Glasgow Warriors returned to the top of the Guinness PRO12 table as they secured their fifth consecutive win with a 40-23 bonus-point victory over Benetton Treviso at Stadio Monigo.
Scotland wing Tommy Seymour scored twice as Gregor Townsend’s side ran in six tries, with Tyrone Holmes, James Eddie, DTH van der Merwe and Sean Lamont also touching down.
Michele Campagnaro’s early try helped the hosts surge into a 10-0 lead but the centre’s second effort late on proved to be only a consolation as the Italian side remain winless this season.
pro12rugby
Ospreys also maintained their 100 per cent start to the season, albeit in more nervous fashion as they edged Zebre 15-14 at Stadio XXV Aprile.
Giulio Bisegni crossed early for the hosts before the match settled into a kicking duel between Italian centre Gonzalo Garcia and the visitors’ Sam Davies, on for the injured Dan Biggar.
Garcia landed three penalties but saw a crucial kick from distance strike the crossbar as Davies, despite four missed attempts, kicked all his side’s points to salvage a hard-fought win.
Ulster bounced back from their shock defeat to Zebre last weekend with a comprehensive 30-0 victory over Edinburgh at the Kingspan Stadium to move up to third in the GUINNESS PRO12 table.
Andrew Trimble’s first try and two Paddy Jackson penalties gave the hosts a 13-0 lead at the break before Edinburgh’s second-half resistance was broken by Mike Coman’s yellow card.
Ulster took advantage with captain Rory Best and Nick Williams crossing before Trimble’s second try secured the bonus point and the shut out of Alan Solomons’ side.
Cardiff Blues scored two converted tries in the final ten minutes to snatch a dramatic 24-24 draw after Connacht’s early second-half blitz at the Sportsground.
With the game level at 10-10 at the break, the hosts crossed twice in four minutes through Kieran Marmion and Nathan White before the Blues fought back with tries from Macauley Cook and Sam Hobbs.
Munster clinched their third win of the campaign as fly-half Ian Keatley scored 21 points to help his side hold off Leinster’s second-half comeback in a 34-23 victory in Dublin.
The visitors led 28-9 at the break through tries from James Cronin, Robin Copeland and Keatley before they had four players sent to the bin in the second-half.
Yet despite Darragh Fanning’s score and a penalty try for the hosts, Anthony Foley’s side held on to claim their first victory at the Aviva Stadium in six attempts.
Kristian Phillips’ second-half try helped the Scarlets overcome rivals Newport Gwent Dragons 26-13 at Parc y Scarlets to hand head coach Wayne Pivac victory in his first GUINNESS PRO12 derby.
Gareth Owen crossed in the first-half before fly-half Rhys Priestland and Philips extended their side’s lead with Richie Rees scoring a late consolation try for the visitors.
TRY OF THE WEEKEND
Glasgow Warriors were stunned by Treviso surging into an early lead but hit back through a well-worked move that put Tommy Seymour over for his first try of the game.
Pete Horne picked a superb line to break through the hosts’ defence before spinning out a pass to Stuart Hogg who offloaded inside for Seymour to touch down.
BREAK OF THE WEEKEND
After Rhys Priestland had kicked the Scarlets ahead against Newport Gwent Dragons, Gareth Owen inflicted further damage with a try created by his midfield partner, Scott Williams.
Williams deftly caught a loose pass before darting through the Dragons’ defence to send a floated pass to Owen out wide, allowing him to touch down under the posts.
PLAY OF THE WEEKEND
Niko Matawalu was recently labelled a magician by his Warriors teammate Finn Russell and there was more of the Fijian scrum-half’s sorcery on show against Treviso.
Matawalu feinted through the Treviso line from the base of a ruck before chipping over the top of a covering defender for Sean Lamont to gather and score the Warriors’ sixth try.
PLAYER OF THE WEEKEND
Stuart McCloskey registered another impressive performance in the Ulster midfield, linking particularly well with the in-form Andrew Trimble to help his side overcome Edinburgh.
The 22-year-old centre gathered Paul Marshall’s miscued up-and-under, breaking through the Edinburgh line and fending off scrum-half Sean Kennedy to offload to Trimble for Ulster’s first try.
Highlights:
Glasgow Warriors vs Benetton Treviso
Zebre vs Ospreys
Ulster vs Edinburgh
Cardiff Blues vs Connacht
Leinster vs Munster
Scarlets vs Newport Gwent Dragons
Table
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | Diff | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
 |
Glasgow Warriors | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 167 | 89 | 78 | 21 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 23 |
| 2 |  |
 |
Ospreys | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 157 | 69 | 88 | 17 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 22 |
| 3 |  |
 |
Ulster Rugby | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 127 | 67 | 60 | 15 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 18 |
| 4 | |
 |
Munster Rugby | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 113 | 71 | 42 | 13 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 15 |
| 5 | |
 |
Connacht Rugby | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 85 | 96 | -11 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| 6 | |
 |
Scarlets | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 133 | 107 | 26 | 17 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 14 |
| 7 | |
 |
Leinster Rugby | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 131 | 101 | 30 | 14 | 11 | 2 | 2 | 12 |
| 8 | |
 |
Newport Gwent Dragons | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 85 | 107 | -22 | 7 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 7 |
| 9 | |
 |
Cardiff Blues | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 109 | 146 | -37 | 10 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 7 |
| 10 | |
 |
Edinburgh Rugby | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 60 | 139 | -79 | 5 | 18 | 0 | 1 | 7 |
| 11 | |
 |
Zebre | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 71 | 126 | -55 | 7 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| 12 | |
 |
Benetton Treviso | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 61 | 181 | -120 | 6 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 |