MORE MATCH REPORTS...

 

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ELSEWHERE IN

 

CONNACHT RUGBY 20 - 16 MUNSTER RUGBY

Sportsground - Friday 27 October 2017
KO: 19:35 HT: 10-13

CONNACHT: 15 Tiernan O’Halloran 14 Darragh Leader 13 Bundee Aki 12 Tom Farrell 11 Cian Kelleher 10 Jack Carty 9 Kieran Marmion 8 JOHN MULDOON (C) 7 Jarrad Butler 6 Eoin McKeon 5 James Cannon 4 Ultan Dillane 3 Finlay Bealham 2 Tom McCartney 1 Denis Buckley BENCH: 16 Dave Heffernan 17 Denis Coulson 18 Conor Carey 19 Quinn Roux 20 Eoghan Masterson 21 Caolin Blade 22 Craig Ronaldson 23 Niyi Adeolokun

SCORERS T: O'Halloran, Farrell C: Carty, Ronaldson P: Carty (2)

MUNSTER: 15 Simon Zebo 14 Andrew Conway 13 Chris Farrell 12 Rory Scannell 11 Keith Earls 10 Ian Keatley 9 Conor Murray 8 CJ Stander 7 Tommy O’Donnell 6 PETER O’MAHONY (C) 5 Billy Holland 4 Mark Flanagan 3 John Ryan 2 Rhys Marshall 1 Dave Kilcoyne BENCH: 16 Kevin O’Byrne 17 Liam O’Connor 18 Stephen Archer 19 Sean McCarthy 20 Jack O’Donoghue 21 Duncan Williams 22 JJ Hanrahan 23 Darren Sweetnam

SCORERS T: Zebo C: Keatley P: Keatley (2), Hanrahan Conway

Referee: Nigel Owens

 

GLASGOW 43 - 13 SOUTHERN KINGS

Scotstoun Stadium - Friday 27 October 2017
KO: 19:35 HT: 19-6

WARRIORS: 15 Stuart Hogg 14 Lee Jones 13 Nick Grigg 12 Sam Johnson 11 Niko Matawalu 10 Adam Hastings 9 George Horne 8 Matt Fagerson 7 Matt Smith 6 Robert Harley 5 Jonny Gray 4 Scott Cummings 3 Zander Fagerson 2 Pat MacArthur 1 Alex Allan BENCH: 16 George Turner 17 Ryan Grant 18 Adam Nicol 19 Greg Peterson 20 Lewis Wynne 21 Ruaridh Jackson 22 Stafford McDowall 23 Lelia Masaga

SCORERS T: Hogg, Matawalu, Grigg, Fagerson, Smith, Horne, Turner C: Hastings (2), Jackson (2)

KINGS: 15 Masixole Banda 14 Yaw Penxe 13 Berton Klaasen 12 Luzuko Vulindlu 11 Alshaun Bock 10 Martin Du Toit 9 Rudi van Rooyen 8 Ruaan Lerm 7 Jurie van Vuuren 6 Andisa Ntsila 5 Bobby de Wee 4 Stephan Greeff 3 Rossouw De Klerk 2 MICHAEL WILLEMSE (C) 1 Schalk Ferreira BENCH: 16 Tango Balekile 17 Mzamo Majola 18 Martin Dreyer 19 Lubabalo Mtyanda 20 Khaya Majola 21 Rowan Gouws 22 Oliver Zono 23 Jacques Nel

SCORERS T: Nel C: Zono P: Banda (2) Nel

Referee: Lloyd Linton

 

OSPREYS 28 - 14 DRAGONS

Liberty Stadium - Friday 27 October 2017
KO: 19:35 HT: 13-7

OSPREYS: 15 Sam Davies 14 Keelan Giles 13 Ashley Beck 12 Owen Watkin 11 Dan Evans 10 Dan Biggar 9 Tom Habberfield 8 James King 7 Sam Cross 6 Olly Cracknell 5 ALUN WYN JONES (C) 4 Bradley Davies 3 Dmitri Arhip 2 Sam Parry 1 Nicky Smith
 BENCH: 16 Scott Baldwin 17 Paul James 18 Ma’afu Fia 19 Adam Beard 20 Rob McCusker 21 Brendon Leonard 22 James Hook 23 Cory Allen

SCORERS T: Biggar, Parry, Leonard, Fia C: Biggar P: Biggar (2)

DRAGONS: 15 Hallam Amos 14 Ashton Hewitt 13 Tyler Morgan 12 Jack Dixon 11 Jared Rosser 10 Gavin Henson 9 Sarel Pretorius 8 Lewis Evans 7 James Benjamin 6 James Thomas 5 CORY HILL (C) 4 Joe Davies 3 Leon Brown 2 Elliot Dee 1 Brok Harris BENCH: 16 Gerard Ellis 17 Thomas Davies 18 Lloyd Fairbrother 19 Rynard Landman 20 Aaron Wainwright 21 Charlie Davies 22 Angus O’Brien 23 Pat Howard

SCORERS T: Brown, Dee C: Henson (2)

Referee: Ian Davies

 

BENETTON RUGBY 13 - 24 EDINBURGH RUGBY

Stadio Monigo - Saturday 28 October 2017
KO: 15:00 HT: 6-7

BENETTON: 15 Jayden Hayward 14 Angelo Esposito 13 Ignacio Brex 12 Alberto Sgarbi 11 Luca Sperandio 10 Ian McKinley 9 Tito Tebaldi 8 Dean Budd (C) 7 Abraham Steyn 6 Francesco Minto 5 DEAN BUDD (C) 4 Marco Fuser 3 Simone Ferrari 2 Luca Bigi 1 Federico Zani BENCH: 16 Tomas Baravalle 17 Cherif Traore 18 Tiziano Pasquali 19 Federico Ruzza 20 Alessandro Zanni 21 Sebastian Negri 22 Giorgio Bronzini 23 Tommaso Benvenuti

SCORERS T: Esposito, McKinley P: McKinley (2) Minto

EDINBURGH: 15 Blair Kinghorn 14 Dougie Fife 13 James Johnstone 12 Phil Burleigh 11 Jason Harries 10 Jason Tovey 9 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne 8 Cornell du Preez 7 Hamish Watson 6 Luke Crosbie 5 Ben Toolis 4 FRASER MCKENZIE (C) 3 WP Nel 2 Stuart McInally 1 Darryl Marfo BENCH: 16 Neil Cochrane 17 Michele Rizzo 18 Murray McCallum 19 Grant Gilchrist 20 Lewis Carmichael 21 Nathan Fowles 22 Glenn Bryce 23 Chris Dean

SCORERS T: Hidalgo-Clyne, Fife (2) C: Tovey (3) P: Tovey

Referee: Ben Whitehouse

 

ZEBRE RUGBY 23 - 24 TOYOTA CHEETAHS

Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi - Saturday 28 October 2017
KO: 18:00 HT: 16-8

ZEBRE: 15 Matteo Minozzi 14 Giulio Bisegni 13 Tommaso Boni 12 TOMMASO CASTELLO (C) 11 Mattia Bellini 10 Carlo Canna 9 Marcello Violi 8 Derick Minnie 7 Johan Meyer 6 Giovanni Licata 5 Valerio Bernabò 4 Leonardo Krumov 3 Eduardo Bello 2 Oliviero Fabiani 1 Sami Panico BENCH: 16 Luhandre Luus 17 Andrea Lovotti 18 Dario Chistolini 19 Jacopo Sarto 20 Renato Giammarioli 21 Guglielmo Palazzani 22 Serafin Bordoli 23 Ciaran Gaffney

SCORERS T: Minozzi, Fabiani C: Canna (2) P: Canna (3)

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 Junior Pokomela 6 Paul Schoeman 5 Reniel Hugo 4 Justin Basson 3 Tom Botha 2 Torsten van Jaarsveld 1 Ox Nche BENCH: 16 Jacques du Toit 17 Charles Marais 18 Johan Coetzee 19 Rynier Bernardo 20 Jasper Wiese 21 Shaun Venter 22 Fred Zeilinga 23 Nico Lee

SCORERS T: Mapimpi (2) C: Zeilinga P: Stapelberg (3), Zeilinga Coetzee

Referee: Dan Jones

 

ULSTER RUGBY 10 - 25 LEINSTER RUGBY

Kingspan Stadium - Saturday 28 October 2017
KO: 18:30 HT: 10-13

ULSTER: 15 Charles Piutau 14 Tommy Bowe 13 Luke Marshall 12 Stuart McCloskey 11 Jacob Stockdale 10 Christian Leali'ifano 9 Aaron Cairns 8 Jean Deysel 7 Chris Henry 6 Sean Reidy 5 IAIN HENDERSON (C) 4 Alan O'Connor 3 Rodney Ah You 2 Rory Best 1 Callum Black BENCH: 16 Rob Herring 17 Andy Warwick 18 Ross Kane 19 Kieran Treadwell 20 Robbie Diack 21 Jonny Stewart 22 Peter Nelson 23 Louis Ludik

SCORERS T: Reidy C: Leali'ifano P: Leali'ifano

LEINSTER: 15 Rob Kearney 14 Adam Byrne 13 Rory O’Loughlin 12 Noel Reid 11 Dave Kearney 10 Ross Byrne 9 Jamison Gibson-Park 8 SEÁN O’BRIEN (C) 7 Jordi Murphy 6 Dan Leavy 5 James Ryan 4 Devin Toner 3 Tadhg Furlong 2 James Tracy 1 Jack McGrath BENCH: 16 Richardt Strauss 17 Cian Healy 18 Andrew Porter 19 Ross Molony 20 Jack Conan 21 Luke McGrath 22 Cathal Marsh 23 Jordan Larmour

SCORERS T: Larmour, Luke McGrath (2) C: Ross Byrne, Marsh P: Ross Byrne (2) Dave Kearney

Referee: John Lacey

 

SCARLETS 30 - 17 CARDIFF BLUES

Parc y Scarlets - Saturday 28 October 2017
KO: 19:35 HT: 18-3

SCARLETS: 15 Leigh Halfpenny 14 Johnny McNicholl 13 Hadleigh Parkes 12 SCOTT WILLIAMS (C) 11 Steff Evans 10 Rhys Patchell 9 Gareth Davies 8 Tadhg Beirne 7 Will Boyde 6 Aaron Shingler 5 Lewis Rawlins 4 Jake Ball 3 Werner Kruger 2 Ryan Elias 1 Wyn Jones BENCH: 16 Ken Owens 17 Dylan Evans 18 Simon Gardiner 19 David Bulbring 20 Josh Macleod 21 Paul Asquith 22 Jonathan Davies

SCORERS T: Parkes, Elias, Jonathan Evans, Steffan Evans C: Halfpenny, Patchell P: Halfpenny (2)

BLUES: 15 Matthew Morgan 14 Alex Cuthbert 13 Rey Lee-Lo 12 Willis Halaholo 11 Blaine Scully 10 Jarrod Evans 9 Tomos Williams 8 Nick Williams 7 Olly Robinson 6 Josh Navidi 5 James Down 4 Seb Davies 3 Dillon Lewis 2 KRISTIAN DACEY (C) 1 Brad Thyer BENCH: 16 Matthew Rees 17 Corey Domachowski 18 Keiron Assiratti 19 Macauley Cook 20 Josh Turnbull 21 Lloyd Williams 22 Steve Shingler 23 Rhun Williams

SCORERS T: Halaholo, Lloyd Williams C: Shingler (2) P: Evans Nick Williams

Referee: Stuart Berry

 

 

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CARDIFF BLUES 43 - 29 DRAGONS

Cardiff Arms Park - Friday 06 October 2017
KO: 19:35 HT: 10-21

BLUES: 15 Rhun Williams 14 Alex Cuthbert 13 Rey Lee-Lo 12 Willis Halaholo 11 Tom James 10 Jarrod Evans 9 LLOYD WILLIAMS (C) 8 Nick Williams 7 Olly Robinson 6 Josh Navidi 5 Damian Welch 4 Seb Davies 3 Taufa’ao Filise 2 Kristian Dacey 1 Brad Thyer BENCH: 16 Matthew Rees 17 Corey Domachowski 18 Keiron Assiratti 19 James Down 20 Josh Turnbull 21 Tomos Williams 22 Steven Shingler 23 Matthew Morgan

SCORERS T: Dacey, Morgan (2), James, Cuthbert, Evans C: Evans (5) P: Evans Filise

DRAGONS: 15 Hallam Amos 14 Ashton Hewitt 13 Tyler Morgan 12 Jack Dixon 11 Jared Rosser 10 Gavin Henson 9 Sarel Pretorius 8 James Benjamin 7 Ollie Griffiths 6 James Thomas 5 CORY HILL (C) 4 Matthew Screech 3 Leon Brown 2 Elliot Dee 1 Brok Harris BENCH: 16 Liam Belcher 17 Luke Garrett 18 Lloyd Fairbrother 19 Joe Davies 20 Aaron Wainwright 21 Owain Leonard 22 Angus O’Brien 23 Will Talbot-Davies

SCORERS T: Warren, Dee, Gasson, Fairbrother C: Henson (3) P: Henson

Referee: Nigel Owens

 

EDINBURGH RUGBY 16 - 15 ZEBRE RUGBY

Myreside - Friday 06 October 2017
KO: 19:35 HT: 10-5

EDINBURGH: 15 Blair Kinghorn 14 Dougie Fife 13 James Johnstone 12 Phil Burleigh 11 Tom Brown 10 Jason Tovey 9 Nathan Fowles 8 Cornell du Preez 7 Jamie Ritchie 6 MAGNUS BRADBURY (C) 5 Grant Gilchrist 4 Ben Toolis 3 WP Nel 2 Stuart McInally 1 Darryl Marfo BENCH: 16 Ross Ford 17 Allan Dell 18 Simon Berghan 19 Anton Bresler 20 Luke Crosbie 21 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne 22 Duncan Weir 23 Robbie Fruean%u200B

SCORERS T: McInally C: Weir P: Tovey, Weir (2)

ZEBRE: 15 Matteo Minozzi 14 Mattia Bellini 13 Tommaso Boni 12 TOMMASO CASTELLO (C) 11 Giovanbattista Venditti 10 Carlo Canna 9 Marcello Violi 8 Renato Giammarioli 7 Johan Meyer 6 Giovanni Licata 5 George Biagi 4 David Sisi 3 Dario Chistolini 2 Oliviero Fabiani 1 Andrea Lovotti BENCH: 16 Luhandre Luus 17 Andrea De Marchi 18 Eduardo Bello 19 Leonardo Krumov 20 Derick Minnie 21 Guglielmo Palazzani 22 Serafin Bordoli 23 Ciaran Gaffney

SCORERS T: Meyer, Violi C: Violi P: Violi

Referee: Marius Mitrea

 

ULSTER RUGBY 16 - 18 CONNACHT RUGBY

Kingspan Stadium - Friday 06 October 2017
KO: 19:35 HT: 3-5

 

ULSTER: 15 Charles Piutau 14 Tommy Bowe 13 Luke Marshall 12 Stuart McCloskey 11 Jacob Stockdale 10 Christian Leali'ifano 9 John Cooney 8 Jean Deysel 7 CHRIS HENRY (C) 6 Iain Henderson 5 Kieran Treadwell 4 Alan O’Connor 3 Wiehahn Herbst 2 Rob Herring 1 Kyle McCall BENCH: 16 John Andrew 17 Andy Warwick 18 Rodney Ah You 19 Robbie Diack 20 Sean Reidy 21 Paul Marshall 22 Pete Nelson 23 Louis Ludik

SCORERS T: Stockdale C: Cooney P: Cooney (3) Deysel

CONNACHT: 15 Tiernan O’Halloran 14 Cian Kelleher 13 Bundee Aki 12 Tom Farell 11 Matt Healy 10 Jack Carty 9 Kieran Marmion 8 JOHN MULDOON (C) 7 Jarrad Butler 6 Eoin McKeon 5 Quinn Roux 4 Ultan Dillane 3 Finlay Bealham 2 Tom McCartney 1 Denis Buckley BENCH: 16 Dave Heffernan 17 Denis Coulson 18 Conor Carey 19 James Cannon 20 Eoghan Masterson 21 Caolin Blade 22 Steve Crosbie 23 Eoin Griffin

SCORERS T: McCartney P: Carty

Referee: Andrew Brace

 

TOYOTA CHEETAHS 26 - 29 GLASGOW

Toyota Stadium - Friday 06 October 2017
KO: 20:35 HT: 17-10

 

CHEETAHS: 15 Sergeal Petersen 14 Rosko Specman 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 BENCH: 16 Jacques du Toit 17 Ox Nche 18 Johan Coetzee 19 Rynier Bernardo 20 Junior Pokomela 21 Shaun Venter 22 Nico Lee 23 Luther Obi

SCORERS T: Petersen, Specman C: Stapelberg (2) P: Stapelberg (4)

WARRIORS: 15 Ruaridh Jackson 14 Tommy Seymour 13 Nick Grigg 12 Sam Johnson 11 Leonardo Sarto 10 Finn Russell 9 Ali Price 8 Adam Ashe 7 Callum Gibbins 6 RYAN WILSON (C) 5 Jonny Gray 4 Tim Swinson 3 Zander Fagerson 2 Fraser Brown 1 Jamie Bhatti BENCH: 16 George Turner 17 Alex Allan 18 D’Arcy Rae 19 Brian Alainu’uese 20 Rob Harley 21 Henry Pyrgos 22 Peter Horne 23 Niko Matawalu

SCORERS T: Gibbins (2), Pyrgos, Harley C: Russell (3) P: Russell

Referee: George Clancy

 

LEINSTER RUGBY 23 - 17 MUNSTER RUGBY

Aviva Stadium - Saturday 07 October 2017
KO: 14:00 HT: 14-7

 

LEINSTER: 15 Joey Carbery 14 Adam Byrne 13 Rory O’Loughlin 12 Robbie Henshaw 11 Barry Daly 10 JOHNNY SEXTON (C) 9 Luke McGrath 8 Jack Conan 7 Josh van der Flier 6 Rhys Ruddock 5 Scott Fardy 4 Devin Toner 3 Tadhg Furlong 2 James Tracy 1 Jack McGrath BENCH: 16 Seán Cronin 17 Cian Healy 18 Michael Bent 19 Ross Molony 20 Jordi Murphy 21 Jamison Gibson-Park 22 Ross Byrne 23 Fergus McFadden

SCORERS T: O'Loughlin (2) C: Sexton(2) P: Sexton (3)

MUNSTER: 15 JJ Hanrahan 14 Andrew Conway 13 Chris Farrell 12 Tyler Bleyendaal 11 Keith Earls 10 Ian Keatley 9 Conor Murray 8 CJ Stander 7 Tommy O’Donnell 6 Peter O’Mahony 5 Billy Holland 4 Robin Copeland 3 John Ryan 2 Niall Scannell 1 Dave Kilcoyne BENCH: 16 Rhys Marshall 17 Liam O’Connor 18 Stephen Archer 19 Mark Flanagan 20 Jack O’Donoghue 21 Duncan Williams 22 Rory Scannell 23 Alex Wootton

SCORERS T: Keatley, Earls (2) C: Keatley Scannell

Referee: Ben Whitehouse

 

OSPREYS 18 - 19 SCARLETS

Liberty Stadium - Saturday 07 October 2017
KO: 19:35 HT: 9-0

 

OSPREYS: 15 Dan Evans 14 Cory Allen 13 Kieron Fonotia 12 James Hook 11 Jeff Hassler 10 Dan Biggar 9 Rhys Webb 8 James King 7 Olly Cracknell 6 Dan Lydiate 5 ALUN WYN JONES (C) 4 Bradley Davies 3 Ma’afu Fia 2 Scott Otten 1 Nicky Smith BENCH: 16 Sam Parry 17 Paul James 18 Dmitri Arhip 19 Lloyd Ashley 20 Dan Baker 21 Tom Habberfield 22 Sam Davies 23 Owen Watkin

SCORERS P: Biggar (6) Arhip

SCARLETS: 15 Leigh Halfpenny 14 Johnny McNicholl 13 Jonathan Davies 12 Hadleigh Parkes 11 Steff Evans 10 Rhys Patchell 9 Gareth Davies 8 Tadhg Beirne 7 Will Boyde 6 Aaron Shingler 5 Lewis Rawlins 4 Jake Ball 3 Samson Lee 2 KEN OWENS (C) 1 Wyn Jones BENCH: 16 Ryan Elias 17 Dylan Evans 18 Werner Kruger 19 David Bulbring 20 Josh Macleod 21 Aled Davies 22 Paul Asquith 23 Scott Williams

SCORERS T: Gareth Davies (2), Lee C: Patchell (2) Beirne

Referee: John Lacey

 

BENETTON RUGBY 31 - 3 SOUTHERN KINGS

Stadio Monigo - Saturday 07 October 2017
KO: 20:00 HT: 14-3

 

TREVISO: 15 Jayden Hayward 14 Angelo Esposito 13 Ignacio Brex 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 Lazzaroni 3 Simone Ferrari 2 Luca Bigi 1 Federico Zani BENCH: 16 Tomas Baravalle 17 Cherif Traore 18 Tiziano Pasquali 19 Marco Fuser 20 Robert Barbieri 21 Edoardo Gori 22 Ian McKinley 23 Tommaso Benvenuti

SCORERS T: Esposito (2), Barbini, Traore C: McKinley P: Banks (3)

KINGS: 15 Masixole Banda 14 S'bura Sithole 13 Jacques Nel 12 Luzuko Vulindlu 11 Alshaun Bock 10 Pieter-Steyn de Wet 9 Godlen Masimla 8 Dries van Schalkwyk 7 Jurie van Vuuren 6 Andisa Ntsila 5 Bobby de Wee 4 Stephan Greeff 3 Martin Dreyer 2 MICHAEL WILLEMSE (C) 1 Schalk Ferreira BENCH: 16 Tango Balekile 17 Rossouw de Klerk 18 Entienne Swanepoel 19 Lubabalo Mtyanda 20 Khaya Majola 21 Rudi van Rooyen 22 Oliver Zono 23 Berton Klaasen

SCORERS P: de Wet de Wee

Referee: Seán Gallagher

 

 

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TORSTEN van Jaarsveld and Makazole Mapimpi both scored two tries as the Toyota Cheetahs earned their third straight Guinness PRO14 win with victory over Ospreys. The hosts raced into a 15-0 lead only for Rhys Webb and Kieron Fonotia scores to bring the Ospreys back into the game before Mapimpi had the Cheetahs ahead at the break. Paul Schoeman gave the Cheetahs’ their try bonus point before Mapimpi made sure of the result with his fifth score of the PRO14 season. Dan Evans’ score hinted at a second Ospreys comeback but Francois Venter added further gloss to the Cheetahs win. However, the infamous moment of the week for the Ospreys had to be the team's visit to the lion park where Scott Baldwin ruled himself out of the matchday line up by trying to pet a lion...

TOMMY Seymour’s first home appearance of the season ended in impressive fashion as his try paved the way for another Glasgow Warriors victory, this time over Benetton Rugby. The Scottish international winger crossed in the first half, joined on the scoreboard by Rob Harley before the first 40 minutes was up. Peter Horne – alongside his 12 points from the boot – also got in on the act with a try after the interval, while Sam Johnson’s late score notched the bonus point as the Warriors secured their fifth win from five this season. The Italian side responded through Marco Lazzaroni just before the hour mark as well as Federico Ruzza, though their third PRO14 win of the season was not to be forthcoming.

JAMISON Gibson-Park’s late try sealed a hard-earned victory for Leinster at home to Edinburgh, with the hosts keeping up the pressure on Scarlets at the top of Conference B. Leo Cullen’s men shaded the first half 14-13, Jordi Murphy and Joey Carbery touching down either side of Jason Tovey’s intercept score. And after 33 scoreless minutes in a nip-and-tuck second period, finally Leinster broke through with Gibson-Park crashing down for the decisive try.

JACK Carty’s missed conversion proved crucial as Scarlets held on to beat Connacht in a thrilling encounter. Scarlets handed centre Scott Williams his first start of the season, but they were without the key trio of Gareth Davies, Samson Lee and John Barclay. Connacht also made multiple changes, the most notable saw O’Halloran return from injury and start on the wing. Carty had a chance to level the scores with just five minutes to go, but he pulled it wide allowing the champions held on to secure a memorable win. Winger Steff Evans was on fire for Scarlets as he scored one try and set up two others in a breathless first half – which saw seven tries scored. Connacht’s Tiernan O’Halloran was also excellent and scored twice, but the Irish side were always chasing the game and could not quite get level.

BRITISH & Irish Lion Conor Murray celebrated his first Munster appearance of the season with a try as Rassie Erasmus’ side bounced back to winning ways in the PRO14. Try-scorer Murray was joined in the hosts’ starting line-up by fellow Lions Peter O’Mahony and CJ Stander, who also toured New Zealand this summer. Munster’s unbeaten start to the season was brought to an end by fellow Conference A high-flyers Glasgow Warriors in Round Four, but they rallied to dispatch Cardiff Blues 39-16 at Thomond Park.

ZEBRE produced a brilliant second-half display to stun Ulster and end their perfect start to the season with a 27-23 victory in Parma. Trailing 13-6 at half-time, Zebre ran in three scores after the break to wrap up a second successive victory following last week’s success in Port Elizabeth. For Ulster, it was a first setback of the campaign, although Darren Cave’s try at the death at least earned them a losing bonus point.

SOUTHERN Kings are still looking for their maiden Guinness PRO14 win after they were overpowered by the Dragons at Rodney Parade. The hosts used the driving maul to devastating effect as they went over four times in a bruising performance. Braces from Elliott Dee and Hallam Amos either side of half time secured the win for Bernard Jackman‘s side with Andisa Ntsila going over for the visitors in their only try of the night. The result will give the Dragons a welcome boost and a second victory as they look to climb the Conference B table.

RESULTS

TOYOTA CHEETAHS 44 - 25 OSPREYS

Toyota Stadium - Friday 29 September 2017
KO: 17:00 HT: 22-17

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 BENCH: 16 Jacques du Toit 17 Ox Nche 18 Johan Coetzee 19 Rynier Bernardo 20 Junior Pokomela 21 Shaun Venter 22 Nico Lee 23 Rosko Specman

SCORERS  T: van Jaarsveld (2), Mapimpi (2), Schoeman, Venter C: Stapelberg (3), Small-Smith P: Stapelberg (2) van Jaarsveld

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 Baldwin 1 Nicky Smith BENCH: 16 Scott Otten 17 Gareth Thomas 18 Rhodri Jones 19 Lloyd Ashley 20 Dan Lydiate 21 Tom Habberfield 22 Sam Davies 23 Kieron Fonotia

SCORERS T: Webb, Fonotia C: Biggar (2) P: Biggar (2)

Referee: Frank Murphy

 

GLASGOW WARRIORS 37 - 21 BENETTON

Scotstoun Stadium - Friday 29 September 2017
KO: 19:35 HT: 17-9

WARRIORS: 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 BENCH: 16 Fraser Brown 17 Jamie Bhatti 18 Adam Nicol 19 Tim Swinson 20 Matt Fagerson 21 Ali Price 22 Brandon Thomson 23 Niko Matawalu

SCORERS T: Seymour, Harley, Horne, Johnson C: Horne (3), Thomson P: Horne (2), Thomson

TREVISO: 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 BENCH: 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

SCORERS T: Lazzaroni, Ruzza C: Banks P: Banks (3) Esposito

Referee: Dan Jones

 

LEINSTER RUGBY 21 - 13 EDINBURGH RUGBY

RDS Arena - Friday 29 September 2017
KO: 19:35 HT: 14-13

 

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 BENCH: 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

SCORERS T: Murphy, Carbery, Gibson-Park C: Sexton (2), Ross Byrne

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 BENCH: 16 Neil Cochrane 17 Murray McCallum 18 Kevin Bryce 19 Anton Bresler 20 John Hardie 21 Nathan Fowles 22 Blair Kinghorn 23 Robbie Fruean

SCORERS T: Tovey C: Tovey P: Tovey (2) Ritchie

Referee: Ian Davies

 

SCARLETS 36 - 27 CONNACHT RUGBY

Parc y Scarlets - Friday 29 September 2017
KO: 19:35 HT: 26 -22

 

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 BENCH: 16 Emyr Phillips 17 Dylan Evans 18 Simon Gardiner 19 Tadhg Beirne 20 Lewis Rawlins 21 Jonathan Evans 22 Paul Asquith 23 Tom Prydie

SCORERS T: McNicholl, Steffan Evans, Patchell, Halfpenny, Beirne C: Halfpenny (4) P: Halfpenny

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 BENCH: 16 Shane Delahunt 17 Denis Coulson 18 Finlay Bealham 19 Gavin Thornbury 20 Eoghan Masterson 21 Kieran Marmion 22 Steve Crosbie 23 Eoin Griffin

SCORERS T: Carty, Kelleher (2), O'Halloran C: Carty (2) P: Carty

Referee: Nigel Owens

 

MUNSTER RUGBY 39 - 16 CARDIFF BLUES

Thomond Park - Saturday 30 September 2017
KO: 13:30 HT: 13-16

 

MUNSTER: 15 Andrew Conway 14 Darren Sweetnam 13 Jaco Taute 12 Rory Scannell 11 Alex Wootton 10 Ian Keatley 9 Conor Murray 8 CJ Stander 7 Tommy O’Donnell 6 PETER O’MAHONY (C) 5 Billy Holland 4 Robin Copeland 3 John Ryan 2 Niall Scannell 1 Dave Kilcoyne BENCH: 16 Rhys Marshall 17 Liam O’Connor 18 Stephen Archer 19 Mark Flanagan 20 Sean McCarthy 21 Duncan Williams 22 JJ Hanrahan 23 Chris Farrell

SCORERS  T: Murray, Ryan, Hanrahan (2), Copeland C: Keatley (4) P: Keatley (2)

BLUES: 15 Rhun Williams 14 BLAINE SCULLY (C) 13 Jack Roberts 12 Willis Halaholo 11 Tom James 10 Jarrod Evans 9 Tomos Williams 8 Nick Williams 7 Olly Robinson 6 Josh Turnbull 5 James Down 4 George Earle 3 Taufa'ao Filise 2 Matthew Rees 1 Brad Thyer BENCH: 16 Ethan Lewis 17 Corey Domachowski 18 Keiron Assiratti 19 Seb Davies 20 Macauley Cook 21 Lloyd Williams 22 Steven Shingler 23 Matthew Morgan

SCORERS T: Turnbull C: Evans P: Evans (3) Filise

Referee: Quinton Immelman

 

ZEBRE RUGBY CLUB 27 - 23 ULSTER RUGBY

Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi - Saturday 30 September 2017
KO: 15:35 HT: 6-13

 

ZEBRE: 15 Matteo Minozzi 14 Giulio Bisegni 13 Tommaso Boni 12 TOMMASO CASTELLO (C) 11 Mattia Bellini 10 Carlo Canna 9 Marcello Violi 8 Renato Giammarioli 7 Johan Meyer 6 Giovanni Licata 5 George Biagi 4 David Sisi 3 Dario Chistolini 2 Oliviero Fabiani 1 Andrea Lovotti BENCH: 16 Luhandre Luus 17 Sami Panico 18 Eduardo Bello 19 Leonard Krumov 20 Jacopo Sarto 21 Guglielmo Palazzani 22 Serafin Bordoli 23 Giovanbattista Venditti

SCORERS T: Licata, Bellini, Giammarioli C: Canna, Violi (2) P: Canna (2)

ULSTER: 15 Charles Piutau 14 ANDREW TRIMBLE (C) 13 Darren Cave 12 Luke Marshall 11 Louis Ludik 10 Christian Leali'ifano 9 John Cooney 8 Jean Deysel 7 Sean Reidy 6 Matthew Rea 5 Iain Henderson 4 Peter Browne 3 Rodney Ah You 2 John Andrew 1 Callum Black BENCH: 16 Adam McBurney 17 Andrew Warwick 18 Wiehahn Herbst 19 Kieran Treadwell 20 Nick Timoney 21 Dave Shanahan 22 Peter Nelson 23 Rob Lyttle

SCORERS T: Trimble, Cave C: Cooney, Cave P: Cooney (3)

Referee: Mike Adamson

 

DRAGONS 29 - 13 SOUTHERN KINGS

Rodney Parade - Saturday 30 September 2017
KO: 19:35 HT: 22-6

 

DRAGONS: 15 Carl Meyer 14 Ashton Hewitt 13 Tyler Morgan 12 Jack Dixon 11 Hallam Amos 10 Gavin Henson 9 Sarel Pretorius 8 James Benjamin 7 Ollie Griffiths 6 James Thomas 5 CORY HILL (C) 4 Matthew Screech 3 Leon Brown 2 Elliot Dee 1 Brok Harris BENCH: 16 Ellis Shipp 17 Thomas Davies 18 Lloyd Fairbrother 19 Joe Davies 20 Aaron Wainwright 21 Dane Blacker 22 Angus O’Brien 23 Thretton Palamo

SCORERS  T: Amos (2), Dee (2) C: Henson (3) P: Henson Brown, Davies

KINGS: 15 Masixole Banda 14 Yaw Penxe 13 Jacques Nel 12 Berton Klaasen 11 Alshaun Bock 10 Pieter-Steyn de Wet 9 Godlen Masimla 8 Dries van Schalkwyk 7 Jurie van Vuuren 6 Andisa Ntsila 5 Bobby de Wee 4 Stephan Greeff 3 Martin Dreyer 2 MICHAEL WILLEMSE (C) 1 Schalk Ferreira BENCH: 16 Stephan Coetzee 17 Rossouw de Klerk 18 Entienne Swanepoel 19 Lubabalo Mtyanda 20 Khaya Majola 21 Rowan Gouws 22 Oliver Zono 23 Luzuko Vulindlu

SCORERS T: Ntsila C: de Wet P: de Wet (2) Swanepoel

Referee: Andrew Brace

 

 

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MUNSTER tasted defeat for the first time this season as Glasgow Warriors claimed the bonus-point win in stylish fashion at Scotstoun. Both Rory Scannell and Chris Farrell scored tries for Rassie Eramsus’ side, but the home side dominated throughout and tries from Leonardo Sarto, Lee Jones, Nick Grigg and Scott Cummings gave the Scottish side a deserved victory. The win sees Warriors take over at the top of Conference A in the Guinness PRO14, while Munster remain in second place, four points back from the new leaders.

ULSTER maintained their unbeaten start to the new season with a dominant home victory over the Dragons. Les Kiss’ troops racked up their fourth success from as many games by racing into an unassailable advantage at Kingspan Stadium while youngster Nick Timoney had his moment in the spotlight with his first two senior tries for the men in white.

THE Toyota Cheetahs notched up their second PRO14 triumph in as many weeks as a superb performance gave them the scalp of Conference B leaders Leinster in Bloemfontein. After the South African side beat Zebre last weekend, tries from William Small-Smith, Torsten van Jaarsveld, Ox Nche and Luther Obi made it two on the spin and inflicted a first defeat of the season on the Boys in Blue – despite a hat-trick of scores for Barry Daly.

A sublime break from Luca Sperandio helped Francesco Minto over the line to seal a 16-6 victory for Benetton Rugby over Ospreys. It is the first time the home side have claimed back-to-back wins since February 2016, after defeating Edinburgh in an impressive away showing last week. Steve Tandy’s men welcomed British & Irish Lions Biggar, Rhys Webb and Alun Wyn Jones back into the matchday 23, but it was not enough to down the valiant Benetton side. The Italians achieved the feat in fine fashion, holding off Ospreys’ repeated advances with a solid defence, though the visitors were accurate from the tee with three points for Dan Biggar and Sam Davies.

WILLIS Halaholo was a two-try hero as Cardiff Blues produced a gutsy performance to secure their first victory of the season with a 17-15 triumph over Connacht at the Sportsground. Connacht started the game with more urgency and were rewarded from the off through a Craig Ronaldson penalty. But a Halaholo score before the break meant the visitors lead by four points at half-time, as Connacht were forced to see out the half with 14 men after John Muldoon’s sinbin. Connacht stepped up their performance after the break and attacked more expansively as Darragh Leader touched down. But a Steve Shingler penalty meant that the momentum stayed with the visitors. It looked as if Connacht were heading for victory when Shane Delahunt charged over with five minutes left, but Cardiff came roaring back through Halaholo’s late effort. Jarrod Evans kept his cool to slot home and hand the Welsh outfit their maiden win of the new season.

GARETH Davies shone for Scarlets, dancing through the Edinburgh defence to lay on a try for Rhys Patchell before scoring one of his own as the hosts claimed a 28-8 victory. Jason Harries was just as fleet-footed though, eventually finding a way through a Scarlets line which seemed impenetrable for most of the first half. But the Scarlets extended their lead through Werner Kruger as Richard Cockerill’s men sought a third straight victory on the road. And a team try earned the Welsh side a bonus point, bringing them up to second in Conference B, with Aaron Shingler the man to go over after deft offloading from his teammates.

ZEBRE resisted a brief Southern Kings comeback as they scored six tries to secure their maiden victory of the season with a 43-17 win at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium. The Italian outfit enjoyed the dream start as they scored two tries within the first six minutes against their South African opponents, with Tommaso Castello and Mattia Bellini crossing early on. Renato Giammarioli and Tommaso Boni added further scores as the visitors raced into a 29-3 lead – a Pieter Steyn de Wet being the only response from the Kings. But the second half saw Godlen Masimla and Luvuyo Pupuma touch down for the hosts, who fought their way back into the match to reduce the deficit to 12 points. But an astute dummy run from Marcelo Violi created space out wide for Giulio Bisegni, who grabbed Zebre’s fifth before Jacopo Sarto inflicted another at the death.

RESULTS

GLASGOW WARRIORS 37 - 10 MUNSTER

Scotstoun Stadium - Friday 22 September 2017
KO: 19:35 HT: 20-5

WARRIORS: 15 Ruaridh Jackson 14 Lee Jones 13 Nick Grigg 12 Peter Horne 11 Rory Hughes 10 Finn Russell 9 Ali Price 8 Adam Ashe 7 Callum Gibbins 6 RYAN WILSON (C) 5 Scott Cummings 4 Tim Swinson 3 Zander Fagerson 2 George Turner 1 Jamie Bhatti BENCH: 16 Pat MacArthur 17 Alex Allan 18 D’arcy Rae 19 Brian Alainu’uese 20 Rob Harley 21 Henry Pyrgos 22 Sam Johnson 23 Leonardo Sarto

SCORERS T: Sarto, Jones, Grigg, Cummings C: Russell (4) P: Russell (3)

MUNSTER: 15 Andrew Conway 14 Darren Sweetnam 13 Chris Farrell 12 Rory Scannell 11 Alex Wootton 10 TYLER BLEYENDAAL (C) 9 Duncan Williams 8 Liam O’Connor 7 Rhys Marshall 6 Stephen Archer 5 Jean Kleyn 4 Billy Holland 3 Sean O’Connor 2 Tommy O’Donnell 1 Jack O’Donoghue BENCH: 16 Niall Scannell 17 Dave Kilcoyne 18 John Ryan 19 Fineen Wycherley 20 Robin Copeland 21 James Hart 22 Jaco Taute 23 Simon Zebo

SCORERS T: Rory Scannell, Farrell Holland Wycherley

Referee: Nigel Owens

 

ULSTER RUGBY 52 - 25 DRAGONS

Kingspan Stadium - Friday 22 September 2017
KO: 19:35 HT: 33-13

ULSTER: 15 Charles Piutau 14 Tommy Bowe 13 Dave Cave 12 Stuart McCloskey 11 Jacob Stockdale 10 Peter Nelson 9 Paul Marshall 8 Nick Timoney 7 CHRIS HENRY (C) 6 Clive Ross 5 Alan O'Connor 4 Robbie Diack 3 Rodney Ah You 2 Rob Herring 1 Kyle McCall BENCH: 16 John Andrew 17 Andrew Warwick 18 Wiehahn Herbst 19 Iain Henderson 20 Matthew Rea 21 D Shanahan 22 Brett Herron 23 Rob Lyttle

SCORERS T: McCloskey, Nelson, PT, Timoney (2), Herbst, Stockdale, Shanahan C: Nelson (4), Herron Ah You

DRAGONS: 15 Carl Meyer 14 Adam Hughes 13 Thretton Palamo 12 Pat Howard 11 George Gasson 10 Dorian Jones 9 Owain Leonard 1 Tom Davies 2 Gerard Ellis 3 Lloyd Fairbrother 4 Matthew Screech 5 Rynard Landman 6 Max Williams 7 OLLIE GRIFFITHS (C) 8 Robson Blake BENCH: 16 Rhys Buckley 17 Phil Price 18 Brok Harris 19 Joseph Davies 20 Lennon Greggains 21 Dane Blacker 22 Angus O'Brien 23 Will Talbot-Davies

SCORERS T: Buckley, Blacker, Talbot-Davies C: Jones, O'Brien P: Jones (2) Fairbrother

Referee: Dan Jones

 

TOYOTA CHEETAHS 38 - 19 LEINSTER RUGBY

Toyota Stadium - Friday 22 September 2017
KO: 20:00 HT: 19-5

CHEETAHS: 15 Sergeal Petersen 14 Rosko Specman 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 BENCH: 16 Jacques du Toit 17 Ox Nche 18 Johan Coetzee 19 Rynier Bernardo 20 Junior Pokomela 21 Shaun Venter 22 Nico Lee 23 Luther Obi

SCORERS T: Small-Smith, van Jaarsveld, Nche, Obi C: Stapelberg (3) P: Stapelberg (4)

LEINSTER: 15 Joey Carbery 14 Dave Kearney 13 Noel Reid 12 ISA NACEWA (C) 11 Barry Daly 10 Ross Byrne 9 Jamison Gibson-Park 8 Jack Conan 7 Josh van der Flier 6 Jordi Murphy 5 Mick Kearney 4 Ross Molony 3 Michael Bent 2 James Tracy 1 Cian Healy BENCH: 16 Seán Cronin 17 Peter Dooley 18 Andrew Porter 19 Rhys Ruddock 20 Max Deegan 21 Nick McCarthy 22 Cathal Marsh 23 Rory O’Loughlin

SCORERS T: Daly (3) C: Byrne (2) Tracy 

Referee: Mike Adamson

 

BENETTON RUGBY 16 - 6 OSPREYS

Stadio Monigo - Friday 22 September 2017
KO: 20:35 HT: 13-6

TREVISO: 15 Jayden Hayward 14 Angelo Esposito 13 Tommaso Benvenuti 12 Alberto Sgarbi 11 Luca Sperandio 10 Ian McKinley 9 Edoardo Gori 8 DEAN BUDD (C) 7 Abraham Steyn 6 Francesco Minto 5 Marco Fuser 4 Federico Ruzza 3 Simone Ferrari 2 Luca Bigi 1 Alberto De Marchi BENCH: 16 Federico Zani 17 Cherif Traore 18 Tiziano Pasquali 19 Robert Barbieri 20 Marco Barbini 21 Tito Tebaldi 22 Martin Banks 23 Ignacio Brex

SCORERS T: Steyn C: McKinley P: McKinley (2), Banks Hayward

OSPREYS: 15 Dan Evans 14 Keelan Giles 13 Ben John 12 James Hook 11 Jeff Hassler 10 Dan Biggar 9 Rhys Webb 8 Dan Baker 7 JUSTIN TIPURIC (C) 6 Olly Cracknell 5 Adam Beard 4 Bradley Davies 4 Bradley Davies 3 Ma’afu Fia 2 Scott Baldwin 1 Nicky Smith BENCH: 16 Scott Otten 17 Gareth Thomas 18 Rhodri Jones 19 Alun Wyn Jones 20 James King 21 Tom Habberfield 22 Sam Davies 23 Kieron Fonotia

SCORERS P: Biggar, Sam Davies

Referee: George Clancy

 

CONNACHT RUGBY 15 - 17 CARDIFF BLUES

Sportsground - Saturday 23 September 2017
KO: 15:15 HT: 3-7

 

CONNACHT: 15 Darragh Leader 14 Cian Kelleher 13 Bundee Aki 12 Craig Ronaldson 11 Rory Scholes 10 Andrew Deegan 9 Kieran Marmion 8 JOHN MULDOON (C) 7 Jarrad Butler 6 Eoghan Masterson 5 Quinn Roux 4 Ultan Dillane 3 Finlay Bealham 2 Dave Heffernan 1 Denis Buckley BENCH: 16 Shane Delahunt 17 Denis Coulson 18 Conor Carey 19 Gavin Thornbury 20 Eoin McKeon 21 Caolin Blade 22 Tom Farrell 23 Stacey Ili

SCORERS T: Leader, Delahunt C: Leader P: Ronaldson Muldoon

BLUES: 15 Rhun Williams 14 Alex Cuthbert 13 Rey Lee-Lo 12 Willis Halaholo 11 Tom James 10 Steve Shingler 9 Lloyd Williams 8 Nick Williams 7 Josh Navidi 6 Josh Turnbull 5 Damian Welch 4 Seb Davies 3 Taufa’ao Filise 2 Kristian Dacey 1 Brad Thyer BENCH: 16 Ethan Lewis 17 Corey Domachowski 18 Keiron Assiratti 19 George Earle 20 Olly Robinson 21 Tomos Williams 22 Jarrod Evans 23 Matthew Morgan

SCORERS T: Halaholo (2) C: Shingler, Evans P: Shingler

Referee: Marius Mitrea

 

SCARLETS 28 - 8 EDINBURGH RUGBY

Parc y Scarlets - Saturday 23 September 2017
KO: 19:35 HT: 14-8

 

SCARLETS: 15 Leigh Halfpenny 14 Johnny McNicholl 13 Jonathan Davies 12 Hadleigh Parkes 11 Steff Evans 10 Rhys Patchell 9 Gareth Davies 8 John Barclay 7 Will Boyde 6 Aaron Shingler 5 Tadhg Beirne 4 Jake Ball 3 Samson Lee 2 KEN OWENS (C) 1 Rob Evans BENCH: 16 Ryan Elias 17 Wyn Jones 18 Werner Kruger 19 David Bulbring 20 Josh Macleod 21 Aled Davies 22 Rhys Jones 23 Paul Asquith

SCORERS T: Patchell, Gareth Davies, Kruger, Shingler C: Halfpenny (4)

EDINBURGH: 15 Blair Kinghorn 14 Tom Brown 13 Chris Dean 12 Phil Burleigh 11 Jason Harries 10 Duncan Weir 9 Nathan Fowles 8 MAGNUS BRADBURY (C) 7 Hamish Watson 6 Jamie Ritchie 5 Grant Gilchrist 4 Ben Toolis 3 WP Nel 2 Stuart McInally 1 Michele Rizzo BENCH: 16 Ross Ford 17 Darryl Marfo 18 Simon Berghan 19 Fraser McKenzie 20 John Hardie 21 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne 22 Jason Tovey 23 Robbie Fruean

SCORERS T: Harries P: Weir Rizzo

Referee: John Lacey

 

SOUTHERN KINGS 17 - 43 ZEBRE RUGBY CLUB

Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium - Saturday 23 September 2017
KO: 19:35 HT: 3-22

 

KINGS: 15 Masixole Banda 14 Yaw Penxe 13 Berton Klaasen 12 Luzuko Vulindlu 11 S'bura Sithole 10 Pieter-Steyn de Wet 9 Rudi van Rooyen 8 Andisa Ntsila 7 Victor Sekekete 6 Khaya Majola 5 Dries van Schalkwyk 4 Stephen Greeff 3 Luvuyo Pupuma 2 MICHAEL WILLEMSE (C) 1 Schalk Ferreira BENCH: 16 Stephan Coetzee 17 Rossouw de Klerk 18 Martin Dreyer 19 Bobby de Wee 20 Freddy Ngoza 21 Godlen Masimla 22 Oliver Zono 23 Jacques Nel

SCORERS T: Masimla, Pupuma C: de Wet (2) P: de Wet

ZEBRE: 15 Matteo Minozzi 14 Giulio Bisegni 13 Tommaso Boni 12 TOMMASO CASTELLO (C) 11 Mattia Bellini 10 Carlo Canna 9 Marcello Violi 8 Renato Giammarioli 7 Giovanni Licata 6 Johan Meyer 5 George Biagi 4 David Sisi 3 Roberto Tenga 2 Oliviero Fabiani 1 Andrea Lovotti BENCH: 16 Sami Panico 17 Andrea De Marchi 18 Dario Chistolini 19 Jacopo Sarto 20 Derick Minnie 21 Guglielmo Palazzani 22 Serafin Bordoli 23 Ciaran Gaffney

SCORERS T: Castello, Bellini, Giammarioli, Boni, Bisegni, Sarto C: Canna (4), Bordoli P: Canna

Referee: Seán Gallagher

 

 

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THE Dragons earned their first win of the Guinness PRO14 season as a scintillating first-half performance was enough to see off Connacht 21-8 at Rodney Parade. The Welsh side had suffered defeats to Edinburgh and Leinster in their first two matches in the new-look league but bounced back to deservedly take victory underneath the Friday night lights. Connacht, who were coming off a 32-10 triumph over Southern Kings in Round Two, had won eight of the last nine games between the sides yet were caught cold by an imperious first-half Dragons display. Hallam Amos finished off an incredible team try in the opening moments and Elliot Dee also got driven over as they racked up a 21-3 advantage by half-time. Quinn Roux’s score early in the second period could have sparked a comeback, but the Dragons’ defence remained solid as coach Bernard Jackman got one over the side he began his playing career with.

BENETTON Rugby came from 14-0 down to record one of their greatest comeback wins in the PRO14 after defeating Edinburgh Rugby 20-17 at Myreside. Angelo Esposito scored a try in each half in an impressive rearguard from the Italian side, who at one stage registered 20 unanswered points to seal their first win this season. That was largely down to an impressive kicking night with ten points from Ian McKinley, all before delivering a mountainous rearguard to preserve the three-point win – their fifth in 15 encounters against the Scottish side. Chris Dean had earlier crossed twice for Edinburgh, but it was not enough to prevent a first defeat under the tenure of Richard Cockerill.

JOHN Andrew’s dramatic late try sealed an enthralling victory for Ulster as they inflicted defeat on defending champions Scarlets at the Kingspan Stadium. It was an emotional night in Belfast after a minute’s silence was held to mark the five-year anniversary since the death of promising young centre Nevin Spence, who died along with his father Noel and brother Graham, in a farming accident. Masterful kicking from John Cooney had put Ulster in control in a quiet first half before the game burst into life in the second phase. Three tries in six whirlwind minutes saw the defending champions wrestle back the advantage as first John McNicholl and then Jonathan Davies went over the line after Jacob Stockdale had given Ulster a slender lead. Christian Leali’ifano’s penalty levelled things up for the hosts before Andrew rounded-off a fine Ulster move with three minutes to go to seal a thrilling triumph.

LEINSTER were the early Conference B pacesetters after racking up their third victory on the spin on an historic day for the Guinness PRO14. In the first match in the championship to ever be played in at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth, Leinster showed no signs of travel sickness as they recorded a 31-10 victory in the backyard of the Southern Kings. The visitors ran in tries from Noel Reid, Rory O'Loughlin, Jack Conan, Joey Carbery and Dave Kearney, while replacement Jacques Nel was the only South African to cross for the homeside.

FIRST-half tries from Jean Kleyn and Darren Sweetnam was enough for Munster Rugby as they battled past a gutsy Ospreys to stay top of Conference A and make it three wins in a row. The scores cancelled out James Hook’s early try for the hosts as the sides battled tricky conditions in south Wales. The Irish outfit had registered two bonus point victories from two going into the clash at the Liberty Stadium, and struck the first blow when Tyler Bleyendaal slotted home a penalty on nine minutes, having missed two earlier kicks. Despite Ospreys enjoying late possession, Munster made it three victories from three and emerge as the team to beat.

THE Toyota Cheetahs scored eight tries as they secured their first win of the PRO14 campaign with a fiery 54-39 victory over Zebre, who had to settle for a losing bonus point in a thrilling encounter at the Toyota Stadium. In the second ever PRO14 encounter hosted on Southern Hemisphere territory, it was Zebre who showcased more attacking prowess from the off as the travelling Italians raced into an 11-0 lead. But the Cheetahs powered back through successive tries from Makazole Mapimpi, Luther Obi and William Small-Smith to ignite a blistering first-half. The Springbok outfit turned on the heat after the break as Torsten Van Jaarsveld and Mapimpi completed doubles. Zebre’s ill-discipline saw Dave Sisi and George Biagi sinbinned, as their frustration fuelled the Cheetah’s dominance. It looked like Naka Drotské’s side were destined for another defeat when Biagi crossed for Zebre’s first try on South African soil following efficient support play from the forward pods. Mapimi’s magic sparked the one-sided game into action, as Canna failed to make it three penalties from three.  The visitors remained in touching distance as Johan Meyer charged over at the other end to pull a try back with 14 men, as Michael Bradley’s side trailed by a point at the break. The momentum remained with the Springbok outfit after the restart, notching up five tries with Stapelberg putting daylight between the two sides at 33-18. But just as they had done in the first half, Zebre refused to relinquish with a man down and Mattia Bellini stormed over, with Marcelo Violi slotting his first points of the game at 33-25. Van Jaarsveld crossed at the other end for the Cheetah’s sixth, before Faialaga Afamasaga reduced the deficit to six points after Violi converted. Tian Meyer broke clear of Zebre’s defence to dive over, before Petersen joined in on the fun with his second and the Cheetah’s eighth. Giulio Bisegni salvaged a fifth at the death for Zebre, with Guglielmo Palazzani converting, but it was not enough as the Italian side’s winless run in the new season continues.

FINN Russell scored the winning penalty as Glasgow Warriors overcame a ten-point deficit to beat Cardiff Blues and preserve their unbeaten start to the season. The home side flew out of the blocks and took the lead through Tom James’ converted try and a Steven Shingler penalty – but Glasgow slowly battled back. Henry Pyrgos scored the first Warriors try, but the accurate boot of Shingler kept the Blues ahead until Lee Jones crossed. Shingler put Cardiff ahead again, until Russell won it to maintain their fine start – although Shingler’s late miss proved costly.

RESULTS

DRAGONS 21 - 8 CONNACHT RUGBY

Rodney Parade - Friday 15 September 2017
KO: 19:30 HT: 21-3

DRAGONS: 15 Zane Kirchner 14 Ashton Hewitt 13 Tyler Morgan 12 Jack Dixon 11 Hallam Amos 10 Gavin Henson 9 Sarel Pretorius 8 James Benjamin 7 Ollie Griffiths 6 Harrison Keddie 5 CORY HILL (C) 4 Rynard Landman 3 Leon Brown 2 Elliot Dee 1 Brok Harris BENCH: 16 Gerard Ellis 17 Thomas Davies 18 Lloyd Fairbrother 19 Matthew Screech 20 Robson Blake 21 Owain Leonard 22 Dorian Jones 23 Jared Rosser

SCORERS T: Amos, Dee C: Henson P: Henson (3)

CONNACHT: 15 Tiernan O'Halloran 14 Darragh Leader 13 Tom Farrell 12 Bundee Aki 11 Rory Scholes 10 Jack Carty 9 Caolin Blade 8 JOHN MULDOON (C) 7 Jake Heenan 6 Eoghan Masterson 5 James Cannon 4 Quinn Roux 3 Conor Carey 2 Tom McCartney 1 Denis Coulson BENCH: 16 Dave Heffernan 17 Peter McCabe 18 Dominic Robertson-McCoy 19 Gavin Thornbury 20 Jarrad Butler 21 Kieran Marmion 22 Steve Crosbie 23 Eoin Griffin

SCORERS T: Roux P: Carty Cannon

Referee: Quinton Immelman

 

EDINBURGH RUGBY 17 - 20 BENETTON RUGBY

Myreside - Friday 15 September 2017
KO: 19:35 HT: 14-10

EDINBURGH: 15 Blair Kinghorn 14 Damien Hoyland 13 Chris Dean 12 Robbie Fruean 11 Jason Harries 10 Duncan Weir 9 Nathan Fowles 8 Cornell du Preez 7 John Hardie 6 MAGNUS BRADBURY (C) 5 Ben Toolis 4 Anton Bresler 3 Simon Berghan 1 Michele Rizzo BENCH: 16 Neil Cochrane 17 Darryl Marfo 18 WP Nel 19 Fraser McKenzie 20 Hamish Watson 21 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne 22 Jason Tovey 23 Junior Rasolea

SCORERS T: Dean (2) C: Weir (2) P: Weir Bradbury

TREVISO: 15 Jayden Hayward 14 Angelo Esposito 13 Alberto Sgarbi 12 Tommaso Allan 11 Tommaso Benvenuti 10 Ian McKinley 9 Edoardo Gori 8 DEAN BUDD (C) 7 Abraham Steyn 6 Francesco Minto 5 Federico Ruzza 4 Marco Lazzaroni 3 Tiziano Pasquali 2 Engjel Makelara 1 Alberto De Marchi BENCH: 16 Federico Zani 17 Cherif Traore 18 Simone Ferrari 19 Marco Fuser 20 Marco Barbini 21 Giorgio Bronzini 22 Luca Sperandio 23 Marco Zanon

SCORERS T: Esposito (2) C: McKinley (2) P: McKinley (2) Makelara, de Marchi

Referee: David Wilkinson

 

ULSTER RUGBY 27 - 20 SCARLETS

Kingspan Stadium - Friday 15 September 2017
KO: 19:35 HT: 9-3

 

ULSTER: 15 Louis Ludik 14 Andrew Trimble 13 Luke Marshall 12 Stuart McCloskey 11 Jacob Stockdale 10 Christian Leali'ifano 9 John Cooney 8 Sean Reidy 7 CHRIS HENRY (C) 6 Matthew Rea 5 Alan O'Connor 4 Kieran Treadwell 3 Wiehahn Herbst 2 Rob Herring 1 Kyle McCall BENCH: 16 John Andrew 17 Andrew Warwick 18 Rodney Ah You 19 Robbie Diack 20 Clive Ross 21 Paul Marshall 22 Peter Nelson 23 Tommy Bowe

SCORERS T: Stockdale, Andrew C: Leali'ifano P: Cooney (4), Leali'ifano

SCARLETS: 15 Leigh Halfpenny 14 Johnny McNicholl 13 Hadleigh Parkes 12 Scott Williams 11 Steff Evans 10 Rhys Patchell 9 Gareth Davies 8 John Barclay 7 Will Boyde 6 Aaron Shingler 5 Tadhg Beirne 4 Jake Ball 3 Samson Lee 2 KEN OWENS (C) 1 Rob Evans BENCH: 16 Ryan Elias 17 Wyn Jones 18 Werner Kruger 19 David Bulbring 20 Josh Macleod 21 Jonathan Evans 22 Rhys Jones 23 Jonathan Davies

SCORERS T: McNicholl, Jonathan Davies C: Halfpenny (2) P: Halfpenny (2)

Referee: Marius Mitrea

 

SOUTHERN KINGS 10 - 31 LEINSTER RUGBY

Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium - Saturday 16 September 2017
KO: 14:15 HT: 3-7

 

KINGS: 15 Masixole Banda 14 Yaw Penxe 13 Berton Klaasen 12 Luzuko Vulindlu 11 S'bura Sithole 10 Kurt Coleman 9 Rudi van Rooyen 8 Andisa Ntsila 7 Victor Sekekete 6 Khaya Majola 5 Dries van Schalkwyk 4 Stephan Greeff 3 Luvuyo Pupuma 2 Michael Willemse 1 Schalk Ferreira BENCH: 16 Stephan Coetzee 17 Petrus Strauss 18 Martin Dreyer 19 Bobby de Wee 20 Siya Mdaka 21 Godlen Masimla 22 Ntabeni Dukisa/Oliver Zono 23 Jacques Nel

SCORERS T: Nel C: Coleman P: Banda

LEINSTER: 15 Joey Carbery 14 Adam Byrne 13 Rory O’Loughlin 12 Noel Reid 11 Dave Kearney 10 Ross Byrne 9 Luke McGrath 8 Jack Conan 7 Jordi Murphy 6 RHYS RUDDOCK (C) 5 James Ryan 4 Ross Molony 3 Andrew Porter 2 Seán Cronin 1 Ed Byrne BENCH: 16 James Tracy 17 Cian Healy 18 Michael Bent 19 Mick Kearney 20 Josh van der Flier 21 Nick McCarthy 22 Cathal Marsh 23 Jordan Larmour

SCORERS T: Reid, O'Loughlin, Conan, Carbery, Dave Kearney C: Ross Byrne (3)

Referee: Ben Whitehouse

 

OSPREYS 16 - 21 MUNSTER RUGBY

Liberty Stadium - Saturday 16 September 2017
KO: 15:15 HT: 7-15

 

OSPREYS: 15 Dan Evans 14 Keelan Giles 13 Cory Allen 12 James Hook 11 Jeff Hassler 10 Sam Davies 9 Tom Habberfield 8 Dan Baker 7 Justin Tipuric (C) 6 James King 5 Lloyd Ashley 4 Bradley Davies 3 Ma’afu Fia 2 Sam Parry 1 Paul James BENCH: 16 Scott Baldwin 17 Nicky Smith 18 Rhodri Jones 19 Adam Beard 20 Dan Lydiate 21 Matthew Aubrey 22 Dan Biggar 23 Kieron Fonotia

SCORERS T: Hook C: Sam Davies P: Sam Davies (3)

MUNSTER: 15 Andrew Conway 14 Darren Sweetnam 13 Chris Farrell 12 Jaco Taute 11 Alex Wootton 10 TYLER BLEYENDAAL (C) 9 Duncan Williams 8 Jack O’Donoghue 7 Tommy O’Donnell 6 Sean O’Connor 5 Billy Holland 4 Jean Kleyn 3 Stephen Archer 2 Rhys Marshall 1 Liam O’Connor BENCH: 16 Niall Scannell 17 James Cronin 18 John Ryan 19 Fineen Wycherley 20 Robin Copeland 21 James Hart 22 Rory Scannell 23 Simon Zebo

SCORERS T: Kleyn, Sweetnam C: Bleyendaal P: Bleyendaal (2)

Referee: Stuart Berry

 

TOYOTA CHEETAHS 54 - 39 ZEBRE RUGBY

Toyota Stadium - Saturday 16 September 2017
KO: 19:30 HT: 19-18

 

CHEETAHS: 15 Sergeal Petersen 14 Luther Obi 13 FRANCOIS VENTER (C) 12 William Small-Smith 11 Makazole Mapimpi 10 Ernst Stapelberg 9 Shaun Venter 8 Junior Pokomela 7 Henco Venter 6 Paul Schoeman 5 Reniel Hugo 4 Justin Basson 3 Tom Botha 2 Torsten van Jaarsveld 1 Ox Nche BENCH: 16 Jacques du Toit 17 Charles Marais 18 Johan Coetzee 19 Rynier Bernardo 20 Chris Dry 21 Tian Meyer 22 Nico Lee 23 Cecil Afrika

SCORERS T: Mapimpi (2), Small-Smith, Obi, van Jaarsveld (2), Meyer, Petersen C: Stapelberg (7)

ZEBRE: 15 Ciaran Gaffney 14 Giulio Bisegni 13 Mattia Bellini 12 TOMMASO CASTELLO (C) 11 Gabriele Di Giulio 10 Carlo Canna 9 Marcello Violi 8 Renato Giammarioli 7 Giovanni Licata 6 Johan Meyer 5 George Biagi 4 David Sisi 3 Dario Chistolini 2 Oliviero Fabiani 1 Andrea Lovotti BENCH: 16 Sami Panico 17 Andrea De Marchi 18 Roberto Tenga 19 Leonard Krumov 20 Derick Minnie 21 Guglielmo Palazzani 22 Serafin Bordoli 23 Faialaga Afamasaga

SCORERS T: Biagi, Meyer, Bellini, Afamasaga, Bisegni C: Canna, Violi (2), Palazzani P: Canna (2) Sisi, Biagi

Referee: Andrew Brace

 

CARDIFF BLUES 19 - 20 GLASGOW

Cardiff Arms Park - Saturday 16 September 2017
KO: 19:35 HT: 13-10

 

BLUES: 15 Rhun Williams 14 Alex Cuthbert 13 Rey Lee-Lo 12 Willis Halaholo 11 Tom James 10 Steve Shingler 9 Lloyd Williams 8 Nick Williams 7 Josh Navidi 6 Josh Turnbull 5 Damian Welch 4 Seb Davies 3 Keiron Assiratti 2 MATTHEW REES (C) 1 Rhys Gill BENCH: 16 Kirby Myhill 17 Brad Thyer 18 Dillon Lewis 19 George Earle 20 Macauley Cook 21 Tomos Williams 22 Jarrod Evans 23 Matthew Morgan

SCORERS T: James C: Shingler P: Shingler (4)

WARRIORS: 15 Ruaridh Jackson 14 Tommy Seymour 13 Nick Grigg 12 Alex Dunbar 11 Lee Jones 10 Finn Russell 9 HENRY PYRGOS (C) 8 Adam Ashe 7 Callum Gibbins 6 Matt Fagerson 5 Scott Cummings 4 Tim Swinson 3 Zander Fagerson 2 George Turner 1 Jamie Bhatti BENCH: 16 Pat MacArthur 17 Alex Allan 18 D'arcy Rae 19 Brian Alainu'uese 20 Chris Fusaro 21 George Horne 22 Peter Horne 23 Niko Matawalu

SCORERS T: Pyrgos, Jones C: Russell (2) P: Russell (2)

Referee: Frank Murphy

 

 

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RICHARD COCKERILL marked his first home match in triumphant style as his Edinburgh Rugby side delivered a bonus-point win over the Dragons at Myreside. The impressive Blair Kinghorn scored in the first half, but nine points from the boot of Gavin Henson kept the Welsh region within touching distance. Sam Hidalgo-Clyne’s second-half try threatened a breakaway only for Henson to once again successfully kick three penalties in the space of nine minutes to set up a frantic conclusion. But replacement Junior Rasolea crashed over while Robbie Fruean, who crossed in the game’s dying embers, secured Cockerill a bonus point and a happy home welcome to the Guinness PRO14.

SEAN CRONIN made an early bid for the try of the weekend as the hooker put in a 50m sprint to dot down in Leinster’s 37-9 defeat of Cardiff Blues. Thirteen of Leinster’s points came from the boot of Ross Byrne, with James Tracy coming from the midst of a maul to score the home side’s first try. It was a valiant defensive effort from the Welsh team in the first half, but the pressure from the hosts only intensified as the game went on and they earned a bonus point with four tries. Byrne seemed more mature than his 22 years, showing impressive awareness as he sent a cross-field kick to Barry Daly for Leinster’s third try, before Nick McCarthy crossed the whitewash for the fourth.

FINN Russell returned to the Glasgow Warriors side to spark a four-try victory over the Ospreys, and secure Dave Rennie a win in his first home game in charge. After a balanced opening to the game, Alex Dunbar raced away for the first try of the afternoon, before Dan Evans touched down a superb riposte for the Ospreys, Russell and Sam Davies both converting and adding a penalty. The sides were level at the break at 10-all. But Russell had no plans to hang around, and his quick-thinking saw substitute Leonardo Sarto go over in the corner in the 51st minute, the fly half adding the extras. Approaching the final quarter, Scotland No8 Adam Ashe stole a Sam Davies pass to secure Glasgow’s third, and Dunbar powered over at the death to seal back-to-back wins for the Warriors to kick off Rennie’s reign, while the visitors could not add another point in the second half and returned to Wales pointless.

ALEX Wootton was the star for Munster Rugby, crossing the whitewash four times as the home side showed newcomers Toyota Cheetahs there are no easy games in Ireland, defeating the South Africans 51-18. Man of the Match Wootton was seemingly unstoppable on the wing as Munster sent perfectly precise offloads out to the left, helping the 23-year-old go over in the corner twice in the first half. After dotting down twice more, the winger was forced to leave the field to make room for Ireland international Simon Zebo, who added his name to the scoresheet within minutes, claiming Munster’s eighth try of the afternoon, the others racked up by Tommy O’Connell, Jean Kleyn and Chris Farrell. Cheetahs brought the score to 22-11 at one stage with a try from William Small-Smith, and two penalties from Robbie Petzer, but Rassie Erasmus’ men swiftly ramped up the intensity to run away with the win. Henco Venter added a converted consolation try at the death, but to no avail.

ANDREW Trimble scored a brace as Ulster finally got their PRO14 campaign up and running with a gritty 21-14 victory over a stubborn Benetton side at Stadio Monigo. The skipper led from the front to put the visitors ahead early on, tiptoeing his way through the defence after a stray ball had bounced awkwardly from a penalty lineout, John Cooney adding the conversion. Despite periods of sloppiness, the momentum stayed with Ulster after Trimble broke from midfield on the 20-minute mark. The fullback showcased some fine interplay with Cooney as the pair combined expertly to exploit a defensive gap for the captain to cross the whitewash, before Cooney added the extras in the second quarter. Cooney proved the difference during the first half, getting to breakdown early and dictating the game at pace which Benetton could not handle, and the visitors led 14-0 into the break. The Italian outfit started the second half on the front foot, before replacement prop Cherif Traore spilt the ball in Ulster’s 22 to avert any danger for the Irish side. Cooney charged down a Benetton clearance kick, with Jacob Stockdale pouncing on the loose ball to dive over the line and score his tenth league try in an Ulster shirt, the Irishmen three converted scores clear. But Benetton’s forward pack rallied and scored a 65th minute try through summer recruit Federico Ruzza, who wasted no time in opening his account in his first start for Benetton. Ian McKinley slotted home to put the Italian side within touching distance of a famous comeback – which nearly materialised after Tommaso Allan raced onto his own chip before offloading to his fellow fly-half who raced under the posts to spark a pulsating last ten minutes. But it was Ulster who held firm to secure their first victory of the new campaign and leave Benetton still searching for theirs.

CONNACHT produced a solid display to clinch a 32-10 first victory of the season against the Southern Kings with a bonus point on Saturday night at the Sportsground, obliterating the misery of losing the last five. First-half tries from Tom Farrell, replacement Eoghan Masterson and Ultan Dillane gave Connacht a commanding 24-5 lead at the interval. However, the South African outfit showed resilience by breaking into the Connacht’s 22 to pull a try back through Berton Klaasen, who showed enough strength to touch down and restore hope for the southern hemisphere newcomers. Darragh Leader clinched the victory with the bonus point try on 70 minutes. Jack Carty continued his outstanding form off the tee with from four from four to keep his 100% record going having landed all four of his kicks against Glasgow. Despite struggling to convert possession into points, the Kings showed glimpses of already acclimatising to life in the northern hemisphere, characterised by the physical strength of Luvuyo Pupuma, who powered over for Deon David’s side three minutes from the final whistle. But Zono missed the conversion as the Kings return to South Africa in search of their maiden win.

STEFF Evans and Johnny McNicholl were at the heart of a dynamic Scarlets attack as the defending champions made it two from two with a 41-10 victory over Zebre. The Italians deserved more than their ten points, after creating endless opportunities at their home ground, but the Scarlets defence was impenetrable. Carlo Canna struck first with a penalty from Scarlets infringing, but could not add anything further until two minutes from the final whistle, when replacement Mattia Bellini made a well-timed intercept to score there only try, duly converted by the Italian fly half. Evans came close several times, but dotted down just once, with McNicholl scoring the only try of the first half for a 13-3 lead. The visitors were unrelenting after the break, though, and Evans, Paul Asquith, Tadhg Beirne and Aled Davies all added their names to the scoresheet.

RESULTS

EDINBURGH RUGBY 35 - 18 DRAGONS

Myreside - Friday 08 September 2017
KO: 19:35 HT: 13-9

EDINBURGH: 15 Blair Kinghorn 14 Damien Hoyland 13 Chris Dean 12 Robbie Fruean 11 Jason Harries 10 Duncan Weir 9 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne 8 Magnus Bradbury 7 Hamish Watson 6 Jamie Ritchie 5 Grant Gilchrist 4 Ben Toolis 3 WP Nel 2 Stuart McInally 1 Michele Rizzo BENCH: 16 Ross Ford 17 Darryl Marfo 18 Simon Berghan 19 Fraser McKenzie 20 Cornell du Preez 21 Nathan Fowles 22 Jason Tovey 23 Junior Rasolea

SCORERS  T: Kinghorn, Hidalgo-Clyne, Rasolea, Fruean C: Weir (3) P: Weir (3) Weir

DRAGONS: 15 Zane Kirchner 14 Ashton Hewitt 13 Tyler Morgan 12 Sam Beard 11 Hallam Amos 10 Gavin Henson 9 Charlie Davies 8 Harrison Keddie 7 James Benjamin 6 James Thomas 5 CORY HILL (C) 4 Rynard Landman 3 Leon Brown 2 Elliot Dee 1 Brok Harris BENCH: 16 Rhys Buckley 17 Phil Price 18 Lloyd Fairbrother 19 Matthew Screech 20 Max Williams 21 Owain Leonard 22 Angus O’Brien 23 Adam Hughes

SCORERS P: Henson (5) DG: Henson

Referee: Stuart Berry

 

LEINSTER RUGBY 35 - 9 CARDIFF BLUES

RDS Arena - Friday 08 September 2017
KO: 19:35 HT: 10-6

 

LEINSTER: 15 Rob Kearney 14 Adam Byrne 13 Rory O’Loughlin 12 ISA NACEWA (C) 11 Jordan Larmour 10 Ross Byrne 9 Luke McGrath 8 Jack Conan 7 Josh van der Flier 6 Rhys Ruddock 5 Scott Fardy 4 Devin Toner 3 Michael Bent 2 James Tracy 1 Cian Healy BENCH: 16 Seán Cronin 17 Ed Byrne 18 Andrew Porter 19 Mick Kearney 20 Dan Leavy 21 Nick McCarthy 22 Cathal Marsh 23 Barry Daly

SCORERS  T: Tracy, Cronin, Daly, Larmour C: Ross Byrne (4) P: Ross Byrne (3) Nacewa

BLUES: 15 Rhun Williams 14 A Cuthbert 13 Garyn Smith 12 Rey Lee-Lo 11 Tom James 10 Steve Shingler 9 Lloyd Williams 8 Josh Turnbull 7 Josh Navidi 6 Macauley Cook 5 Damian Welch 4 Seb Davies 3 Keiron Assiratti 2 MATTHEW REES (C) 1 Rhys Gill BENCH: 16 Kirby Myhill 17 Corey Domachowski 18 Dillon Lewis 19 James Down 20 Sion Bennett 21 Tomos Williams 22 Jarrod Evans 23 Matthew Morgan

SCORERS P: Shingler (3)

Referee: Andrew Brace

 

GLASGOW WARRIORS 31 - 10 OSPREYS

Scotstoun Stadium - Saturday 09 September 2017
KO: 15:15 HT: 10-10

 

WARRIORS: 15 Ruaridh Jackson 14 Lee Jones 13 Alex Dunbar 12 Peter Horne 11 Rory Hughes 10 Finn Russell 9 Ali Price 8 Adam Ashe 7 Callum Gibbins 6 RYAN WILSON (C) 5 Scott Cummings 4 Tim Swinson 3 Zander Fagerson 2 George Turner 1 Jamie Bhatti BENCH: 16 Pat MacArthur 17 Oli Kebble 18 D'arcy Rae 19 Brian Alainu'uese 20 Matt Fagerson 21 Henry Pyrgos 22 Nick Grigg 23 Leonardo Sarto

SCORERS  T: Dunbar (2), Sarto, Ashe C: Russell (4) P: Russell

OSPREYS: 15 Dan Evans 14 Keelan Giles 13 Kieron Fonotia 12 Cory Allen 11 Jeff Hassler 10 Sam Davies 9 Tom Habberfield 8 James King 7 JUSTIN TIPURIC (C) 6 Olly Cracknell 5 Lloyd Ashley 4 Bradley Davies 3 Ma'afu Fia 2 Sam Parry 1 Paul James BENCH: 16 Scott Otten 17 Nicky Smith 18 Rhodri Jones 19 Adam Beard 20 Guy Mercer 21 Reuben Morgan-Williams 22 James Hook 23 Jay Baker

SCORERS T: Evans C: Sam Davies P: Sam Davies Bradley Davies

Referee: Marius Mitrea

 

MUNSTER RUGBY 51 - 18 TOYOTA CHEETAHS

Thomond Park - Saturday 09 September 2017
KO: 17:15 HT: 22-6

 

MUNSTER: 15 Andrew Conway 14 Darren Sweetnam 13 Chris Farrell 12 Jaco Taute 11 Alex Wootton 10 Ian Keatley 9 Duncan Williams 8 Jack O'Donoghue 7 Tommy O'Donnell 6 Sean O'Connor 5 BILLY HOLLAND (C) 4 Jean Kleyn 3 Stephen Archer 2 Rhys Marshall 1 Liam O'Connor BENCH: 16 Niall Scannell 17 Dave Kilcoyne 18 John Ryan 19 Fineen Wycherley 20 Robin Copeland 21 James Hart 22 Rory Scannell 23 Simon Zebo

SCORERS T: O'Donnell, Wootton (4), Kleyn, Farrell, Zebo C: Keatley (4) P: Keatley

CHEETAHS: 15 Clayton Blommetjies 14 Sergeal Petersen 13 FRANCOIS VENTER (C) 12 William Small-Smith 11 Makazole Mapimpi 10 Robbie Petzer 9 Shaun Venter 8 Niell Jordaan 7 Henco Venter 6 Paul Schoeman 5 Reniel Hugo 4 Rynier Bernardo 3 Johan Coetzee 2 Jacques du Toit 1 Charles Marais BENCH: 16 Torsten van Jaarsveld 17 Ox Nche 18 Tom Botha 19 Armandt Koster 20 Gerhard Olivier 21 Tian Meyer 22 Ali Mgijima 23 Rayno Benjamin

SCORERS T: Small-Smith, Henco Venter C: Petzer P: Petzer (2)

Referee: Ben Whitehouse

 

BENETTON RUGBY 14 - 21 ULSTER RUGBY

Stadio Monigo - Saturday 09 September 2017
KO: 18:05 HT: 0-14

 

TREVISO: 15 Jayden Hayward 14 Angelo Esposito 13 ALBERTO SGARBI (C) 12 Tommaso Allan 11 Tommaso Benvenuti 10 Ian McKinley 9 Tito Tebaldi 8 Whetu Douglas 7 Sebastian Negri 6 Francesco Minto 5 Federico Ruzza 4 Marco Lazzaroni 3 Simone Ferrari 2 Luca Bigi 1 Federico Zani BENCH: 16 Engjel Makelara 17 Cherif Traore 18 Tiziano Pasquali 19 Marco Barbini 20 Abraham Steyn 21 Giorgio Bronzini 22 Edoardo Gori 23 Marco Zanon

SCORERS T: Ruzza, McKinley C: McKinley (2)

ULSTER: 15 Louis Ludik 14 ANDREW TRIMBLE (C) 13 Tommy Bowe 12 Stuart McCloskey 11 Jacob Stockdale 10 Christian Leali'ifano 9 John Cooney 8 Jean Deysel 7 Sean Reidy 6 Matthew Rea 5 Kieran Treadwell 4 Robbie Diack 3 Wiehahn Herbst 2 Rob Herring 1 Callum Black BENCH: 16 John Andrew 17 Andrew Warwick 18 Rodney Ah You 19 Peter Browne 20 Chris Henry 21 David Shanahan 22 Peter Nelson 23 Luke Marshall

SCORERS T: Trimble (2), Stockdale C: Cooney (3)

Referee: Adam Jones

 

CONNACHT RUGBY 24 - 10 SOUTHERN KINGS

Sportsground - Saturday 09 September 2017
KO: 19:35 HT: 32-10

 

CONNACHT: 15 Tiernan O’Halloran 14 Darragh Leader 13 Tom Farrell 12 Bundee Aki 11 Matt Healy 10 Jack Carty 9 Kieran Marmion 8 John Muldoon 7 Jarrad Butler 6 Sean O’Brien 5 James Cannon 4 Ultan Dillane 3 Finlay Bealham 2 Tom McCartney 1 Denis Buckley BENCH: 16 Dave Heffernan 17 Denis Coulson 18 Conor Carey 19 Quinn Roux 20 Eoghan Masterson 21 Caolin Blade 22 Steve Crosbie 23 Eoin Griffin

SCORERS T: Farrell, Masterson, Dillane, Leader C: Carty (3) P: Carty (2) Bealham, Muldoon

KINGS: 15 Masixole Banda 14 Yaw Penxe 13 Berton Klaasen 12 Luzuko Vulindlu 11 S'bura Sithole 10 Kurt Coleman 9 Godlen Masimla 8 Andisa Ntsila 7 Victor Sekekete 6 Khaya Majola 5 Dries van Schalkwyk 4 Jurie van Vuuren 3 Rossouw de Klerk 2 MICHAEL WILLEMSE (C) 1 Schalk Ferreira BENCH: 16 Stephan Coetzee 17 Luvuyo Pupuma 18 Entienne Swanepoel/Martin Dreyer 19 Bobby de Wee 20 Siya Mdaka 21 Rudi van Rooyen 22 Oliver Zono 23 Jacques Nel

SCORERS T: Klaasen, Pupuma Sithole

Referee: Mike Adamson

 

ZEBRE RUGBY CLUB 10 - 41 SCARLETS

Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi - Saturday 09 September 2017
KO: 20:35 HT: 3-13

 

ZEBRE: 15 Ciaran Gaffney 14 Giulio Bisegni 13 Tommaso Boni 12 TOMMASO CASTELLO (C) 11 Giovanni D'Onofrio 10 Carlo Canna 9 Guglielmo Palazzani 8 Giovanni Licata 7 Johan Meyer 6 Jacopo Sarto 5 Valerio Bernabò 4 David Sisi 3 Dario Chistolini 2 Tommaso D'Apice 1 Andrea Lovotti BENCH: 16 Oliviero Fabiani 17 Andrea De Marchi 18 Roberto Tenga 19 George Biagi 20 Derick Minnie 21 Marcello Violi 22 Serafin Bordoli 23 Mattia Bellini

SCORERS T: Bellini C: Canna P: Canna

SCARLETS: 15 Johnny McNicholl 14 Tom Grabham 13 Hadleigh Parkes 12 Scott Williams 11 Steff Evans 10 Rhys Patchell 9 Gareth Davies 8 JOHN BARCLAY (C) 7 Will Boyde 6 Aaron Shingler 5 Tadhg Beirne 4 David Bulbring 3 Samson Lee 2 Ryan Elias 1 Rob Evans BENCH: 16 Emyr Phillips 17 Wyn Jones 18 Werner Kruger 19 Tom Price 20 Josh Macleod 21 Aled Davies 22 Rhys Jones 23 Paul Asquith

SCORERS T: McNicholl, Steffan Evans, Asquith, Beirne, Aled Davies C: Patchell (5) P: Patchell (2)

Referee: David Wilkinson

 

 

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RICHARD COCKERILL was left beaming on the final whistle after marking his first Guinness PRO14 game in charge of Edinburgh with a 20-10 away day win at Cardiff Blues. The game was secured for Edinburgh thanks a superb kicking display from Duncan Weir and tries from Blair Kinghorn and Chris Dean. Edinburgh were ruthless in attack, particularly after the break, and were well worth their hard-fought win against a below-par Cardiff. The clash marked Cockerill’s first competitive match at the Edinburgh helm after he joined over the summer from Toulon and his arrival seems to have instilled a new-look steel in his side’s defending.

MUNSTER produced a first-half attacking masterclass as they ran in five scores to effectively kill the game at the break and secure a 34-3 opening day win against Benetton Rugby. Scores from Jean Kleyn, Tyler Bleyendaal, Darren Sweetnam, Alex Wootton and Andrew Conway in the first half saw Munster punish the visitors, while Kleyn added a second after the break. If the first 40 minutes was all about attack for Munster, it was the opposite after the break as the Irish side were forced to dig deep against a much-improved Italian outfit. There were plenty of positives for Benetton to take from the second half, but finishing off their chances and their accuracy in the opposition 22 is certainly something the Italians will need to work on in the weeks ahead.

A relentless Ulster did not stand on ceremony as they bested newcomers Toyota Cheetahs 42-19 in the opening round of the season. The Cheetahs, one of two new South African outfits that have joined the championship, put on a gutsy display as they made their Guinness PRO14 bow at the Kingspan Stadium in Belfast, but were unable to withstand the men in white. Four first-half tries from Tommy Bowe, Alan O'Connor, Stuart McCloskey and Charles Piutau proved to the bedrock of Ulster’s success, Louis Ludik and Peter Nelson adding another two before the final whistle. Les Kiss’ troops got their latest campaign off to an excellent start, though the Cheetahs ran in three scores of their own from Clayton Blommetjies, Makazole Mapimpi and Sergeal Petersen, but a quarter of the match with Henco Venter and Johan Coetzee on the naughty step di the visitors no favours.

KEELAN GILES grabbed a double to get the Ospreys off to a winning start to the Guinness PRO14 season, but they were pushed all the way by Zebre Rugby Club before running out 22-13 winners. In an entertaining game at the Liberty Stadium, the Ospreys looked to be in control when they took a 15-3 lead in to halftime with tries from Giles and Ma’afu Fia. But after Carlo Canna’s late converted score, and a second penalty, Zebre threatened a comeback win. Instead it was the Ospreys who struck at the death, Giles going over for his second of the game to seal the victory.

LEINSTER cruised to a bonus point victory in their opening game of the season to inflict a heavy 39-16 defeat on Bernard Jackman’s Dragons at Rodney Parade. Jamison Gibson-Park’s explosive burst over the line helped ease Leo Cullen’s side into a first half lead. A penalty try and debutant Jordan Larmour’s effort within the first ten minutes of the second half asserted Leinster’s dominance. Dan Leavy and fly-half Cathal Marsh helped Leinster to bonus points as a Dragons penalty try gave the home side some consolation.

LEIGH HALFPENNY marked his return to Welsh rugby with a try as Scarlets began their PRO14 title defence with a comfortable 57-10 victory over South African newcomers Southern Kings. The current champions ran in seven tries past Deon David’s side, who faded after the break despite a bright start. Johnny McNicholl crossed in the 9th minute, but Halfpenny missed his first kick of the match, and by the 13th minute, a try from Yaw Penxe, converted by Kurt Coleman gave the visitors a 2-point lead. The Kings were behind a respectable 15-10 at the break after Coleman added a penalty, despite S'bura Sithole denied a try no thanks to strong defensive work from Hadleigh Parkes who bundled him into touch. However, the second stanza was a different game and saw five tries run in from Rhys Patchell, Jake Ball, Emyr Phillips, Parkes, Steffan Evans and a brace for McNicholl, the Kings receiving a baptism of fire in their first foray into northern hemisphere rugby.

DAVE RENNIE got his reign as Glasgow Warriors boss off to an impressive start, with a hard-fought victory over 2016 title winners Connacht on the west coast of Ireland. With both sides heading into the season curtain-raiser with new head coaches and overhauled playing squads, the first half was a tense affair with Peter Horne’s penalty being bettered by three from Connacht’s Jack Carty. The match exploded into life in the second half with a superb try from Ali Price -converted by Horne- that tore the hosts’ determined defence apart. The Irish province responded with another penalty from Carty before Price’s kick to the corner resulted in Warriors winger Lee Jones securing the victory.

RESULTS

CARDIFF BLUES 10 - 20 EDINBURGH RUGBY

Cardiff Arms Park - Friday 01 September 2017
KO: 19:35 HT: 7-10

BLUES: 15 Matthew Morgan 14 Alex Cuthbert 13 Rey Lee-Lo 12 Willis Halaholo 11 Aled Summerhill 10 Jarrod Evans 9 Lloyd Williams 8 Nick Williams 7 Josh Navidi 6 Josh Turnbull 5 Damian Welch 4 Seb Davies 3 Taufa'ao Filise 2 MATTHEW REES (C) 1 Rhys Gill BENCH: 16 Kirby Myhill 17 Corey Domachowski 18 Kieron Assiratti 19 Macauley Cook 20 Sion Bennett 21 Tomos Williams 22 Steve Shingler 23 Tom James

SCORERS  T: Navidi C: Evans P: Evans

EDINBURGH: 15 Blair Kinghorn 14 Dougie Fife 13 Chris Dean 12 Junior Rasolea 11 Jason Harries 10 Duncan Weir 9 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne 8 MAGNUS BRADBURY (C) 7 John Hardie 6 Jamie Ritchie 5 Grant Gilchrist 4 Anton Bresler 3 WP Nel 2 Stuart McInally 1 Darryl Marfo BENCH: 16 Ross Ford 17 Michele Rizzo 18 Simon Berghan 19 Ben Toolis 20 Cornell du Preez 21 Nathan Fowles 22 Jason Tovey 23 Glenn Bryce

SCORERS T: Kinghorn, Dean C: Weir (2) P: Weir (2)

Referee: George Clancy

 

MUNSTER RUGBY 34 - 3 BENETTON RUGBY

Irish Independent Park - Friday 01 September 2017
KO: 19:35 HT: 27-3

MUNSTER: 15 Andrew Conway 14 Darren Sweetnam13 Chris Farrell 12 Jaco Taute 11 Alex Wootton 10 TYLER BLEYENDAAL (C) 9 Duncan Williams 8 Jack O'Donoghue 7 Tommy O'Donnell 6 Sean O'Connor 5 Billy Holland 4 Jean Kleyn 3 Stephen Archer 2 Rhys Marshall 1 Liam O'Connor BENCH: 16 Mike Sherry 17 Brian Scott 18 Ciaran Parker 19 Fineen Wycherley 20 Robin Copeland 21 James Hart 22 Ian Keatley 23 Dan Goggin

SCORERS T: Kleyn (2), Bleyendaal, Sweetnam, Wootton, Conway C: Bleyendaal (2)

BENETTON: 15 Ian McKinley 14 Angelo Esposito 13 Tommaso Benvenuti 12 Tommaso Allan 11 Edoardo Gori 10 Marty Banks 9 Tito Tebaldi 8 Whetu Douglas 7 Sebastian Negri 6 Francesco Minto 5 Marco Lazzaroni 4 DEAN BUDD (C) 3 Simone Ferrari 2 Luca Bigi 1 Federico Zani BENCH: 16 Engjel Makelara 17 Cherif Traore 18 Marco Riccioni 19 Federico Ruzza 20 Abraham Steyn 21 Giorgio Bronzini 22 Alberto Sgarbi 23 Andrea Buondonno

SCORERS P: Banks Francesco Minto

Referee: Ian Davies

 

ULSTER RUGBY 42 - 19 TOYOTA CHEETAHS

Kingspan Stadium - Friday 01 September 2017
KO: 19:35 HT: 27-14

 

ULSTER: 15 Charles Piutau 14 Andrew Trimble 13 Tommy Bowe 12 Stuart McCloskey 11 Louis Ludik 10 Christian Leali'ifano 9 John Cooney 8 Marcell Coetzee 7 CHRIS HENRY (C) 6 Jean Deysel 5 Alan O’Connor 4 Robbie Diack 3 Wiehahn Herbst 2 Rob Herring 1 Kyle McCall BENCH: 16 John Andrew 17 Callum Black 18 Rodney Ah You 19 Matthew Rea 20 Sean Reidy 21 David Shanahan 22 Peter Nelson 23 Darren Cave

SCORERST: Bowe, O'Connor, McCloskey, Piutau, Ludik, Nelson C: Cooney (2), Nelson P: Cooney (2)

CHEETAHS: 15 Sergeal Petersen 14 Rosko Specman 13 William Small-Smith 12 Ali Mgijima 11 Makazole Mapimpi 10 Clayton Blommetjies 9 Shaun Venter 8 NIELL JORDAAN (C) 7 Henco Venter 6 Paul Schoeman 5 Reniel Hugo 4 Justin Basson 3 Johan Coetzee 2 Jacques du Toit 1 Charles Marais BENCH: 16 Torsten van Jaarsveld 17 Ox Nche 18 Tom Botha 19 Rynier Bernardo 20 Gerhard Olivier 21 Tian Meyer 22 Cecil Afrika 23 Rayno Benjamin

SCORERS T: Blommetjies, Mapimpi, Petersen C: Small-Smith (2) Henco Venter, Coetzee

Referee: Andrew Brace

 

OSPREYS 22 - 13 ZEBRE RUGBY CLUB

Liberty Stadium - Saturday 02 September 2017
KO: 14:30 HT: 15-3

 

OSPREYS: 15 Dan Evans 14 Keelan Giles 13 Ben John 12 Cory Allen 11 Jeff Hassler 10 James Hook 9 TOM HABBERFIELD (C) 8 Dan Baker 7 Justin Tipuric 6 Olly Cracknell 5 Rory Thornton 4 Bradley Davies 3 Ma'afu Fia 2 Sam Parry 1 Paul James BENCH: 16 Scott Otten 17 Nicky Smith 18 Rhodri Jones 19 Lloyd Ashley 20 James King 21 Reuben Morgan-Williams 22 Sam Davies 23 Kieron Fonotia

SCORERS T: Giles (2), Fia C: Hook, Sam Davies P: Hook John

ZEBRE: 15 Matteo Minozzi 14 Giulio Bisegni 13 Mattia Bellini 12 TOMMASO CASTELLO (C) 11 Gabriele Di Giulio 10 Carlo Canna 9 Marcello Violi 8 Giovanni Licata 7 Renato Giammarioli 6 Derick Minnie 5 George Biagi 4 David Sisi 3 Dario Chistolini 2 Oliviero Fabiani 1 Andrea Lovotti BENCH: 16 Tommaso D'Apice 17 Andrea De Marchi 18 Roberto Tenga 19 Leonard Krumov 20 Jacopo Sarto 21 Guglielmo Palazzani 22 Tommaso Boni 23 Ciaran Gaffney

SCORERS T: Canna C: Canna P: Canna (2) Biagi

Referee: Quinton Immelman

 

DRAGONS 16 - 39 LEINSTER RUGBY

Rodney Parade - Saturday 02 September 2017
KO: 15:15 HT: 6-13

 

DRAGONS: 15 Zane Kirchner 14 Ashton Hewitt 13 Tyler Morgan 12 Jack Dixon 11 Hallam Amos 10 Gavin Henson 9 Charlie Davies 8 Harri Keddie 7 James Benjamin 6 James Thomas 5 CORY HILL (C) 4 Matthew Screech 3 Leon Brown 2 Elliot Dee 1 Brok Harris BENCH: 16 Rhys Buckley 17 Luke Garrett 18 Lloyd Fairbrother 19 Rynard Landman 20 Max Williams 21 Tavis Knoyle 22 Angus O'Brien 23 Jared Rosser

SCORERS  T: PT P: Henson (3) Screech

LEINSTER: 15 Rob Kearney 14 Adam Byrne 13 Rory O'Loughlin 12 ISA NACEWA (C) 11 Jordan Larmour 10 Ross Byrne 9 Jamison Gibson-Park 8 Max Deegan 7 Josh van der Flier 6 Dan Leavy 5 Scott Fardy 4 Devin Toner 3 Michael Bent 2 Sean Cronin 1 Cian Healy BENCH: 16 James Tracy 17 Ed Byrne 18 Andrew Porter 19 James Ryan 20 Jack Conan 21 Nick McCarthy 22 Cathal Marsh 23 Barry Daly

SCORERS T: Gibson-Park, PT, Larmour, Leavy, Marsh C: Ross Byrne, Kearney, Marsh P: Ross Byrne (2) Adam Byrne

Referee: Mike Adamson

 

SCARLETS 57 - 10 SOUTHERN KINGS

Parc y Scarlets - Saturday 02 September 2017
KO: 17:30 HT: 15-10

 

SCARLETS: 15 Leigh Halfpenny 14 Johnny McNicholl 13 Hadleigh Parkes 12 Scott Williams 11 Steff Evans 10 Rhys Patchell 9 Gareth Davies 8 JOHN BARCLAY (C) 7 James Davies 6 Aaron Shingler 5 Tadhg Beirne 4 Jake Ball 3 Samson Lee 2 Ryan Elias 1 Rob Evans BENCH: 16 Emyr Phillips 17 Dylan Evans 18 Werner Kruger 19 David Bulbring 20 Will Boyde 21 Jonathan Evans 22 Rhys Jones 23 Paul Asquith

SCORERS T: McNicholl (2), Halfpenny, Patchell, Ball, Phillips, Parkes, Steffan Evans C: Halfpenny (3), Patchell (4) P: Halfpenny

KINGS: 15 Masixole Banda 14 Yaw Penxe 13 Berton Klaasen 12 Luzuko Vulindlu 11 S'bura Sithole 10 Kurt Coleman 9 Rudi van Rooyen 8 Andisa Ntsila 7 Victor Sekekete 6 Khaya Majola 5 Dries van Schalkwyk 4 Jurie van Vuuren 3 Rossouw de Klerk 2 MICHAEL WILLEMSE (C) 1 Schalk Ferreira BENCH: 16 Stephan Coetzee 17 Luvuyo Pupuma 18 Entienne Swanepoel 19 Bobby de Wee 20 Siya Mdaka 21 Godlen Masimla 22 Ntabeni Dukisa 23 Jacques Nel

SCORERS T: Penxe C: Coleman P: Coleman

Referee: Frank Murphy

 

CONNACHT 12 - 18 GLASGOW WARRIORS

Sportsground - Saturday 02 September 2017
KO: 19:35 HT: 9-3

 

CONNACHT: 15 Darragh Leader 14 Cian Kelleher 13 Eoin Griffin 12 Bundee Aki 11 Matt Healy 10 Jack Carty 9 Kieran Marmion 8 JOHN MULDOON (C) 7 Jarrad Butler 6 Eoghan Masterson 5 James Cannon 4 Ultan Dillane 3 Finlay Bealham 2 Tom McCartney 1 Denis Buckley BENCH: 16 Shane Delahunt 17 Peter McCabe 18 Conor Carey 19 Sean O'Brien 20 Eoin McKeon 21 Conor McKeon 22 Craig Ronaldson 23 Tom Farrell

SCORERS P: Carty (4)

WARRIORS: 15 Ruaridh Jackson 14 Lelia Masaga 13 Alex Dunbar 12 Sam Johnson 11 Lee Jones 10 Peter Horne 9 Ali Price 8 Adam Ashe 7 Matt Smith 6 RYAN WILSON (C) 5 Scott Cummings 4 Tim Swinson 3 Zander Fagerson 2 George Turner 1 Jamie Bhatti BENCH: 16 James Malcolm 17 Oli Kebble 18 Adam Nicol 19 Greg Peterson 20 Matt Fagerson 21 Henry Pyrgos 22 Adam Hastings 23 Leonardo Sarto

SCORERS T: Price, Jones C: Horne P: Horne (2)

Referee: Ben Whitehouse

 

 

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