Leinster continues dominance as Cardiff, Scarlets keep play-off hopes alive

WRAP: Leinster continued their United Rugby Championship dominance with a 41-17 victory over Ulster whilst there were also wins for Glasgow Warriors, Cardiff and Scarlets.

Leinster are now nine points clear of the second place Glasgow Warriors who scraped a narrow 14-6 away victory against Zebre.

In Wales Cardiff upset the Ospreys by 36-19 whilst Scarlets claimed a hard-fought 31-23 win over the bottom placed Dragons to keep their season alive.

The article continues below…

Cardiff stun Ospreys to claim Welsh shield

Cardiff kept their URC play-off hopes alive and clinched the Welsh Shield with a six-try bonus point victory at the Millennium Stadium.

They had the four-try bonus in the bag before the break with flanker Alex Mann and wing Gabriel Hamer-Webb both crossing twice to establish a 22-7 half-time lead.

The Ospreys fought back to set up a grandstand finish, but Matt Sherratt’s team sealed the victory with two late tries as Player of the Match Hamer-Webb completed his hat-trick.

The result sets up a real humdinger of a clash with play-off rivals Munster at the Arms Park next Friday night.

When the game got underway, it was the Ospreys who opened the scoring with a converted try from centre Keiran Williams on 11 minutes.

They had been handed a one-man advantage by Teddy Williams being yellow-carded for head contact in a tackle on Dan Edwards and they capitalised with Williams stepping inside to touch down after a powerful carry from Wales captain Jac Morgan.

But it was Cardiff who were to do all the scoring for the rest of the first half after that as they increasingly took control.

Despite being down to 14 men, they soon drew level as they were rewarded for their ambition.

Rejecting a simple kick at goal, they opted for a tap penalty instead and it paid off as blindside Mann spun over following a strong surge from prop Corey Domachowski.

Once restored to their full complement, they struck again four minutes later to take the lead.

After Josh Adams who made his 50th appearance for the club won a jackal penalty, they kicked to the corner where Williams marked his return to the fray by claiming the resulting lineout.

Following a maul rumble and a succession of forward carries, the ball was moved left with Cam Winnett throwing out a huge pass to Hamer-Webb who cut between Jack Walsh and Daniel Kasende to score.

It wasn’t long before the winger had his second in the bag.

A cleverly delayed pass from Callum Sheedy sent Ben Donnell galloping across half way with the second row then feeding Hamer-Webb who managed to hold on to the ball with a little juggle, fend off one defender and get back to his feet to score after being ankle tapped by Walsh.

Cardiff were now flying and secured the four-try bonus five minutes before the break.

This time Hamer-Webb was involved in the build-up, chipping over the top for Johan Mulder to win the race to the ball and then stepping in as scrumhalf in place of the prone South African.

It was then all about the clinical finish and that was delivered as Ben Thomas put in a cross kick which Mann reached above his head to collect before dabbing down in the right corner.

The Ospreys’ plight worsened when No.8 Morgan Morse was sin-binned following an accumulation of penalties.

It looked as though Cardiff had rubbed salt in the wounds when Morse’s opposite number Taulupe Faletau burst through to the line, only for the try to be disallowed for a croc roll by Mann in the build up.

Nevertheless, they went in at half-time with a commanding 22-7 lead.

When the action resumed, it was soon their turn to be down a player again as Morse’s return was followed by a yellow for Mann for a late no-arms hit on Reuben Morgan-Williams.

They held firm for almost the whole of the sin bin period through some defiant defence, but were eventually breached when replacement lock Will Spencer went over after sustained pressure.

Mann’s eventful game continued once he returned as he narrowly missed out on completing his hat-trick when he was held up over the line, while it was then the turn of replacement flanker Thomas Young to be denied just short of the whitewash.

Three minutes from time, Ospreys scrumhalf Kieran Hardy squirmed through to score straight after a yellow card for centre Harri Millard for a deliberate knock-on.

Dan Edwards converted to cut the deficit to three points and set up a nerve jangling finish.

But Cardiff sealed a huge victory with two scores in the final couple of minutes.

First they earned a penalty try through a powerful lineout maul drive and then Hamer-Webb completed his hat-trick as he pocketed a grubber kick from Young and raced away just ahead of being named player of the match.

Scarlets keep play-off hopes alive by defeating Dragons RFC

The Dragons battled for a half-time lead in the capital with Jared Rosser going over for a try before Angus O’Brien scored a penalty on the stroke of the break for a 8-7 lead.

An explosive opening to the second half saw Ashton Hewitt and Rosser go over before the visitors hit back.

Scarlets roared back through Alec Hepburn and Vaea Fifita snatching back the lead before O’Brien put the men of Gwent ahead in the final quarter.

But the sting in the tail came with eight minutes left as Blair Murray scored to ensure maximum points for the visitors.

Dragons had won on four of their last five visits to Millennium Stadium – including their last two outings against Scarlets at the venue on ‘Judgement Day’.

But this was a painful defeat to take after Filo Tiatia’s men had gone toe-to-toe with Scarlets all game before late heartbreak in the capital.

Dragons made eight changes to the side that lost at Edinburgh with co-captains Ben Carter and Angus O’Brien back while former Scarlet Scott Williams made his first start for the Dragons.

Scarlets started on the front foot and opted to kick deep, after a penalty for a block in midfield, before going to corner after another infringement.

Referee Aimee Barrett-Theron went to the TMO after Scarlets crashed over, but the try from Sam Lousi was ruled out for offside in the build-up.

Lousi immediately charged down a clearing kick and linked up with Josh Macleod before the returning Carter stripped the ball in the tackle.

Scarlets were in the ascendancy and a yellow card to Dylan Kelleher-Griffiths saw the visitors come strong once more only for solid maul defence to hold them out.

Tiatia’s men were being forced to dig deep as Scarlets continued to control territory and go to the corner and maul to build pressure.

That tactic finally paid off as prop Henry Thomas was driven over for the opening score. Ioan Lloyd added the extras.

Dragons finally enjoyed some territory with Williams and Owen running the hard yards in midfield.

A penalty gave them licence to play and O’Brien took our four players with a superb floated pass to send Rosser over out wide to cut the lead.

Dragons were now starting to control possession with Williams kicked in deep as they now looked to turn the screw as Basham and Wainwright came to the fore.

Hewitt did well to put Murray under pressure after running past Mee and more strong running from Wainwright and Williams secured a penalty.

The home side were finishing the first half strong and opted for the posts after another penalty, which O’Brien nudged over for the lead at the interval.

Dragons started the second half on the front foot with Wainwright bursting through on a Scott Williams’ flat pass before the ball was spun to Hewitt to race in.

It got even better as O’Brien produced a brilliant touch finder to put the Dragons five metres out again after a penalty.

Patience was rewarded as forwards built pressure before Rosser crashed over for his second after offloads from Dee, O’Brien and Rhodri Williams.

Scarlets hit back with Alec Hepburn going over out wide after forward pressure, with Dee yellow carded to compound home misery.

With the extra man and with momentum the visitors took the lead as Vaea Fifita finished off a break from Tom Rogers. Lloyd’s extras popped them ahead by a point.

Macleod gave away a penalty for offside and O’Brien slotted the kick as Westwood replaced Williams in midfield.

The game continued to swing from end to end with Ewan Rosser producing a try saving tackle on Joe Roberts, but the penalty was secured.

Scarlets opted for the scrum and they looked set to go over only for the ball to spill loose as they looked to score.

But luck smiled on them moments later as a kick ahead bounced awkwardly for Ewan Rosser and Murray took the opportunity to pick up and score to secure the points.

Leinster marches on with convincing win over Ulster

Dan Sheehan grabbed a second half hat-trick from the bench in front of 18,442 fans at Lansdowne Road on Saturday night as Leinster moved nine points clear at the summit of the URC table with a commanding bonus-point triumph over Ulster.

Introduced in the 47th minute, Sheehan produced an all-action display to ensure Leo Cullen’s men secured their 14th win from 15 in the URC with minimal fuss.

While Leinster came into this game on the back of emphatic Champions Cup knock-out triumphs against Harlequins and Glasgow, Ulster had also played some good rugby in recent weeks.

The visitors enjoyed good spells of possession during the early exchanges in Ballsbridge and when flyhalf Jack Murphy was presented with a close-range opportunity at goal on nine minutes, he convincingly knocked the ball between the posts.

Leinster were coming under pressure in the opening moments of the contest, but they gradually grew in stature as the minutes passed by.

After marking his European start in the win over Glasgow with an impressive try, Tommy O’Brien was also eager to leave his mark on this game.

Having evaded a tackle from Jacob Stockdale off an elongated attack just shy of the first-quarter mark, he proceeded to chip the ball over the head of the retreating Nathan Doak before regathering possession in time to dot down beyond the whitewash.

Soon after, tighthead prop Thomas Clarkson rounded off an extended attacking spell inside the Ulster 22 with a powerful finish over the whitewash from close-range.

Ciarán Frawley added the conversion to make it 12-3 in the 28th minute. Ulster came roaring back into contention in a frantic end to the opening period.

From an attack that started with Nathan Doak claiming his own box kick, John Cooney released Cormac Izuchukwu through a defensive gap to burst over the Leinster tryline, with Murphy adding the extras.

Leinster ultimately brought a 19-10 cushion into the interval when referee Gianluca Gnecchi awarded a penalty try following consultation with TMO Stefano Penne.

David McCann was yellow carded for his role in the offence and Leinster went into the break with a nine-point lead.

The home side were aiming to take advantage of their temporary numerical advantage when the play resumed and their fourth try duly arrived when Garry Ringrose capitalised on excellent approach work from Jamie Osborne and Scott Penny to touch down in the right-corner on 42 minutes.

With the bonus point secured, Leinster were in pole position to secure a maximum haul from this fixture.

The 51st minute sin-binning of Diarmuid Mangan did open the door for Ulster to forge a potential fightback.

Yet, with the Irish international front row of Andrew Porter, Sheehan and Tadhg Furlong being introduced off the bench along with RG Snyman, Leinster made light of their temporary numerical deficiency.

Sheehan came into this encounter with an astounding haul of nine tries in just eight appearances for province and country in 2025 and following a delicate kick to the right-flank by player of the match Tommy O’Brien, the hooker was left with a simple finish in the corner on 58 minutes.

The Dublin native’s return from an anterior cruciate ligament sustained on Ireland’s tour of South Africa last summer has been a huge plus for Leinster in recent months and he doubled his tally for the night inside the final quarter.

Ulster finally disrupted this second period scoring blitz from Leinster with a converted try from replacement Matthew Dalton, but it seemed inevitable the hosts would finish the action with a flourish.

Capitalising on some fine work in attack from Fintan Gunne, Sheehan raced over the line to complete his hat-trick in the 78th minute.

Glasgow book home quarterfinal over plucky Zebre

Glasgow Warriors overcame a determined Zebre Parma outfit to secure a hard-fought 14-6 victory on Saturday, in a result that also secures a home quarterfinal in the URC playoffs.

Second-half tries from Josh McKay – in a player of the match-winning performance – and Stafford McDowall earned the points for the Warriors, with a physical defensive shift holding off their hosts.

On a perfect evening for rugby in northern Italy, the home side was the first to trouble the scorers, Giacomo da Re making no mistake with a penalty directly in front of the uprights to give his side a 3-0 lead with eight minutes gone.

An attritional opening quarter passed without further scoring, as both sides sought the early breakthrough. Jamie Dobie came the closest to providing the catalyst, the scrumhalf’s sniping break from 35 metres almost sending Kyle Steyn under the posts were it not for some last-ditch scramble defence.

The Warriors then found themselves the beneficiary of a let-off from the home side with 22 minutes on the clock, to the dismay of the home support.

Fetulia Paea’s break from turnover ball allowed Simone Gesi to race into the Glasgow 22, only for Giovanni Licata to spill the scoring pass in the act of grounding the ball.

Undeterred, the hosts once more came within a fingertip of scoring just five minutes later, with only a super try-saving tackle from Jare Oguntibeju denying Scott Gregory the opening try of the evening.

Instead, Zebre would have to content themselves with a second penalty from da Re, extending their lead to 6-0 as the half-hour mark ticked by.

That would remain the score until the half-time interval, though not for the want of effort from Franco Smith’s men.

Phase after phase of physicality in the Zebre 22 stretched the home side’s defence, yet the men from Parma would hold firm with the clock in the red.

Knowing that a swift score was crucial, the Warriors wasted no time setting out their stall in the second stanza.

Their endeavour was rewarded just three minutes after the restart, as – with Matteo Canali in the sin-bin for head contact on Sebastian Cancelliere – Dobie’s looping pass saw McKay collect at full pace to dive over in the corner.

Tom Jordan’s conversion found its target from the touchline, and the Warriors led for the first time in the match.

Glasgow were keen to make their momentum count, doing so in power-packed fashion with 51 minutes played.

Steyn’s initial incision was backed up by a thunderous charge from Sam Talakai, and with the Zebre defence on the back foot, there was no stopping McDowall as the centre crashed over under the posts. Jordan added the extras, giving his side a 14-6 advantage.

The home side were in no mood to go quietly, and urged on by a vocal home support, the momentum swung back the way of the men in dark blue.

Time and again, however, the Glasgow defence – led by the trio of Alex Samuel, Max Williamson and Euan Ferrie in the boiler room – fronted up to deny the Italian outfit and briefly silence the Parma crowd.

One final defensive stand in the face of a determined Zebre attack would ultimately seal the points for Smith’s men, and with it the confirmation of a home quarterfinal in the URC playoffs.

See all the scorers and scorers below…

Scorers:

For Ospreys:
Tries: Williams, Spencer, Hardy
Cons: Edwards 2

For Cardiff:
Tries: Mann 2, Hamer-Webb 3, penalty try does not require a conversion
Cons: Sheedy, Thomas

Yellow cards: Teddy Williams (Cardiff – 5′), Morgan Morse (Ospreys – 37′), Jack Mann (Cardiff – 49′), Harri Millard (Cardiff – 74′)

Teams

Ospreys: 15 Jack Walsh, 14 Dan Kasende, 13 Evardi Boshoff, 12 Keiran Williams, 11 Keelan Giles, 10 Dan Edwards, 9 Reuben Morgan-Williams, 8 Morgan Morse, 7 Jac Morgan (captain), 6 Tristan Davies, 5 James Ratti, 4 James Fender, 3 Tom Botha, 2 Sam Parry, 1 Gareth Thomas.
Replacements: 16 Dewi Lake, 17 Garyn Phillips, 18 Ben Warren, 19 Will Spencer, 20 Lewis Lloyd, 21 Kieran Hardy, 22 Owen Williams, 23 Iestyn Hopkins.

Cardiff: 15 Cam Winnett, 14 Josh Adams, 13 Harri Millard, 12 Ben Thomas, 11 Gabriel Hamer-Webb, 10 Callum Sheedy, 9 Johan Mulder, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 James Botham, 6 Alex Mann, 5 Teddy Williams, 4 Ben Donnell, 3 Keiron Assiratti, 2 Liam Belcher, 1 Corey Domachowski.
Replacements: 16 Evan Lloyd, 17 Danny Southworth, 18 Rhys Litterick, 19 Rory Thornton, 20 Alun Lawrence, 21 Thomas Young, 22 Aled Davies, 23 Rory Jennings.

Referee: Ben Connor (Wales)
Assistant referees: Ben Whitehouse (Wales), Ben Breakspear (Wales)
TMO: Aled Griffiths (Wales)

Scorers:

For Dragons RFC:
Tries: Rosser 2, Hewitt
Cons: O’Brein
Pens: O’Brein 2

For Scarlets:
Tries: Thomas, Hepburn, Fifita, Murray
Cons: Lloyd 4
Pen: Lloyd

Yellow cards: Dylan Kelleher-Griffiths (Dragons – 7′), Elliot Dee (Dragons – 50′)

Teams:

Dragons: 15 Ewan Rosser, 14 Ashton Hewitt, 13 Aneurin Owen (captain), 12 Scott Williams, 11 Jared Rosser, 10 Angus O’Brien, 9 Rhodri Williams, 8 Aaron Wainwright, 7 Taine Basham, 6 Shane Lewis-Hughes, 5 Ryan Woodman, 4 Ben Carter, 3 Paula Latu, 2 Elliot Dee, 1 Dylan Kelleher-Griffiths.
Replacements: 16 Brodie Coghlan, 17 Rhodri Jones, 18 Chris Coleman, 19 Barny Langton-Cryer, 20 Dan Lydiate, 21 Dane Blacker, 22 Will Reed, 23 Joe Westwood.

Scarlets: 15 Blair Murray, 14 Tom Rogers, 13 Macs Page, 12 Eddie James, 11 Ellis Mee, 10 Ioan Lloyd, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Taine Plumtree, 7 Josh Macleod (captain), 6 Vaea Fifita, 5 Sam Lousi, 4 Alex Craig, 3 Henry Thomas, 2 Marnus van der Merwe, 1 Alec Hepburn.
Replacements: 16 Ryan Elias, 17 Sam O’Connor, 18 Sam Wainwright, 19 Jac Price, 20 Jarrod Taylor, 21 Archie Hughes, 22 Joe Roberts, 23 Ioan Nicholas.

Referee: Aimee Barrett-Theron (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Mike English (Wales), Gwyn Morris (Wales)
TMO: Keith David (Wales)

Scorers:

For Leinster:
Tries: O’Brien, Clarkson, Ringrose, Sheehan 3, Penalty try does not require a conversion
Cons: Frawley, Prendergast

For Ulster:
Tries: Izuchukwu, McCann
Cons: Murphy 2
Pen: Murphy

Yellow cards: David McCann (Ulster – 39′), Diarmuid Mangan (Leinster – 51′)

Teams:

Leinster: 15 Jamie Osborne, 14 Tommy O’Brien, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Robbie Henshaw, 11 Jimmy O’Brien, 10 Ciarán Frawley, 9 Luke McGrath (captain), 8 James Culhane, 7 Scott Penny, 6 Alex Soroka, 5 Diarmuid Mangan, 4 Joe McCarthy, 3 Thomas Clarkson, 2 Gus McCarthy, 1 Jack Boyle.
Replacements: 16 Dan Sheehan, 17 Andrew Porter, 18 Tadhg Furlong, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Max Deegan, 21 Fintan Gunne, 22 Sam Prendergast, 23 Liam Turner.

Ulster: 15 Michael Lowry, 14 Zac Ward, 13 Jude Postlethwaite, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Jacob Stockdale, 10 Jack Murphy, 9 Nathan Doak, 8 David McCann, 7 Nick Timoney, 6 James McNabney, 5 Cormac Izuchukwu, 4 Alan O’Connor (captain), 3 Tom O’Toole, 2 Rob Herring, 1 Andrew Warwick.
Replacements: 16 Tom Stewart, 17 Callum Reid, 18 Scott Wilson, 19 Matthew Dalton, 20 Kieran Treadwell, 21 John Cooney, 22 Stewart Moore, 23 Matty Rea.

Referee: Gianluca Gnecchi (Italy)
Assistant referees: Andrew Fogarty (Ireland), Tómas O’Sullivan (Ireland)
TMO: Stefano Penne (France)

Scorers:

For Zebre:
Pens: Da Re 2

For Glasgow Warriors:
Tries: McKay, McDowall
Cons: Jordan 2

Yellow card: Matteo Canali (Zebre – 41′)

Teams:

Zebre: 15 Geronimo Prisciantelli, 14 Jacopo Trulla, 13 Fetuli Paea, 12 Damiano Mazza, 11 Simone Gesi, 10 Giacomo Da Re, 9 Alessandro Fusco, 8 Giacomo Licata, 7 Bautista Stavile, 6 Davide Ruggeri, 5 Leonard Krumov, 4 Matteo Canali, 3 Muhamed Hasa, 2 Tommaso Di Bartolomeo, 1 Danilo Fischetti (captain).
Replacements: 16 Luca Bigi, 17 Paolo Buonfiglio, 18 Juan Pitinari, 19 Rusiati Nasove, 20 Giacomo Ferrari, 21 Gonzalo Garcia, 22 Luca Morisi, 23 Scott Gregory.

Glasgow Warriors: 15 Josh McKay, 14 Sebastian Cancelliere, 13 Ollie Smith, 12 Stafford McDowall, 11 Kyle Steyn (captain), 10 Adam Hastings, 9 Jamie Dobie, 8 Jack Mann, 7 Sione Vailanu, 6 Euan Ferrie, 5 Alex Samuel, 4 Jare Oguntibeju, 3 Fin Richardson, 2 Gregor Hiddleston, 1 Jamie Bhatti.
Replacements: 16 Johnny Matthews, 17 Patrick Schickerling, 18 Sam Talakai, 19 Max Williamson, 20 Rory Darge, 21 Sean Kennedy, 22 Tom Jordan, 23 Facundo Cordero.

Referee: Peter Martin (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Federico Vedovelli (France), Riccardo Angelucci (France)
TMO: Mark Patton (Ireland)