Glasgow, Scarlets and Leinster all earned PRO14 victories while the Cheetahs impressed at home with a bonus-point victory over Ospreys.
Cheetahs 44–25 Ospreys
The Cheetahs defeated the Ospreys 44-25 in their PRO14 clash in Bloemfontein on Friday.
Two tries from Makazole Mapimpi and Torsten van Jaarsveld helped the Bloemfontein-based side secure their third successive PRO14 victory.
It was the ideal start for Cheetahs, who had to wait 10 minutes before going ahead. A driving mall was always destined to cause problems and van Jaarsveld was at the heart of it to go through, with Ernst Stapelberg adding a penalty to solidify the lead. Ospreys dismal form looked set to continue soon after, as try number two swiftly followed. A Cheetahs scrum was momentarily claimed by the Welsh side, but they quickly lost possession and van Jaarsveld had his second, with the conversion following.
Ospreys fought back and scored two tries to get themselves right back in the game. Rhys Webb picked up possession and darted through to get the visitors on the board, and a quick fire second from Keiron Fontia allowed Dan Biggar to kick his side just a point behind.
But it was the hosts who finished the half the better and they restored the lead following a Biggar penalty. It came right on 40 minutes, with Ospreys failing to secure the restart and Mazakole Mapimpi had the space to go over down the left hand side for a 22-17 half-time lead.
A penalty from each kicker at the start of the half kept the gap at five, but the Cheetahs rallied and got their bonus-point try when Johannes Coetzee found the line after a well worked lineout. Two- try scorer van Jaarsveld then saw yellow after a series of Cheetahs fouls, but Mapimpi didn’t let the loss of a man affect his side as he extended the lead to 39-20 with 10 minutes left on the clock through a second five pointer.
Dan Evans reduced the deficit for Ospreys as they went in search of the bonus point, but Cheetahs finished the scoring with a further try from Francois Venter, sealing the 44-25 win.
The scorers:
For Cheetahs:
Tries: van Jaarsveld 2, Mapimpi 2, Coetzee, Venter
Cons: Stapelberg 3
Pens: Stapelberg 2
Yellow Card: Van Jaarsveld
For Ospreys:
Tries: Webb, Fonotia, Evans
Cons: Biggar 2
Pens: Biggar 2
Cheetahs: 15 Sergeal Petersen, 14 Raymond Rhule, 13 Francois Venter (c), 12 William Small-Smith, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Ernst Stapelberg, 9 Tian Meyer, 8 Oupa Mohoje, 7 Henco Venter, 6 Paul Schoeman, 5 Reniel Hugo, 4 Justin Basson, 3 Tom Botha, 2 Torsten van Jaarsveld, 1 Charles Marais
Replacements: 16 Jacques du Toit, 17 Ox Nche, 18 Johan Coetzee, 19 Rynier Bernardo, 20 Junior Pokomela, 21 Shaun Venter, 22 Nico Lee, 23 Rosco Specman
Ospreys: 15 Dan Evans, 14 Keelan Giles, 13 Ben John, 12 James Hook, 11 Jay Baker, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Rhys Webb, 8 James King, 7 Guy Mercer, 6 Olly Cracknell, 5 Alun Wyn Jones (c), 4 Adam Beard, 3 Ma’afu Fia, 2 Scott Otten, 1 Nicky Smith
Replacements: 16 Sam Parry, 17 Gareth Thomas, 18 Rhodri Jones, 19 Lloyd Ashley, 20 Dan Lydiate, 21 Tom Habberfield, 22 Sam Davies, 23 Kieron Fonotia
Referee: Frank Murphy (Ireland)
Assistant referees: George Clancy (Ireland), Cwengile Jadezweni (South Africa)
TMO: Johan Greeff (South Africa)
Glasgow 37–21 Benetton Rugby
Glasgow earned a 37-21 win over Benetton Rugby in Scotstoun on Friday
Peter Horne starred, scoring 17 point in an impressive home victory for Glasgow.
Tommy Seymour got the home side going within just 10 minutes, as he finished off a strong line-out, edging his way through the defence and going in underneath the posts. Peter Horne converted for the early seven point lead.
Although Marty Banks did get the Italians on the board, try two followed from Robert Harley. Having gone right through the phases and back, Harley found the space to power through and over, Horne again converting. Treviso added a couple of penalties to reduce the deficit by the break.
Treviso lost winger Angelo Esposito to the sin-bin early after the restart, and Warriors extended their half-time lead as Horne nailed a penalty. He soon followed that with a try of his own, spinning his way around a couple of challenges before grounding and converting. The Italian side got themselves their first try after a line-out led to Marco Lazzaroni going through.
Treviso really threatened an upset when they got their second try. Following a prolonged spell just metres from the line, the visitors went through via Federico Ruzza, with Banks again adding the extras. Brandon Thomson afforded Glasgow some breathing space with a penalty. Warriors sealed the bonus point try at the death, with Thomson going through and securing the 37-21 win.
The scorers:
For Glasgow:
Tries: Seymour, Harley, Horne, Thomson
Cons: Horne 3, Thomson
Pens: Horne 2, Thomson
For Benetton Rugby:
Tries: Lazzaroni, Ruzza
Cons: Banks
Pens: Banks 3
Yellow Card: Esposito
Glasgow: 15 Ruaridh Jackson, 14 Tommy Seymour, 13 Nick Grigg, 12 Sam Johnson, 11 Lee Jones, 10 Peter Horne, 9 Henry Pyrgos, 8 Ryan Wilson (c), 7 Chris Fusaro, 6 Robert Harley, 5 Scott Cummings, 4 Brian Alainu’uese, 3 D’Arcy Rae, 2 Pat MacArthur, 1 Alex Allan
Replacements: 16 Fraser Brown, 17 Jamie Bhatti, 18 Adam Nicol, 19 Tim Swinson, 20 Matt Fagerson, 21 Ali Price, 22 Brandon Thomson, 23 Niko Matawalu
Benetton Rugby: 15 Jayden Hayward, 14 Angelo Esposito, 13 Tommaso Benvenuti, 12 Alberto Sgarbi, 11 Luca Sperandio, 10 Marty Banks, 9 Tito Tebaldi, 8 Marco Barbini, 7 Abraham Steyn, 6 Sebastian Negri, 5 Dean Budd (c), 4 Marco Fuser, 3 Simone Ferrari, 2 Luca Bigi, 1 Cherif Traore
Replacements: 16 Federico Zani, 17 Alberto De Marchi, 18 Tiziano Pasquali, 19 Federico Ruzza, 20 Marco Lazzaroni, 21 Robert Barbieri, 22 Giorgio Bronzini, 23 Ian McKinley
Referee: Dan Jones (Wales)
Assistant referees: Rhys Thomas (Wales), Cammy Rudkin (Scotland)
Scarlets 36–27 Connacht
Defending champions Scarlets earned a 36-27 win against Connacht in their PRO14 fixture at Parc y Scarlets on Friday.
It was a thrilling first 40 that produced seven tries, with Scarlets narrowly going into the break in front.
The hosts burst out of the blocks to get the ball rolling on seven minutes. Jonathan Davies played a big part in the process, bursting through the centre before feeding Johnny McNicholl who found the line.
Connacht fought back immediately, as Jack Carty gratefully took advantage of a horror pass from Scott Williams to go in at the posts, and Scarlets lead quickly disintegrating. They retook the advantage, with Steff Evans continuing his strong early season form for his third try in five.
Rhys Patchell got number three after the TMO had a look, again finishing off good work by Evans who provided the final pass to the Scarlets 10. Connacht quickly battled back. Tom Farrell made a break forward, passing to Tiernan O'Halloran who made his way over the line, reducing the gap down to a couple. They took the lead for the first time when Eoin McKeon's break led to Cian Kelleher going over inside the corner. The action was coming in thick and fast and Scarlets' Leigh Halfpenny finished off an Evans pass as the bonus point was secured in an enthralling first 40 that Scarlets led 26-22.
Halfpenny landed a penalty in the second- half and increased his side’s lead to seven.
The action intensified at the end when Connacht added to their tally, O'Halloran finishing off a McKeon masterclass in the build up. With a two point advantage, Scarlets sealed the win at the death .Tadhg Beirne charged over having taken the ball from Evans, sealing the 36-27 win.
The scorers:
For Scarlets:
Tries: Halfpenny, Evans, Patchell, McNicholl, Beirne
Cons: Halfpenny 4
Pen: Halfpenny
For Connacht:
Tries: Carty, Kelleher, O'Halloran 2
Cons: Carty 2
Pen: Carty
Scarlets: 15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Johnny McNicholl, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Scott Williams, 11 Steff Evans, 10 Rhys Patchell, 9 Aled Davies, 8 Josh Macleod, 7 Will Boyde, 6 Aaron Shingler, 5 David Bulbring, 4 Jake Ball, 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Ken Owens (c), 1 Rob Evans
Replacements: 16 Emyr Phillips, 17 Dylan Evans, 18 Simon Gardiner, 19 Tadhg Beirne, 20 Lewis Rawlins, 21 Jonathan Evans, 22 Paul Asquith, 23 Tom Prydie
Connacht: 15 Darragh Leader, 14 Tiernan O’Halloran, 13 Bundee Aki, 12 Tom Farrell, 11 Cian Kelleher, 10 Jack Carty, 9 Caolin Blade, 8 Eoin McKeon, 7 Jarrad Butler, 6 Jake Heenan, 5 Quinn Roux, 4 Ultan Dillane, 3 Conor Carey, 2 Tom McCartney (c), 1 Denis Buckley
Replacements: 16 Shane Delahunt, 17 Denis Coulson, 18 Finlay Bealham, 19 Gavin Thornbury, 20 Eoghan Masterson, 21 Kieran Marmion, 22 Steve Crosbie, 23 Eoin Griffin
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant referees: Ben Whitehouse, John Hardy (both Wales)
TMO: Sean Brickell (Wales)
Leinster 21–13 Edinburgh
Leinster ground out a 21-13 victory over Edinburgh at RDS Arena on Friday.
Selecting their strongest side of the season, Leinster had the likes of Johnny Sexton back, with three further Lions returning to the 15. It was never going to be an easy night for Edinburgh.
Edinburgh had the advantage early on after a couple of Jason Tovey penalties put them six points in front as Richard Cockerill's men started well. Jordi Murphy wasted no time on his RDS return though, as he went through for the first try of the night, with Sexton reliable as ever from the kick.
Tovey retook the lead with their first try of the evening, running clear and going through before converting. It was Leinster who had the lead at the break though, their second try coming as Joey Carbery went through minutes after the hosts had previously had one disallowed. Leinster took a 14-13 lead into the break.
The second- half remained tight and both sides struggled to add to their first half tallies. Edinburgh thought they had snatched the advantage when Dougie Fife found the line, only for the TMO to cut the celebrations short when he pulled it back for crossing in the build-up. Leinster sealed it as a poor Blair Kinghorn clearance was capitalised on by Jamison Gibson-Park.
The scorers:
For Leinster:
Tries: Murphy, Carbery, Gibson-Park
Cons: Sexton 2, Byrne
For Edinburgh:
Tries: Tovey
Cons: Tovey
Pens: Tovey 2
Leinster: 15 Joey Carbery, 14 Fergus McFadden, 13 Rory O’Loughlin, 12 Noel Reid, 11 Dave Kearney, 10 Johnny Sexton (c), 9 Luke McGrath, 8 Seán O’Brien, 7 Jordi Murphy, 6 Rhys Ruddock, 5 Scott Fardy, 4 Devin Toner, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Seán Cronin, 1 Jack McGrath
Replacements: 16 Bryan Byrne, 17 Ed Byrne, 18 Andrew Porter, 19 Ross Molony, 20 Max Deegan, 21 Jamison Gibson-Park, 22 Ross Byrne, 23 Jordan Larmour
Edinburgh: 15 Glenn Bryce, 14 Tom Brown, 13 James Johnstone, 12 Phil Burleigh, 11 Dougie Fife, 10 Jason Tovey, 9 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, 8 Cornell du Preez, 7 Hamish Watson, 6 Jamie Ritchie, 5 Grant Gilchrist, 4 Fraser McKenzie (c), 3 Simon Berghan, 2 Stuart McInally, 1 Darryl Marfo
Replacements: 16 Neil Cochrane, 17 Murray McCallum, 18 Kevin Bryce, 19 Anton Bresler, 20 John Hardie, 21 Nathan Fowles, 22 Blair Kinghorn, 23 Robbie Fruean
Referee: Ian Davies (Wales)
Assistant referees: Adam Jones (Wales) Kieran Barry (Ireland)
TMO: Jon Mason (Wales)
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