Irish Provinces Review After Week Ten of Guinness Pro 12
Week Ten of the Guinness Pro 12 took place last weekend and Leinster were the only Irish province to come away with a win in their derby with Connacht, Munster lost their top of the table clash against Glasgow Warriors and Ulster went down to the Ospreys in Wales. Here is the review for the Irish Provinces after Week Ten of the Guinness Pro 12.
Munster
Munster missed a chance to cement their place at the top of the Pro 12 table after losing to the Glasgow Warriors in Scotstoun. Tries from JJ Hanrahan and Robin Copeland had the red army leading by nine points at half time.
The away side had the better of the first half with Glasgow uncharacteristically sloppy with the ball, especially from restarts. JJ Hanrahan had been waiting for his chance all season to start at out half and didn’t disappoint early on with his try and two successful penalties in the first 40.
However, he missed two very kickable penalties in the second half, which effectively cost Munster the game. The Warriors took full advantage and Jonny Gray crossed to give them the win. Munster have a quick turnaround as they host Leinster at Thomond Park in a Christmas cracker on the 26th of December.
Leinster & Connacht
Leinster overcame a strong Connacht challenge to come out victors by 10 points in last weekend’s derby. Noel Reid was the star man on show for the home side but it was Zane Kirchner’s try a couple of minutes before the end that sealed Leinster’s win.
Shane Jennings opened Leinster’s try scoring with a try early on which was followed by a Jimmy Gopperth penalty. Two Jack Carty penalties reduced the deficit at half time. Two more Gopperth penalties extended Leinster’s lead before George Nuoupu crossed to keep Connacht in it.
Reid was a constant threat on his return from injury as Leinster climbed to fourth place, one point behind their opponents in their next game, Munster. Matt O’Connor’s side will be fully focused on this game and will be out for revenge following Munster’s win at the Aviva Stadium in October.
Connacht will have seen this game as a missed opportunity given their recent promising form. Playing with the breeze in the first half, Pat Lam would have hoped for more of a return than two Jack Carty’s penalties.
They got punished for their mistakes with Matt Healy culpable for Zane Kirchner’s try with three points between the sides in the closing stages. Connacht have a trip north to Ulster in their next game on the 26th December.
Ulster
Ulster’s indifferent form continued against the Ospreys as the Irish side suffered their third defeat of the Pro 12 season. The first half was a complete disaster for Neil Doak’s men as the Ospreys went in at half time with a 14 point lead thanks to Dan Biggar and Rhys Webb tries.
The Ospreys stretched their lead to 31-6 as the second half continued with Webb’s second try and a bonus point score from Hanno Dirksen. Ulster rallied late on to put a bit of respectability on the scoreboard with tries from Rob Herring and Tommy Bowe.
Ulster welcome Connacht to the Kingspan Stadium in their next game as they try and get back into the top four. There was a major worry about the knee injury suffered by Ruan Pienaar just before half time but Ulster have confirmed that the injury is not as serious as first thought.
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