Round 7 Review

Ugly win delights Leinster’s Leo

It’s now a magnificent seven for league leaders Leinster Rugby who just keep on winning.

You wondered if they might finally have found their match when they trailed 13-10 to Ulster Rugby at Belfast’s Kingspan Stadium on Friday evening.

But three second half tries saw them secure a 27-20 bonus point victory to stretch their lead at the top of the table to seven points.

That’s now 34 points out of a possible 35 for Leo Cullen’s side who – after a four week break – have simply carried on where they left off in the opening block of Vodacom URC matches.

Cullen commented: “You are not really too sure what to expect in these games where both teams haven’t played in a while.

“You could see the game probably reflected that. It was a bit disjointed at times, with a few different stoppages.

“The first half was pretty scratchy and we were 13-10 down, but there was definitely a big improvement in the second half. We were a hell of a lot better.

“We just got a little more ascendancy, played in the right areas and scored some good tries, which is pleasing.

“Ulster came back into it and it went down to the very end. There were some big defensive sets from us.

“We are delighted to get the win and five points because we knew how tough it was going to be up here. It was pretty ugly though at times. It wasn’t perfect, but we will take it.”

Giving his thoughts, Leinster skipper Jack Conan said: “We knew it was going to be unbelievably tough coming up here.

“Ulster are an incredibly tenacious side. They stick in it for 80 minutes, so we are delighted to get the win.

“You could see we started off a bit slowly, but we came into our own in the second half and were able to put a few scores on the board.”

Try scoring full-back Jimmy O’Brien, the Player of the Match in front of an attendance of 16,491, added: “I love playing here.

“The crowd was unbelievable. It’s very hostile. It feels like they are all against you, which is a good thing as it brings you all together.

“It’s always tough up here. We lost here last season, so it was great to get the win. I thought our pack was brilliant. They were unbelievable.”

Glasgow Warriors remain in second spot after beating the Scarlets 17-15 at Scotstoun on Friday night, but they were pushed all the way.

They trailed for much of the match and were put under heavy pressure in the closing stages after taking the lead for the first time through a 66th minute penalty from replacement fly-half Duncan Weir.

But they held on to secure a fifth win of the campaign.

Coach Franco Smith said: “We made some uncommon errors and the Scarlets played well. They are going to be tough to beat going forward, so I’m really happy to get the win.”

The Vodacom Bulls are in third after claiming a 28-14 bonus point victory over Connacht Rugby in Galway, while

Cardiff Rugby are up to fourth thanks to a 31-23 win in the Welsh derby clash with Dragons RFC at the Arms Park.

As for the South African derby, that saw the Hollywoodbets Sharks beat the DHL Stormers 21-15 amid a dramatic finale in Durban. More on that later.

Elsewhere, Munster Rugby claimed a welcome 17-10 victory over the Emirates Lions at Thomond Park in their first league outing since the departure of head coach Graham Rowntree.

Reflecting on the past month, Player of the Match Jack O’Donoghue admitted: “It’s been a bit turbulent, but, as players, we wanted to come out here and show the crowd we are all still together.

“It was a scrappy game, but we stuck in and got the win. It was really important. We were under no illusions where we sat in the log table. This will give us confidence and it takes a bit of pressure off us.”

The highest scoring match of the weekend saw Edinburgh Rugby come out on top 50-33 in a 13-try encounter with Benetton Treviso which proved a classic game of two halves.

Finally, Zebre Parma claimed their second success of the campaign, as wing Simone Gesi crossed twice in a 22-17 victory against the Ospreys.

It means, after just seven rounds, they have already doubled their win tally from last season and are off the bottom of the table.

Winnett’s winning ways

Cardiff Rugby coach Matt Sherratt paid a glowing tribute to Cam Winnett following the full-back’s Player of the Match performance in the 31-23 victory over Dragons RFC at the Arms Park.

Winnett was somewhat surprisingly left out of the Wales team for the final autumn international against South Africa after starting against Fiji and Australia.

But he delivered the perfect response with a classy derby day display, as he showed off his defence-splitting threat with ball in hand and his creativity – the way he dummied through before sending Callum Sheedy in for a try being a case in point.

The 21-year-old from the Rhondda made more carries (14) than any other player on the pitch, ran for 85 metres and beat six defenders. It was a fine all-round effort, as his coach acknowledged.

“I have to give a special mention to Cam,” said Sherratt.

“He played 21 games last season. He played on Wales’ summer tour of Australia. He played every game for us in the opening block of this season, six games on the bounce. He’s gone away with Wales, he’s come back and he’s Man of the Match.

“He’s somebody who has made a massive difference to us as a club. I am really pleased with him.”

Giving his own thoughts, Winnett said: “It was nice to be back at the Arms Park. It’s an unbelievable crowd here and we are glad to get the win.

“I’m just really enjoying it here at the moment, with the way we are playing, and hopefully we can pick up a few more wins now.”

Cardiff had the four try bonus point in the bag inside 50 minutes as they built a 31-9 lead in front of a near 10,000 crowd, but then lost momentum as the Dragons hit back with two final quarter tries.

“I felt we took control in the first 15 minutes of the second half and I thought we should have killed them off, to be honest,” admitted Winnett.

Sherratt acknowledged there was room for improvement, but described it as “job done” against a Dragons team who had Filo Tiatia at the helm following the departure of Dai Flanagan.

“They were coming here full of motivation, with a new head coach. It was a banana skin that we were pretty worried about,” he said.

“The boys showed a lot of effort, not that much quality, if I’m honest, but we’ll take the five points and move on into Europe.”

It was Cardiff’s 19th successive league win over their near neighbours and it takes them up to the giddy heights of fourth in the URC table.

In contrast, the Dragons are now bottom. Their interim head coach Tiatia commented: “I’m disappointed.

“We built a lot of pressure and momentum in the first half and didn’t really capitalise on the opportunities.

“I really enjoyed the fightback and the character, but we can’t be chasing the game.”

Match of the Weekend

Hollywoodbets Sharks 21, DHL Stormers 15

This South African coastal derby saw the biggest attendance of the round – 33,744 – and it also produced the most dramatic finish.

The star-studded Sharks looked to have the game in the bag when they led 21-8 with just 30 seconds left on the clock, having run in three tries, including one from skipper Siya Kolisi.

But, then, the Stormers were awarded a penalty try to set up a grandstand finish and it seemed as though they had completed a remarkable late turnaround when replacement Manie Libbok ran around under the posts in the final play to leave an easy match-winning conversion.

However, after a lengthy video review, it was decided that Libbok himself had knocked on at a ruck in the build-up to the score. So it was disallowed and the Sharks breathed a big sigh of relief as they took the spoils to move up to sixth in the table.

Outlining his emotions during the nail-biting conclusion, their coach John Plumtree admitted: “The head-set got thrown down in disappointment wondering how I was going to cope with that one.

“But then we got a little bit of luck and came back from the dead. I guess that’s what can happen in these big games.”

His Stormers counterpart John Dobson said: “We can look back thinking we could’ve won the game right at the end there, but 40 minutes before that we lost it because of the errors we made up until that point.

“We created so many opportunities. We were profligate and wasteful. I can name six opportunities off the top of my head. That was probably the difference in the end.

“But, even though we are sitting with a defeat, to come here and fight like we did gives me hope about the team. I saw a lot of our DNA out there.”

Player of the weekend

Simone Gesi (Zebre Parma)

The Italian international winger is blessed with fantastic feet, blistering pace and has a superb skill-set.

He showed off his full array of attributes in a two-try masterclass to help Zebre claim a notable 22-17 victory over the Ospreys at the Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi.

After racing over for his first, he then delivered a superb finish to complete his brace.

It looked for all money that the ball was going to go out into touch following a grubber kick from full-back Geronimo Prisciantelli.

But Gesi pulled it back in one-handed while managing to keep his feet in the field of play before touching down in the corner.

It was a really classy piece of work from the 23-year-old and it paved the way for a win which sparked scenes of jubilation both on and off the pitch in Parma.

Quote of the weekend

Edinburgh coach Sean Everitt on a topsy-turvy encounter against Benetton at a wind-swept Hive Stadium where his team led 35-0 at the break but were then pegged back to 40-33 at one stage before ultimately winning 50-33.

“The pressure was on in the box, I can tell you!” said the South African.

“We all know it was a game of two halves and that was because of the weather and the wind.

“We did really well in the first half to make use of our opportunities, but we didn’t keep them out then and that’s a work-on for us.

“It was about being disciplined in the second half and, unfortunately, we weren’t.

“Saying that, we got 50 points on Benetton and that hasn’t happened often.”

What’s coming next?

There’s now a two week break from league action as the EPCR competitions take centre stage.

Arguably the pick of the games there next weekend will be the Champions Cup clash between Bristol Bears and Leinster at Ashton Gate, with second in the Gallagher Premiership taking on first in the Vodacom URC.

The Cape Town clash between the Stormers and Toulon will be another mouthwatering encounter, while Glasgow host Sale and the Bulls travel to Saracens.

As for Vodacom URC action, that will resume with a series of festive derbies in Round 8, including Sharks v Bulls, Leinster v Connacht, Benetton v Zebre and the west Wales showdown between the Ospreys and the Scarlets.