Friday, 4 September 2015

Pro 12 Friday 4th Sept

Connacht 29-23 Newport-Gwent Dragons

Connacht sealed a 29-23 victory over Newport Gwent Dragons thanks to a long-distance Fionn Carr try set up by Bundee Aki three minutes from time.

But a last-gasp penalty from Tom Prydie was then just enough to salvage a losing bonus point for Dragons.

The visitors paid the price for a higher error count, but managed tries from impressive scrum-half Sarel Pretorius and replacement James Thomas.

Connacht's other tries came from Nepia Fox-Matamua and Danie Poolman.

Jack Carty kicked 14 points for the home side, with Jason Tovey replying with 10 of his own for Dragons.


Edinburgh 16-9 Leinster

Edinburgh got the season off to a winning start with victory over Leinster at Meggetland.

It was a game of missed penalties, with Nathan Fowles and Jack Cuthbert missing as many as they scored for the hosts, and Isa Nacewa also passed up opportunities for the Irish.

Ultimately, it was two tries from Damien Hoyland that made the difference.

The 21-year-old finished off two sweeping moves on either wing.

It was Leinster who took the game to their hosts and reached the line early on, but gave away a penalty at the vital moment.

They kept threatening though and Nacewa put a penalty through the posts after 16 minutes.

The Kiwi could have doubled the lead six minutes later, but he put a long penalty wide.

That gave Fowles the opportunity to level the scores, which he took, though he himself would miss a similar effort shortly after.

Edinburgh lost Chris Dean to a head knock, but it did not disrupt the flow of pressure the home side were starting to exert. A neat move almost brought a try before the break; Mike McCarthy eventually dislodging the ball from James Johnsone's grasp.

Neither side appeared to want to take control of the game. A penalty conceded by Dan Leavy right in front of the posts gave Fowles the chance to put his side ahead, but he sliced it wide to the right.

Roddy Grant thought he had scored a try in 51 minutes, but it was rightly ruled as a knock on.

However, there was no doubt three minutes later. Damien Hoyland finding room on the left hand side to squeeze in.

Nacewa put through the posts to close the gap, and after Cuthbert missed and John Andress conceded a penalty, the Kiwi had another chance but missed from distance.

Then it was the exact opposite at the other end, this time Cuthbert firing from distance, and this time he was successful.

The game remained alive for both teams and with just over seven minutes left it remained finely balanced when Nacewa brought it back to just a two-point deficit.

Dominic Ryan though was sin binned, and Edinburgh made the extra man count when they stretched the visitors; Hoyland finding a big gap on the right and racing over the line.

Cuthbert missed the conversation but it mattered little with the points safe.


Ulster 28-6 Ospreys

Ulster started their Pro12 campaign with a bonus-point win over Ospreys at the Kingspan Stadium on Friday.

The hosts had the physical edge, epitomised by rampaging centre Stuart McCloskey who claimed a try alongside Rob Herring and Wiehahn Herbst.

Luke Marshall sealed a good night's work in the final minute, rounding off a flowing move for Ulster's fourth try to secure the extra point.

Ospreys rarely threatened the line and relied on Sam Davies' boot for points.

Both sides were missing players on World Cup duty, Ulster eight and their Welsh visitors 12, but there was no lack of experience on either side.

Ospreys gave a debut to ex-Wales back-row Gareth Delve, the former Bath, Gloucester and Melbourne Rebels forward playing his first game for a Welsh regional team.

But he was able to make little impact as Ulster dominated, with Ospreys' cause not helped by the sin-binning of back-row Joe Bearman midway through the first half.

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