Darren Powell reviews the weekend’s action involving the Wales side.
Leinster put on a second-half show to decimate the Dragons.
On Friday night the Dragons visited The Aviva Stadium, where Leinster will play their home games this season while the RDS undergoes renovations.
Leinster had previously won 28 times at the Aviva Stadium before this match.
The Dragons came into this game full of confidence after beating the Ospreys in the dying stages last week. It was a special day for Leinster as Ireland prop Cian Healy made his 281st appearance for the club.
first half
After a slow start for both teams, it was Leinster who crossed for the first try of the evening, Jack Conan crossing from a lineout in the 18th minute.
Seven minutes later it was the Dragons’ turn to get on the scoreboard as flyhalf Lloyd Evans successfully kicked a penalty to reduce the deficit.
Then, 36 minutes later, Ross Byrne scored Leinster’s second try of the evening to give Leinster a 10-6 lead at the break.
second half
It took just four minutes for Leinster to score their third try of the evening after the TMO confirmed Max Deegan had grounded the ball over the line.
And two minutes later, a quick lineout move saw Joe McCarthy crash in to extend the lead to 24-6 going into the final 15 minutes.
The fifth goal came through Jordan Larmour before winger Aitzol King scored his sixth try of the evening for the home side in the final minute of the game.
Final score Leinster 34-6 Dragons
Cardiff overcomes shaky start to participate in Welsh derby
It was the penultimate weekend of the season and it was another Welsh derby, this time West versus East as Llanelli were the venue on Saturday.
It was a special day for scrumhalf Gareth Davies, who made his 250th appearance for the Scarlets.
first half
It took just 13 seconds for the Scarlets to open the scoring as center Macs Page, making only his second appearance for the home side, collected a deflected kick from Cardiff full-back Cam Winnett and the center rushed in to score the game’s opening try. . Sam Costelow added the conversion to make it 7-0 Scarlets.
Moments later the Scarlets added to the score when Costelow kicked a penalty.
Moments later it was Taine Plumtree who slotted in easily to score the Scarlets’ second try of the afternoon.
It took Cardiff 17 minutes to get on the scoresheet with captain Liam Belcher going over after a line-out drive.
A superb pass allowed winger Mason Grady to cross for Cardiff’s second try of the afternoon to reduce the lead to three points at the break.
second half
It took 56 minutes for Cardiff to score their third try of the game after Ryan Elias was sent into the sin bin following a high tackle by the referee.
Then, after a couple of scrum penalties, Alec Hepburn broke down a scrum and, against Hepburn, he was sent to the Sin Bin.
The result was a few passes for Cardiff and replacement winger Harri Millard crossed for Cardiff’s third try.
Sam Costelow then had the opportunity to put the Scarlets back in front, but his penalty went wide of the post, leaving it 15-17 to Cardiff.
Then, in the 62nd minute, Cardiff center Ben Thomas’ accompanying kick was charged by Dan Thomas and turned back from Mason Grady.
It was center Thomas who collected the ball then and he put it past a couple of Scarlets players before scoring his fourth try of the afternoon.
Dan Edwards sings to help Ospreys secure big win at Bridgend
It was the Ospreys’ first home game of the season, but it was not the Swansea.com Stadium. Due to a clash between Swansea City playing at home, the match had to be played elsewhere. Playing host on Saturday evening was Bridgend and the Ospreys named the fixture the BRAAI Edition, an abbreviation for Brewery fest, Braai meaning ‘grilled meat’.
first half
It took just five minutes for the Stormers to open the scoring at Bridgend after a good hand led winger Leolin Zas to cross over.
The conversion was successful as the Stormers led 7-0 after six minutes.
It took eight minutes for the Ospreys to score their first score of the evening after a successful penalty kick from Dan Edwards.
It was Jurie Mattee’s penalty that extended the Stormers’ advantage to a further three points.
Some great footwork and a nice offload from Ospreys center Owen Watkin eventually led to captain Jac Morgan scoring the first try for the Ospreys.
second half
Five minutes into the second half saw the Stormers add to their lead with a drop goal from fullback Damian Willemse.
Moments later a wonderful kick from Justin Tipuric had the Stormers on the back foot five meters from the try line.
Three minutes after the Ospreys scored their second try of the evening, scrumhalf Reuben Morgan-Williams, on his 100th appearance, went down under heavy pressure from the home side.
Three minutes later Dan Edwards calmly scored to put the Ospreys three points clear.
Scrumhalf Reuben Morgan-Williams then placed a wonderful chip over the top which Morgan-Williams then collected again and calmly offloaded to Dan Edwards who went under the sticks.
JD Schickerling cut the lead to six points with less than a few minutes left to play for the visitors after an accompanying drive to the line.
However, the Ospreys sealed the win with a catch-and-drive maul that saw the Stormers break down, resulting in referee Andrew Brace straight away awarding a penalty try to the Ospreys.
The fact of the game was that Dan Edwards became only the third Ospreys player to score a try, conversion, penalty kick and drop goal in the same United Rugby Championship match, after James Hook and Dan Biggar. Both succeeded twice.
