zebre were undone after a period of pressure from the Munster scrum allowed No.8 Butler to touch down. Keatley's kick gave Munster a 14-8 lead.
Ill discipline was proving to be the visitors' downfall though and Australian Halangahu, unfazed by the bright sunshine in northern Italy, notched his third kick of the evening before Gonzalo Garcia took over the duties from the tee and levelled the scores at 14-14 with Zebre's third penalty.
And four minutes before the break the hosts retook the lead, Venditti went over in the corner and, despite Halangahu's missed conversion, Garcia added a late penalty for a 22-14 half-time lead.
Within two minutes of the restart Keatley reduced the arrears to five points when he was presented with a three-pointer.
Garcia then failed with a long-range penalty attempt on 47 minutes for Zebre and that miss was made all the more costly when Keatley notched another ten minutes later.
But the hosts' policy of changing kickers paid more dividends when Halangahu took his personal tally to nine points and Zebre's lead to 25-20 just before the hour mark.
Keatley's toughest kick of the evening, around 40 metres out, proved too far out for the former Connacht fly-half but Botha made an immediate impression when he crossed two minutes after coming off the bench.
Keatley had little trouble putting Munster back into the lead with the conversion but Halangahu missed a 73rd-minute penalty that would have seen Zebre take a one-point advantage.
Keatley did the same with two minutes remaining, his effort drifting wide of the posts, which offered Zebre the chance to steal a dramatic victory but they failed to break down a resolute Munster defence.
The scorers:
For Zebre:
Tries: Venditti, Sinoti
Pens: Halangahu 3, Garcia 2
For Munster:
Tries: Murphy, Botha, Butler
Cons: Keatley 3
Pens: Keatley 2
Teams:
Zebre: 15 Ruggero Trevisan, 14 Giovanbattista Venditti, 13 Alberto Benettin, 12 Gonzalo Garcia, 11 Sinoti Sinoti, 10 Daniel Halangahu, 9 Tito Tebaldi, 8 Andries Van Schalkwyk, 7 Mauro Bergamasco, 6 Filippo Ferrarini, 5 Marco Bortolami (captain), 4 Josh Sole, 3 David Ryan, 2 Davide Giazzon, 1 Matias Aguero.
Replacements: 16 Andrea Mancini, 17 Luciano Leibson, 18 Andrea de Marchi, 19 Emiliano Caffini, 20 Filippo Cristiano, 21 Alberto Chillon, 22 Matteo Pratichetti, 23 Samuele Pace.
Munster: 15 Denis Hurley, 14 Ronan O'Mahony, 13 Casey Laulala, 12 Ian Keatley, 11 Johne Murphy, 10 JJ Hanrahan, 9 Cathal Sheridan, 8 Paddy Butler. 7 Sean Dougall, 6 Dave O'Callaghan, 5 Paul O'Connell (captain), 4 Billy Holland, 3 John Ryan, 2 Mike Sherry, 1 David Kilcoyne.
Replacements: 16 Damian Varley, 17 James Cronin, 18 BJ Botha, 19 Ian Nagle, 20 Johnny Holland, 21 Duncan Williams, 22 Cian Bohane, 23 Felix Jones.
Referee: Andrew McMenemy (Scotland)
Assistant Referees: Matteo Liperini, Stefano Roscini (both Italy)
TMO: Carlo Damasco (Italy)
Connacht 3-20 Glasgow Warriors
British & Irish Lions duo Sean Maitland and Stuart Hogg came off the bench to ensure Glasgow Warriors ended the regular Pro12 season on a high with a 20-3 victory at Connacht.
The Warriors were in control for much of the contest with DTH van der Merwe's try helping them into a 10-3 lead at the break.
Connacht's attempt to give coach Eric Elwood the perfect send-off never really got going and once Hogg and Maitland appeared Glasgow closed out the game.
First Hogg, fitting in at fly-half, slotted a penalty and then Maitland raced over in the corner with Hogg converting to ensure the Warriors would finish the season in third and face a trip to Leinster in the play-offs.
Connacht were presented with an early chance to take the lead but Dan Parks failed with his penalty attempt.
Instead it was Glasgow who went ahead when Ruaridh Jackson showed good invention to slot a drop goal with the help of the upright.
Glasgow extended their lead when, following good work by the forwards, centre Sean Lamont fed the ball back inside to van der Merwe who span out of the tackle and touched down and Jackson added the extras.
The visitors' flying start was slowed somewhat when prop Jon Welsh was sent to the sin-bin but it was the Warriors who should have struck again only for van der Merwe to knock-on on the line.
Connacht finally got on the scoreboard one minute before the break when Parks kicked a penalty to trail 10-3 at the break.
Jackson could have cancelled out Parks' kick straight after the interval but he couldn't put his penalty attempt between the posts.
Both sides committed errors as the game became ragged in the second half but after a strong Glasgow scrum, replacement Hogg kicked a penalty.
Hogg, who was named in the British & Irish Lions squad for the summer tour of Australia, played at fly-half after coming on with 15 minutes to go.
And it was another member of the touring party who grabbed Glasgow's second try of the game – Maitland showing great speed to cross in the corner before Hogg converted from the touchline.
A fine burst and cross-field kick from Maitland then saw Glasgow almost add a third try but despite spotting a gap Nikola Matawalu was adjudged to have knocked on in the act of scoring.
As it was there was to be no bonus-point win but it was enough to extend Glasgow's season into the play-offs.
The scorers:
For Connacht:
Pen: Parks
For Glasgow:
Tries: Van der Merwe, Maitland
Cons: Jackson, Hogg
Pen: Hogg
DG: Jackson
The teams:
Connacht: 15 Gavin Duffy (captain), 14 Danie Poolman, 13 Eoin Griffin, 12 Brian Murphy, 11 Fetu'u Vainikolo, 10 Dan Parks, 9 Kieran Marmion, 8 Eoin McKeon, 7 Johnny O'Connor, 6 Andrew Browne, 5 Mike McCarthy, 4 Michael Swift, 3 Ronan Loughney, 2 Ethienne Reynecke, 1 Brett Wilkinson.
Replacements: 16 Adrian Flavin, 17 Rodney Ah You, 18 JP Cooney, 19 Mick Kearney, 20 John Muldoon, 21 Mata Fifita, 22 Paul O'Donohoe, 23 Miah Nikora.
Glasgow: 15 Peter Murchie, 14 Tommy Seymour, 13 Sean Lamont, 12 Peter Horne, 11 DTH Van der Merwe, 10 Ruaridh Jackson, 9 Henry Pyrgos, 8 Ryan Wilson (captain), 7 John Barclay, 6 Rob Harley, 5 Tom Ryder, 4 Tim Swinson, 3 Jon Welsh, 2 Pat MacArthur, 1 Moray Low.
Replacements: 16 Doug Hall, 17 Ryan Grant, 18 Ed Kalman, 19 James Eddie, 20 Josh Strauss, 21 Niko Matawalu, 22 Sean Maitland, 23 Stuart Hogg.
Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)
Assistant Referees: Paul Haycock, John Carvill (both Ireland)
TMO: Seamus Flannery (Ireland)
Edinburgh 31-24 Newport Gwent Dragons
A first-half blitz with tries from Greig Tonks, Greig Laidlaw and Netani Talei ensured Edinburgh finished their Pro12 campaign with a 31-24 win over the Dragons, withstanding a late onslaught from their visitors.
Edinburgh's three scores came in 11 first-half minutes which proved enough for victory but back-to-back scores from Dan Lydiate and Tom Prydie almost completed a remarkable turnaround.
In his final match for the club, Allan 'Chunk' Jacobsen led Edinburgh out to a rapturous reception but it was the Dragons who drew first blood in the fifth minute.
Visiting fly-half Steffan Jones streaked under the post after gathering an offload from the rampaging Toby Faletau before Prydie added the extras to give the Dragons a 7-0 lead.
On ten minutes, Prydie had the chance extend the lead but he missed his chance for three points from the tee as Edinburgh struggled to get going at Murrayfield.
But the hosts stirred to life on 13 minutes and having been given a penalty on the five-metre line, Harry Leonard kicked the ball across the field for full-back Tonks who dotted down.
Leonard converted to level the scores and just five minutes later Edinburgh ahead after some bruising forward play barged the hosts upfield and Laidlaw sniped over from five metres.
This time Laidlaw took the conversion and missed the target but Edinburgh didn't have to wait long for another score – Talei showing some magical footwork against his the club he is soon to join to dance his way over the line on 24 minutes.
When Laidlaw converted the Gunners were 19-7 to the good and both sides found themselves down to 14 men on the half hour after a scuffle resulted in Sean Cox and Andrew Coombs being sent to the sin bin.
Dragons centre Ross Wardle then followed Coombs to the bin for a tip tackle on Talei and Edinburgh took full advantage – Laidlaw knocking over a penalty on 35 minutes.
Prydie finally interrupted the Edinburgh barrage with a 39th-minute penalty but Laidlaw responded in kind just before the break to hand the hosts a 25-10 half-time lead.
After the break, Edinburgh set about keeping the scoreboard ticking over and they succeeded in the 51st minute when Laidlaw continued his fine form from the tee.
And he was at it again three minutes later to give Edinburgh a commanding 31-10 lead.
The Dragons refused to lie down however and with 17 minutes remaining they had their second try of the night – Wales flanker Lydiate celebrating his call-up to the British & Irish Lions squad with an impressive try on his final appearance for the Dragons.
Prydie added the conversion to bring the Dragons to within two converted tries of Edinburgh and that soon became one when the Welsh full-back took matters into his own hands and dotted down before notching the extras.
The pressure was clearly getting to Edinburgh, who missed a penalty through Laidlaw, but the hosts held on the finish their season on a high.
The scorers:
For Edinburgh:
Tries: Tonks, Laidlaw, Talei
Cons: Laidlaw 2
Pens: Laidlaw 4
For Newport Gwent Dragons:
Tries: S Jones, Lydiate, Prydie
Cons: Prydie 3
Pen: Prydie
Yellow cards: Sean Cox (Edinburgh, 30), Andrew Coombs (Newport Gwent Dragons, 30), Ross Wardle (Newport Gwent Dragons, 34)
The teams:
Edinburgh: 15 Greig Tonks, 14 Dougie Fife, 13 Nick de Luca, 12 Matt Scott, 11 Tim Visser, 10 Harry Leonard, 9 Greig Laidlaw (captain), 8 Netani Talei, 7 Hamish Watson, 6 Stuart McInally, 5 Grant Gilchrist, 4 Sean Cox, 3 Willem Nel, 2 Ross Ford, 1 Allan Jacobsen.
Replacements: 16 Steve Lawrie, 17 Robin Hislop, 18 Geoff Cross, 19 Perry Parker, 20 Richie McIver, 21 Sean Kennedy, 22 Piers Francis, 23 Tom Brown.
Newport Gwent Dragons: 15 Dan Evans, 14 Tom Prydie, 13 Ross Wardle, 12 Lewis Robling, 11 Tonderai Chavhanga, 10 Steffan Jones, 9 Jonathan Evans, 8 Toby Faletau, 7 Nic Cudd, 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Rob Sidoli, 4 Andrew Coombs (captain), 3 Nathan Buck, 2 Hugh Gustafson, 1 Aaron Coundley.
Replacements: 16 Sam Parry, 17 Owen Evans, 18 Tim Ryan, 19 Adam Jones, 20 Ieuan Jones, 21 Wayne Evans, 22 Pat Leach, 23 Hallam Amos.
Referee: Marius Mitrea (Italy)
Assistant Referees: Andy Macpherson, David Changleng (both Scotland)
Leinster 37-19 Ospreys
Munster-bound wing Andrew Conway bagged a hat-trick as Leinster secured a home Pro12 play-off with a 37-19 victory over Ospreys.
The 21-year-old crossed the whitewash twice in the first half and immediately after the break when he collected his own kick to race home in a fine display.
Defending champions Ospreys were not going down without a fight and two tries in seven minutes towards the end of the first half had given them hope.
But while Tom Isaacs got a third try for the Welsh side, Cian Healy secured Leinster the bonus point with a fourth try for Leinster to set up a semifinal with Glasgow and end Ospreys' season.
Dan Biggar passed up the chance to kick Ospreys into an early lead when he failed with a penalty attempt on six minutes.
Leinster led 7-0 only two minutes later when Fergus McFadden's kick through took a fortunate bounce and landed in the hands of grateful winger Conway who crossed the whitewash with Jonny Sexton converting despite a strong wind.
With 20 minutes gone Leinster camped themselves on the Ospreys try-line but the visitors stood firm in defence.
However they were powerless to prevent Conway extending the lead with his second try of the game two minutes later after scrum-half Luke McGrath off-loaded out of the tackle to his flying winger and Sexton again added the extras.
Ospreys responded well and a kick to the corner narrowly avoided Joe Bearman before a quick tap-and-go penalty from Biggar saw the fly-half wriggle over.
Biggar converted and the gap closed further three minutes before the break as the ball passed through the hands of the fly-half, Sam Lewis and Bearman before Ben John dived over in the corner.
Sexton responded with a penalty for Leinster on the stroke of half-time to send the home side in 17-12 up at the break.
Leinster picked up where they left off after the interval and Conway collected his own chip ahead to complete a superb hat-trick and Sexton converted with the help of the post.
The Irish side continued to build their lead and a Sexton penalty on 56 minutes made it 27-12 but the Ospreys continued to push on in search of a score which they warranted when Isaacs went over and Biggar converted.
Sexton hit back with a penalty and in a frantic final ten minutes Healy wrapped up the bonus point for Leinster with a try that Ian Madigan converted.
The scorers:
For Leinster:
Tries: Healy, Conway 3
Cons: Sexton 3, Madigan
Pens: Sexton 3
For Ospreys:
Tries: John, Biggar, Isaacs
Cons: Biggar 2
The teams:
Leinster: 15 Rob Kearney, 14 Andrew Conway, 13 Fergus McFadden, 12 Ian Madigan, 11 Isa Nacewa, 10 Johnny Sexton, 9 Isaac Boss, 8 Sean O'Brien, 7 Shane Jennings, 6 Rhys Ruddock, 5 Quinn Roux, 4 Leo Cullen (captain), 3 Jamie Hagan, 2 Sean Cronin, 1 Jack McGrath.
Replacements: 16 Richardt Strauss, 17 Cian Healy, 18 Michael Bent, 19 Devin Toner, 20 Dominic Ryan, 21 John Cooney, 22 Andrew Goodman, 23 Brian O'Driscoll.
Ospreys: 15 Richard Fussell, 14 Tom Habberfield, 13 Ashley Beck, 12 Ben John, 11 Ross Jones, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Rhys Webb, 8 Joe Bearman, 7 Sam Lewis, 6 Justin Tipuric, 5 James King, 4 Alun Wyn Jones (captain), 3 Adam Jones, 2 Scott Baldwin, 1 Duncan Jones.
Replacements: 16 Dmitri Arhip, 17 Ryan Bevington, 18 Cai Griffiths, 19 Ian Evans, 20 Morgan Allen, 21 Matthew Morgan, 22 Tom Isaacs, 23 Jonathan Spratt.
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant Referees: Mark Patton, Stuart Gaffikin (both Ireland)
TMO: Alan Rogan (Ireland)
Scarlets 17-41 Benetton Treviso
Four fine tries from Treviso secured their most successful Pro12 season with an impressive 41-17 victory away to the Scarlets, who scraped into the semifinals.
Treviso were well worth their victory, even extending their lead when down to 13 men, while the Scarlets were relieved that the Ospreys were unable to defeat Leinster, ensuring Simon Easterby's side kept hold of fourth place and booked a play-off trip to Ravenhill to face Ulster.
Scarlets showed their intent early, putting plenty of width on the ball and making early yardage before taking a third-minute lead after Treviso were pinged for coming in at the side.
Owen Williams made no mistake but Treviso, intent on taking their win count into double figures for the first time in Pro12 history, hit back soon after.
The Scarlets' lineout misfired inside their own half and while No.8 Robert Barbieri failed to gather the loose ball, Alessandro Zanni snaffled it, swiftly off loaded to Antonio Pavanello, who burst towards the line.
The second row couldn't quite make it to the try-line but he looked inside and found the supporting Barbieri who stormed over the line for his eighth try of the season on eight minutes.
Kristopher Burton was on target with the conversion in his final appearance before joining Newport Gwent Dragons to hand Treviso a 7-3 lead.
Back came the Scarlets however and Williams' 13th-minute penalty trimmed the gap to just one and took the young fly-half into triple figures in his first season in the Pro12.
Williams soon undid his good work however, tackling the man without the ball with Treviso well placed and Burton extended his side's lead from the tee on 15 minutes.
But halfway through the first half, Williams notched his third penalty of the night from more than 40 metres after Treviso were penalised at the scrum.
And eight minutes before the break, the Scarlets retook the lead when Williams was again on target after the home side were again awarded a penalty from a scrum.
Scarlets were proving their own worst enemy however and almost immediately, Samson Lee infringed and Treviso edged back ahead 13-12, Burton once more with the kick.
It was more of the same after the break and Burton extended the visitors' lead with another penalty on 42 minutes but three minutes later Treviso found themselves down to 13 men when first Valerio Bernabo and then Bees Roux were sent to the sin bin.
Scarlets endeavoured to make their advantage count but it was Treviso who were next on the scoresheet with another penalty from Burton and against all odds, the Italians extended their lead with their second try of the match.
Rhys Priestland came off the replacements bench but his first action was a knock-on and after a punt down field, Treviso worked Manoa Vosawai over in the corner, Burton adding a superb conversion for a 26-12 lead.
The Scarlets had to respond and almost did immediately after a break down the middle from Priestland but Treviso wing Christian Loamanu made a superb covering tackle to deny Andy Fenby.
Burton then missed two drop goals in quick succession but despite concerted pressure from the Scarlets, composure eluded them and the clock ticked into the closing 20 minutes and Luca Morisi caught the hosts cold, bursting through a lacklustre Scarlets defence to put the game beyond reach.
And Loamanu rubbed salt into the wounds of the Scarlets with a fine finish in the right hand corner to seal the bonus point before Treviso moved through the 40-point mark with a penalty from the halfway line after a clumsy tackle by Gareth Edwards on the try-scorer.
Scarlets' night got even worse when British & Irish Lion George North limped off injured and while Liam Williams grabbed a try right at the death for the hosts, it was far too little too late.
The scorers:
For Scarlets:
Try: L Williams
Pen: O Williams 4
For Benetton Treviso:
Tries: Barbieri, Vosawai, Morisi, Loamanu
Cons: Burton 3
Pens: Burton 5
Yellow cards: Valerio Bernabo (Benetton Treviso, 44), Jacobus Roux (Benetton Treviso, 45)
The teams:
Scarlets: 15 Liam Williams, 14 George North, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Scott Williams, 11 Andy Fenby, 10 Owen Williams, 9 Aled Davies, 8 Rob McCusker (captain), 7 Josh Turnbull, 6 Aaron Shingler, 5 Johan Synman, 4 George Earle, 3 Samson Lee, 2 Ken Owens, 1 Phil John.
Replacements: 16 Matthew Rees, 17 Rhodri Jones, 18 Jacobie Adriaanse, 19 Jake Ball, 20 Sione Timani, 21 Gareth Davies, 22 Rhys Priestland, 23 Gareth Maule.
Benetton Treviso: 15 Brendan Williams, 14 Christian Loamanu, 13 Michele Campagnaro, 12 Doppies La Grange, 11 Ludovico Nitoglia, 10 Kristopher Burton, 9 Edoardo Gori, 8 Robert Barbieri, 7 Alessandro Zanni, 6 Manoa Vosawai, 5 Antonio Pavanello (captain), 4 Francesco Minto, 3 Bees Roux, 2 Giovanni Maistri, 1 Michele Rizzo.
Replacements: 16 Enrico Ceccato, 17 Alberto De Marchi, 18 Ignacio Fernandez-Rouyet, 19 Valerio Bernabò, 20 Simone Favaro, 21 Fabio Semenzato, 22 James Ambrosini, 23 Luca Morisi.
Referee: Dudley Phillips (Ireland)
Assistant Referees: Neil Hennessy, Tim Hayes (both Wales)
TMO: Huw Lewis (Wales)
Ulster 37-13 Cardiff Blues
Andrew Trimble scored twice in a blistering second-half spell for Ulster who secured top spot in the Pro12 and a home semifinal with a bonus-point 37-13 victory over Cardiff Blues on Friday.
The hosts, trailing 13-10 at the break, proved why they have resided at the summit of the table for most of the season by blitzing their way to 27 unanswered points – wing Trimble the architect.
His efforts were preceded by Ruan Pienaar's first-half try – the South African flyhalf finishing the contest with 22 points in total – as Ulster made it four successive wins in the Pro12 and consequently set up a clash with Scarlets in the play-offs.
Cardiff, meanwhile, extended their winless run away from home to four games but got off to the perfect start when scrum-half Lewis Jones released Dafydd Hewitt to race under the posts within four minutes – fly-half Rhys Patchell knocking over an easy conversion.
Ravenhill was boasting difficult conditions underfoot, as Pienaar found out when he skewed his attempt of a penalty wide on eight minutes, but the fly-half made amends seconds later.
From the restart Blues wing Harry Robinson made an uncharacteristic fumble which allowed the South African to jog his way over the line, and he converted to level the scores.
Patchell, selected in the Wales Under-20s squad for the IRB Junior World Championship, proved his credentials when he slotted home a 20th-minute penalty for the Blues and Pienaar did the same moments later to draw the hosts level again.
Both sides were resolute in defence and, with try-scoring chances few and far between in the first half, the opportunistic Patchell knocked over a superb drop goal just before the half-hour mark to give the visitors a 13-10 half-time lead.
But Ulster, who have lost just once at home all season in the Pro12, stormed out of the blocks in the second half and a stunning 14-minute period brought 20 unanswered points – turning the game on its head.
Trimble grabbed the hosts' second try of the evening three minutes after the restart when he powered his way to the line under three tackles.
Pienaar's boot then added a further eight points – the subsequent conversion and two penalties taking their lead to 23-13 before Trimble went over for his second try on 54 minutes.
Pienaar's high kick brought a mix-up in the Blues defence which allowed the wing to race clear and touch down while Pienaar's reliable boot comfortably converted from the touchline.
Pienaar almost added to his impressive tally but was held up on the line with five minutes remaining before Robbie Diack secured a bonus point with a late try on his 100th appearance for Ulster.
The scorers:
For Ulster:
Tries: Trimble 2, Pienaar, Diack
Cons: Pienaar 4
Pens: Pienaar 3
For Cardiff Blues:
Try: Hewitt
Con: Patchell
Pen: Patchell
DG: Patchell
Yellow card: Dafydd Hewitt (Cardiff Blues, 77)
The teams:
Ulster: 15 Jared Payne, 14 Andrew Trimble, 13 Darren Cave, 12 Stuart Olding, 11 Tommy Bowe, 10 Ruan Pienaar, 9 Paul Marshall, 8 Nick Williams, 7 Chris Henry, 6 Robbie Diack, 5 Iain Henderson, 4 Johann Muller (captain), 3 John Afoa, 2 Rory Best, 1 Callum Black.
Replacements: 16 Nigel Brady, 17 Tom Court, 18 Declan Fitzpatrick, 19 Dan Tuohy, 20 Sean Doyle, 21 Paddy Jackson, 22 Michael Allen, 23 Peter Nelson.
Cardiff Blues: 15 Dan Fish, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Gavin Evans (captain), 12 Dafydd Hewitt, 11 Harry Robinson, 10 Rhys Patchell, 9 Lewis Jones, 8 Michael Paterson, 7 Josh Navidi, 6 Luke Hamilton, 5 Lou Reed, 4 Bradley Davies, 3 Scott Andrews, 2 Kristian Dacey, 1 Taufa'ao Filise.
Replacements: 16 Marc Breeze, 17 Thomas Davies, 18 Campese Ma'afu, 19 Teofilo Paulo, 20 Macauley Cook, 21 Liam Davies, 22 Ceri Sweeney, 23 Tom James.
Referee: Neil Paterson (Scotland)
Assistant Referees: Sean Gallagher, Nigel Correll (both Ireland)
TMO: Seamus McDowell (Ireland)
