It was a full house of wins for the Irish Provinces in Week six of the Guinness Pro 12. On Friday night Munster had a hard fought win against the Scarlets. Connacht overcame a spirited Treviso outfit in Italy by three points. Leinster, also in Italy, saw off Zebre by 17 points. In the game of the weekend, Ulster inflicted Glasgow Warriors’ first defeat of the season by a scoreline of 29-9.
Irish Provinces Review after Week Six of Guinness Pro 12
Munster:
Munster made it two victories in a row as they saw off the Scarlets at Thomond Park on Friday night. Anthony Foley’s side outfought a Scarlets team that would have been leading at half time if Rhys Priestland had brought his kicking boots.
Andrew Smith’s first half effort was the only try of the game, with JJ Hanrahan kicking the rest of Munster’s 12 points. The home side made nine changes from last week’s win over Leinster. The majority of which surely due to the prospect of next weekend’s Champions Cup opener against Sale Sharks.
Peter O’Mahony should captain the side as he has come back from injury layoff in superb form. Munster should go into the game as warm favourites due to their return to form and Sale’s patchy form. In saying that, the Sharks are a different proposition at home and Munster will have to be at their best to get a win from their Champions Cup opener.
Leinster:
Leinster got back to winning ways as they beat Zebre by 17 points on Saturday. Second half tries from Ian Madigan and Luke McGrath set up the victory for Matt O’Connor’s side. The sides were locked at 3-3 at half time.
It was vital for Leinster to get back to winning ways ahead of Wasps travelling to the RDS in the Champions Cup this weekend. Despite this victory, Leinster are a long way off where they need to be to mount a challenge for silverware.
Jamie Heaslip, Sean Cronin, Dominic Ryan, Eoin Reddan and Mike Ross should all come back into the team for the visit of Wasps. The return of these players will boost Leinster but Wasps are on the back of a big win over Bath. Potential shock win for Wasps.
Connacht
Connacht got their win in Treviso on Friday night thanks to the boot of centre Craig Ronaldson. He kicked three penalties to secure the victory in a very low scoring game. Darragh Leader impressed once again for Connacht as they got back to winning ways.
This away win is a big confidence boost ahead of their opening game of the Challenge Cup this weekend. Connacht welcome French team La Rochelle to the Showgrounds in a game they will be expecting to take maximum points from.
Ulster:
Ulster followed up their win against Edinburgh last week by beating top of the table Glasgow Warriors by 20 points. New Head Coach Neil Doak could not asked for any more from his side as second half tries from Tommy Bowe and Craig Gilroy ensured Ulster’s triumph.
Ian Humphreys kicked the other 19 points for Ulster who completely outplayed their opponents. Stuart McCloskey impressed in the centre once more and could be an outside bet for Ireland’s Autumn Internationals.
Ulster travel to Welford to take on Leicester Tigers in their opening Champions Cup game. Given the Tigers recent form, the Ulster men will fancy their chances in coming away with a win.
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