Connacht clinging to Champions Cup dreams after Ospreys agony

A mixed bag for the Irish provinces

Patrick McCarry

Connacht clinging to Champions Cup dreams after Ospreys agony

Connacht 20-24 Ospreys

Not for the first time this season, Connacht were left to rue a slow start.

It was a first half from hell, for Pat Lam’s men, as they shipped three tries and 24 points without registering a single score.

Ospreys’ Rhys Webb celebrates scoring his side’s third try.

After the break, with the wind swaying their way, the westerners tagged back six points, through Jack Carty, and were given a lifeline when Eoghan Masterson stole over for a try.

Try as they might, Connacht could only pierce the Welsh defence once more, through Denis Buckley, and were left relying on other teams to do them favours.

Edinburgh stumbled to Leinster [see below] so Connacht finish seventh and will play Gloucester in a Champions Cup Playoff decider.

Munster 50-27 Dragons

Anthony Foley’s men secured a home semi-final as they put Dragons to the sword at the ground that shan’t be named… Irish Independent Park.

Dragons held the led, twice, in the early stages but Munster had a bonus point wrapped up by 26 minutes after tries from Andrew Smith, CJ Stander and Conor Murray’s double.

The Welsh side battled on until the final whistle but Keith Earls try, after 44 minutes, a Paul O’Connell score and Murray’s hat-trick score sealed the victory, leaving Foley ample time to empty the bench and rest his troops.

Trust us, that is Conor Murray under that Dragon pile.

Murray’s three tries moved him past Peter Stringer [11] and Tomás O’Leary [10] as Munster’s leading try-scoring scrum-half, on 13.

Glasgow 32-10 Ulster

Ulster made 12 changes coming into this tricky away tie, at Scotstoun, but they started extremely well and proved they were up for the fight.

Ulster’s Sam Arnold tackled by Warriors’ Josh Strauss.

Chris Henry finished off a powerful rolling maul with the dot down and Ian Humphreys’ penalty put them 10-3 ahead at one stage. Finn Russell kept Glasgow Warriors in touch but Stuart Hogg turned the tables, on 54 minutes, with a wonderful chip-and-chase, solo try.

The turning point arrived on 59 minutes as Russell jinked inside the Ulster midfield and squashed Paul Marshall on his way to the tryline.

Russell made a mug of Rory Scholes with a show-and-go as he sliced through for a second try. Richie Vernon clinched the bonus point for his side – and a home semi-final – after blazing through a tiring Ulster defence in the closing stages.

Edinburgh 23-36 Leinster

Matt O’Connor’s men had all but secured a Champions Cup spot with their doughty 10-0 win over Treviso, last week. They finished a generally disappointing season on a high as they beat Edinburgh with some nervous moments along the way.

Noel Reid, who was paired with Clontarf centre Collie O’Shea, in the Leinster midfield, scored Leinster’s first try while the province’s Young Player of the Year, Jack Conan, added the second.