Thread Tools

**dudeabides** · 03-05-2010, 07:04 PM

Connacht v Glasgow:

Quote:

Glasgow Warriors missed out on a chance to put pressure on the Ospreys at the top of the Magners League by drawing 19-19 with Connacht at the Sportsground on Friday night.

A win would have taken the Warriors top but they were forced to settle for a share of the spoils following a gutsy comeback by bottom-placed Connacht. Three penalties from Glasgow fly-half Ruaridh Jackson and a try from Canadian international wing DTH van der Merwe had put the visitors in control at 14-3 before Connacht fullback Gavin Duffy struck for an individual try.

Duffy carved through the defence and left Mark McMillan and Ed Kalman trailing in his wake to score under the posts. Ian Keatley converted and added penalties either side of the try to leave the Warriors staring down an unwanted setback in their pursuit of a play-off spot.

Flanker James Eddie gave Glasgow hope of a narrow win by squeezing over in the corner for a try in the last minute after some powerful forward drives, but replacement Colin Gregor's conversion sailed wide to leave both sides with an unsatisfying draw.

Connacht were unable to hold out for a much needed Magners League victory as Glasgow fought back to claim a draw with at the Sportsground.

An injury-time try from flanker James Eddie saw the Warriors dash Connacht's hopes and, although replacement Colin Gregor flashed his touchline conversion wide of the uprights, Glasgow were still the happier side at the final whistle.

Leading 14-3 thanks to three Ruaridh Jackson penalties and a try from DTH van der Merwe, Glasgow looked set to take the spoils.

However, bottom side Connacht engineered a tremendous fightback, with Ian Keatley kicking two penalties and converting a slick solo try from Gavin Duffy.

Keatley's fourth successful penalty, three minutes from time and with Glasgow's Calum Forrester in the sin-bin, looked to be the match-winning score, but Eddie had other ideas and he scrambled over in the left corner, with the grounding confirmed by TMO Dermot Moloney.

Connacht showed their intent early on with a barnstorming run from George Naoupu and chip through from Fionn Carr, but Glasgow were able to deal with the danger.

Warriors' Argentinian star Bernardo Stortoni threatened in broken play and the visitors built forward pressure before Jackson sent a tame drop-goal effort wide of the posts.

But Glasgow were first off the mark after 12 minutes when Connacht prop Brett Wilkinson was pinged for a ruck and Jackson nailed a kick from a central position.

Jon Welsh and Richie Vernon carried well for Glasgow as they tried to tie the Connacht defence in, but a block down by hooker Sean Cronin got the Irish province on the march and their first bit of decent territory yielded a successful penalty for Keatley, 24 minutes in.

That good work was undone, three minutes later, when Johnny O'Connor was singled out for going off his feet at a ruck and Jackson quickly made it 6-3.

The first 40 minutes had been pockmarked with mistakes, and a Connacht knock-on and offside, as the second half began, allowed Jackson to kick Glasgow 9-3 clear.

Jackson then missed his first place-kick, after Connacht lock Mike McCarthy saw yellow for infringing at a ruck, and Carr showed his attacking skills, hacking on twice before van der Merwe rescued the situation for the Scots.

Glasgow put 11 points between the sides in the 48th minute when Jackson initiated a purposeful counter-attack and big Canadian winger van der Merwe finished off a slick move down the left involving four players.

But the try went unconverted and Michael Bradley's men managed to play their way back into contention.

Carr, Aidan Wynne and the hard-working Naoupu took the ball up and Glasgow were marched back into their 22 before full-back Duffy ran against the grain and caught Glasgow on the drift as he eased past tackles from Mark McMillan and Ed Kalman to touch down behind the posts.

Keatley tapped over the conversion and maintained his 100% record with a fourth penalty but 14-man Glasgow increased the tempo with a series of late pick and drives, sucking a tiring Connacht defence in before Eddie found space to squeeze over in the corner.

Warriors held in Galway | Rugby Union | Celtic League | Rugby News | Scrum.com

**dudeabides** · 03-05-2010, 07:20 PM

Lianelli v Ulster:

Quote:

Ulster were outplayed by a hungrier Llanelli Scarlets side at Parc y Scarlets in tonight's Magners League tie.

Ulster's cause was not helped by David Pollock and Ryan Caldwell being sent to the sin-bin in the second half, although the Scarlets dominated possession and territory and were 15-3 ahead at the interval.

The home side scored first with a try after just three minutes, made by a break by Nigerian-born wing Joe Ajuwa.

He went close down the right before the ball was spread left and fellow wing Andy Fenby went over unopposed.

In an entertaining first half the visitors did have their chances - flanker Dan Tuohy had a try disallowed and then Ian Humphreys missed a drop-goal.

But it was the Scarlets, desperate to climb up the Magners table, who scored a second try on 20 minutes when number eight David Lyons put scrum-half Tavis Knoyle on a 40-metre run to the line.

After that it was all Scarlets until Humphreys kicked a long-range penalty in first-half injury-time.

Ulster made their intentions known at the start of the second half, scoring a try in the first 86 seconds with Paddy Wallace crashing over after a break by Isaac Boss.

But just as the Scarlets feared a sustained Ulster comeback, Pollock was shown a yellow card for killing the ball in front of his posts, allowing Rhys Priestland to convert a penalty to give the home side a 18-8 lead.

Lions hooker Matthew Rees came on for the last half an hour to test the groin injury which has so far kept him out of Wales' RBS 6 Nations Championship campaign.

And he helped inspire his team to a try on the hour mark. It was finally scored by outside-half Priestland but that was after the forwards had softened up Ulster by going through 11 phases.

But after that the Scarlets were unable to create another chance and missed out on the bonus point.

RTÉ Sport: Scarlets 25-8 Ulster

**dudeabides** · 03-06-2010, 04:47 PM

Dragons v Munster:

Quote:

The Dragons dented Munster's Magners League title hopes with a 31-22 victory in their clash at Rodney Parade on Saturday night.

In an eventful opening, a try from Munster winger Doug Howlett was ruled out by the video referee for a knock on and fly-half Ronan O'Gara hit the post with a straightforward penalty. The let-offs allowed the Dragons to ease the pressure and, after gaining some territorial advantage, wing Aled Brew scored a blistering try, racing 40 metres past two defenders before getting the better of fullback Paul Warwick to score. Fly-half Jason Tovey converted but the lead did not last long as the home scrum, which had been under pressure, cracked on their line to concede a penalty try that gave O'Gara a simple conversion.

The tide turned, however, when the Welsh region gained significant territory. The mistakes came from the Irishmen towards half-time, allowing Tovey to boot two penalties and give his side a six-point advantage at the break. To add further headaches to Irishmen's troubles, centre Lifeimi Mafi was sin-binned for answering back referee Dudley Phillips.

And the Dragons took advantage for wing Will Harries who went over under the posts, only for that to be erased when flanker Tommy O'Donnell was on the end of a passing movement that included hooker Denis Fogarty, O'Gara and Warwick. Munster's chances of claiming top spot in the table took a turn for the worse a quick movement across midfield allowed fullback Martyn Thomas to get a third home touchdown. They may have had the bonus point fourth try when Harries ran 70 metres from his own line but the resultant Tovey penalty in front of the posts sealed the result. Prop Tony Buckley's consolation converted try for Munster at the end was meaningless.

Glasgow Warriors missed out on a chance to put pressure on the Ospreys at the top of the Magners League by drawing 19-19 with Connacht at the Sportsground on Friday night. A win would have taken the Warriors top but they were forced to settle for a share of the spoils following a gutsy comeback by bottom-placed Connacht. Three penalties from Glasgow fly-half Ruaridh Jackson and a try from Canadian international wing DTH van der Merwe had put the visitors in control at 14-3 before Connacht fullback Gavin Duffy struck for an individual try.

Duffy carved through the defence and left Mark McMillan and Ed Kalman trailing in his wake to score under the posts. Ian Keatley converted and added penalties either side of the try to leave the Warriors staring down an unwanted setback in their pursuit of a play-off spot.

Flanker James Eddie gave Glasgow hope of a narrow win by squeezing over in the corner for a try in the last minute after some powerful forward drives, but replacement Colin Gregor's conversion sailed wide to leave both sides with an unsatisfying draw.

The Scarlets closed the gap on Cardiff Blues with a morale-boosting victory 25-8 over Ulster at Parc y Scarlets. Nigel Davies fielded a young side against the Irish play-off hopefuls and was rewarded with a performance of pace and invention. The Scarlets pressed to the death but they couldn't produce a vital bonus-point try as Ulster dug in despite having lock Ryan Caldwell in the sin-bin.

Wing Andy Fenby opened the scoring after only three minutes following a break by Joe Ajuwa and Scarlets scrum-half Tavis Knoyle soon crossed for their second after a 40-metre run. Flanker Dan Tuohy had a try disallowed for the visitors but they were able to strike immediately after the break through Ireland centre Paddy Wallace.

Ulster's efforts were undermined by a sin-binning for David Pollock and with Wales hooker Matthew Rees among their number the Scarlets pack powered forward. It was Rhys Priestland, deputising for Wales' Stephen Jones, who sealed the points with a try after Ulster had been softened up, the fly-half finishing the game with a 15-point haul thanks to a try, two penalties and two conversions.

Munster miss out on top spot | Rugby Union | Celtic League | Rugby News | Scrum.com

**dudeabides** · 03-07-2010, 11:46 AM

Edinburgh v Ospreys:

Quote:

Edinburgh climbed to the top of the Magners League with a clinical 33-17 demolition of title rivals Ospreys at Murrayfield.

The hosts ran in a total of five tries with replacement winger Tim Visser notching a hat-trick in five second half minutes after coming off the bench when Simon Webster suffered an early injury. Webster was able to walk off with a rib problem after 15 minutes, but a much more serious injury appeared to be sustained in the second half when the game was stopped for a prolonged period after lock Craig Hamilton was hurt at a ruck. Hamilton was taken to hospital as a precaution after suffering a head injury.

Edinburgh had the better of possession and territory early on but were undone as much by their own errors as the Ospreys defence. The breakthrough eventually came in the 34th minute after a five-metre scrum gave Edinburgh an attacking platform. Nick De Luca found Ben Cairns in the line and he passed to Visser to draw two defenders before returning the ball to Cairns for the score, which was converted by David Blair.

Ospreys passed up a clear-cut chance to score in the last minute of the first half when fullback Gareth Owen could not find his support, so Edinburgh led 7-0 at the interval. And the home side soon ended the game as a contest with four tries in eight minutes in the second half.

Cairns set up the first with a break from deep before Visser hared in from the left. The second saw Visser get possession on his 10-metre line on the right wing from where he ran and then kicked long to the line to follow up and score. For the third he was fed by hooker Andrew Kelly and ran in under the posts. On the other wing, Mark Robertson showed he could stretch his legs too, running in a beauty from his own half. Replacement Phil Godman knocked over all but one conversion.

Ospreys roused themselves in the final quarter to get on the scoresheet when TV evidence allowed winger Nikki Walker to be awarded the unconverted score. And further tries from flanker Jerry Collins and Sonny Parker gave the scoreline a more respectable look.

Visser hat-trick inspires Edinburgh victory | Rugby Union | Global | Rugby Match Pack | Scrum.com

**dudeabides** · 03-07-2010, 02:35 PM

Cardiff v Leinster:

Quote:

Leinster climbed back to the top of the Magners League with an an efficient if unspectacular 29-20 victory over Cardiff Blues which owed much to their power in the scrum, allied to a 21-point haul by centre Fergus McFadden.

The Blues, who had won five in a row in all competitions, had an abundance of possession despite their troubles in the tight, but lacked the penetration to turn their attractive rugby into scores. They now face serious problems in next season's Heineken Cup, with the Scarlets now just two points behind them with a game in hand in the battle for the third Welsh slot.

McFadden opened the scoring when he took an excellent angle to cross beneath the posts after just eight minutes. The centre added the conversion, followed by a penalty after the Blues had once again spilled the ball in their eagerness to play expansive rugby. The home side finally got it right and prop Gary Powell - later to leave on a stretcher with an Achilles injury - squeezed in at the corner, but another McFadden penalty kept Leinster in front.

With the normally reliable Ben Blair off key in his attempts at the posts, the Blues opted to kick for position and it paid off when flanker Sam Warburton, released from Wales duty, dived over and Blair finally succeeded with the conversion. McFadden struck another penalty with the last kick before the break, but the Blues began the second half with a sparkling attack which saw left wing Chris Czekaj make it to the flag and the Welshmen were in front.

Their lead did not last. A superb break by Eoin O'Malley took Leinster into the Blues' 22 and the centre found tireless hooker Bernard Jackman on his shoulder for a try which gave McFadden a simple conversion. The Blues then lost fly-half Ceri Sweeney to the sin-bin for what was harshly ruled to be a spear tackle on opposite number Berne, but the home side managed to survive the 10 minutes without leaking any further points. But Berne then dropped a goal which extended Leinster's lead and robbed the Blues of a losing bonus point.

They seemed to have retrieved it when Sweeney kicked a late penalty after Leinster lock Devin Toner was yellow-carded for a deliberate knock-on, only for that man McFadden to step up and slot over a penalty from halfway with the final kick of the game.

RTÉ Sport: Cardiff Blues 20-29 Leinster

The Magners table after round 13:

1. Leinster (8-3) 34 pts.
2. Edinburgh (7-6) 34 pts.
3. Ospreys (7-4-1) 33 pts.
4. Glasgow (7-3-2) 33 pts.
5. Munster (6-6) 30 pts.
6. Dragons (6-5-1) 29 pts.
7. Ulster (5-6-1) 25 pts.
8. Cardiff (5-8) 23 pts.
9. Scarlets (4-8) 21 pts.
10. Connacht (2-8-1) 12 pts.