Pro 12 delivers on International weekend

Leinster suffered a shock home defeat in Round 14 of an action packed weekend of Pro 12 rugby. The Six Nations and Super Rugby may have been high on the agenda for a lot of fans but the Pro 12 offered up its fair share of scintillating games.

Ulster Rugby 43 – 3 Benetton Treviso    
Ulster made things hard for themselves in a game that saw Craig Gilroy cap off a century of appearances for the province with two tries. A ten-point lead to the home side at half time against a limited Treviso side summed up just how unimpressive they had been. Aerial Ping-Pong dominated the opening forty minutes. Stuart McCloskey provided the spark in the second half that would see Ulster pull away to record a bonus point winning performance. Two yellow cards for Treviso in the second half were crucial but the Kingspan Stadium faithful will not have been overly enthused by Ulster’s performance. It was simply a case of job done.

Edinburgh Rugby 24 – 16 Ospreys    
Edinburgh enjoy sweet revenge from the 62-13 humiliation at the hands of their opponents in the reverse fixture back in September by claiming a much deserved victory on Myreside. They extended their good run of home form to five straight victories since the defeat by Connacht five months previous. Grayson Hart was instrumental in a Man of the Match performance and bagged a try in the process. The hosts outscored their visitors three tries to one. Ospreys will be kicking themselves they couldn’t manage to narrow the deficit to within seven points but in truth a losing bonus point would have been the most they deserved. Edinburgh are now within a point of sixth place Connacht.

Munster Rugby 33 – 16 Cardiff Blues    
Munster showed their class in the second half to see off the Blues challenge. An attrional and blow-for-blow affair in the first half had the teams level at nine apiece at the break. The game then sparked into life in the second half and three tries from Denis Hurley, Ronan O'Mahony and Jack O'Donoghue saw Munster claim an assured home win. Josh Navidi grabbed what would turn out to be only a consolation score for Cardiff who were blown away by the home side in the second half. JJ Hanrahan was influential from fullback and grabbed himself the Man of the Match award with a fine display. The win allowed Munster to leapfrog Ospreys in the table to second. Cardiff lost pace with the rest pack as they occupy ninth in the table.

Scarlets 32 – 14 Connacht Rugby
The Scarlets laid down a real marker in the race for the much-coveted sixth place in the table. A four-try bonus point win was just what the home fans would have wished for before kick off.  Connacht never really looked like winning this one and the Scarlets formidable home record remains very much intact. The game was effectively over as a contest at half time, the home side enjoying 25-6 lead. Steve Shingler marshaled his troops well as they stretched out their undefeated home record to thirteen games. Connacht have much work to do to prevent their good early season form be eroded away with a poor second half of the season.


Zebre 10 – 54 Glasgow Warriors    
Glasgow hit Zebre for eight tries and moved to the summit of the Pro 12 table. Peter Horne was the catalyst for a demolition job from the traveling Warriors. Twenty points for the out-half, which included two tries, helped the Scots secure the bonus point win before the half time break. Zebre did manage to cross for a try but little other positives can be taken from a miserable afternoon for the Italians. Glasgow now command first place in the table as they look to secure a home semi-final. Zebre remain rooted to the foot of the table with a fight on their hands to finish ahead of Italian rivals Treviso.

Leinster Rugby 14 – 16 Newport Gwent Dragons    
The Dragons caused the biggest shock of the round as they humbled the reigning champions and brought to an end Leinsters unbeaten record of twenty-one games in the RDS Arena. Two first half sin bins for the visitors wouldn’t curtail them as Tom Prydie kicked them to victory. Impressive defence at the end would see the Dragons cling on to a memorable win, their first over Leinster since 2009. Matt O’Connor and co. will know how much of a blow this loss will be given victories for title rivals Ulster, Munster and Glasgow this weekend. Leinster slip to fifth in the table as the Dragons move one point behind the Cardiff Blues in tenth. The home team will now be without Tom Denton, Noel Reid and Richardt Strauss for their next game after all three sustained head injuries and will miss this weekend’s clash with Zebre.

Round 15
Edinburgh Rugby v Ulster Rugby
Both side go into this one on a good run of form with Edinburgh looking strong at home and Ulster collecting three wins from four since their defeat to Leinster at the turn of the year. Ulster have won only once in their last eight away games but Edinburgh have won only once in their last eight encounters with Ulster. All roads point to a tight clash between these two.

Leinster Rugby v Zebre
Leinster will be seething from their defeat on the weekend to the Dragons and this weekend opponents offer the perfect chance for them to go some way to redeeming themselves. Having never lost successive matches in the RDS Arena, Leinster will be heavy favorites to score at least four tries and put the Pro 12 whipping boys Zebre to the sword.
    
Benetton Treviso v Cardiff Blues
Treviso will look to draw belief from their Champions Cup victory over the Ospreys in the final round of the competition. Cardiff Blues aren’t in a fine run of form and Treviso must believe they can beat the Welsh region and strive to try and overtake them in the table.

Scarlets v Munster Rugby
Impressive displays from both sides in the previous rounds sets this one up to be a highly entertaining game. The Scarlets home record is formidable but Munster travel to Illaneli sitting second in the table and focusing fully on the Pro 12 after elimination from the Champions Cup last month. If any team knows how to do enough on the road its Munster and the Scarlets impressive home record could be in serious jeopardy.
    
Glasgow Warriors v Ospreys
Glasgow overtook the Ospreys in the table after the last round and will be looking to cement their place as the topside in the competition after Round 15. A winning run of fifteen successive games at Scotsoun makes the task in front of the Ospreys seem monumental. The Ospreys have only won once in their last ten visits to Scotland. This one has the makings of a real humdinger, as home advantage could prove crucial.

Newport Gwent Dragons v Connacht Rugby
The Dragons will be flying high after they victory over Leinster in the last round and Connacht are coming off a humiliating defeat to Scarlets. Another away day in Wales could prove too much for the traveling Irish province as they look to stem their recent run of form of only one wins in five games. Edinburgh and the Scarleys are breathing heavily on the back of Connacht in the table and they will not want to give them the opportunity to overtake them in the table.