The Rabo Round-Up: Round 5

The Rabodirect PRO12 continued this weekend with Round 5. Lions stars returned all round with the Heineken Cup only a couple of weeks away- and what an impact they made. Tommy Bowe and Rory Best both touched down as Ulster defeated Treviso while Brian O’Driscoll put on a magical performance as Leinster defeated Cardiff at the RDS- a game that also saw Alex Cuthbert score a fantastic solo effort. Jonathan Davies ran in a second half try as Scarlets beat Edinburgh while Paul O’Connell came on as a second-half substitute in Munster’s win over the Dragons. In the remaining games there was more misery for Connacht as they went down 26-43 versus Ospreys while Zebre returned to losing ways after last weeks inaugural win, falling short at home to the Glasgow Warriors.

Ulster Rugby 32 – 13 Benetton Treviso

Tommy Bowe and Rory Best marked their return to RaboDirect PRO12 action by scoring tries as Ulster saw off Benetton Treviso 32-13 at Ravenhill.

Leinster 34-20 Cardiff Blues

Brian O’Driscoll put in a classy performance on his RaboDirect PRO12return to lead Leinster to a 34-20 victory over Cardiff Blues.

Tries for Sean Cronin, Dominic Ryan and Ian Madigan, complemented by 12 points from Madigan’s boot, were enough to prevent Cardiff from ending a seven-match winless run at Leinster.

Alex Cuthbert and Cory Allen scored for the Welsh side, as Leigh Halfpenny added a conversion and two penalties, but the visitors fell short.

Edinburgh Rugby 9 – 22 Scarlets

British & Irish Lion Jonathan Davies ran in a second-half try as Scarlets cruised to just their second RaboDirect PRO12 win in six games, seeing off Edinburgh 22-9.

Nick Reynolds, Davies and Jordan Williams touched down to see Scarlets home, as Rhys Priestland added seven points with his boot.

 

Connacht Rugby 26 – 43 Ospreys

Dan Biggar became only the second player to pass 1,000 RaboDirect PRO12 points as Ospreys saw off a Connacht fightback to win 43-26 in a thrilling encounter at The Sportsground.

The Wales fly-half scored the opening try of the game and ended the evening with a personal haul of 18 points, becoming the first Welshman to reach the milestone as Ospreys maintained their unbeaten start to the season.

Munster Rugby 23 – 9 Newport Gwent Dragons

Munster bounced back from their shock defeat to Benetton Treviso last weekend with a comfortable 23-9 RaboDirect PRO12 victory over Newport Gwent Dragons at Musgrave Park.

The Irish province had been knocked off the summit of the table after their defeat at Stadio Monigo but got back on track in a scrappy encounter which saw James Cronin and captain Peter O’Mahoney score vital decisive tries either side of half-time.

*Source: Rabodirectpro12.com