Round five of the Magners League was always going to be a pivotal one as the provinces went head-to-head, and with their internationals back in tow, Leinster and Munster emerged victorious from the weekend's duels.
The return of Munster's Ireland stars kickstarted their league campaign in Cork on Saturday night as they earned a 21-13 win over title holders Ulster. Munster trailed by a point at the break but three second half penalties from out-half Ronan O'Gara ensured the home win and robbed Ulster of a losing bonus point.
At the Sportsground on Friday night, Leinster wiped away the memories of their deflating defeat to Llanelli last week with a 31-16 triumph over Connacht. The teams were level at 16 points apiece with less than a quarter of the game to go, but late tries from Shane Horgan and Denis Hickie set up a bonus point win for the visitors.
Meanwhile, also on Friday, a second half try from Hugo Southwell was crucial as hosts Edinburgh bagged a 14-6 win against Glasgow Warriors at Murrayfield. Having won the so called 'Battle of the Bravehearts', Edinburgh are now in third place, level on points with Ulster.
MAGNERS LEAGUE TABLE:
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | TB | LB | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Llanelli Scarlets | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 140 | 106 | 3 | 0 | 19 |
| Ulster | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 134 | 89 | 2 | 1 | 15 |
| Edinburgh | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 87 | 77 | 0 | 1 | 15 |
| Ospreys | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 82 | 98 | 0 | 1 | 13 |
| Cardiff Blues | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 74 | 56 | 0 | 2 | 10 |
| Newport Gwent Dragons | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 91 | 86 | 0 | 2 | 10 |
| Leinster | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 82 | 78 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| Connacht | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 97 | 115 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Munster | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 56 | 67 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Glasgow Warriors | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 82 | 109 | 0 | 2 | 6 |
| Border Reivers | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 44 | 88 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
TOP TRY SCORERS:
| Name | Team | Tries |
|---|---|---|
| Darren Daniel | Llanelli Scarlets | 5 |
| Aled Brew | Newport Gwent Dragons | 3 |
| Gavin Evans | Llanelli Scarlets | 3 |
| Denis Hickie | Leinster | 3 |
| Regan King | Llanelli Scarlets | 3 |
| Paul Steinmetz | Ulster | 3 |
| Lee Byrne | Ospreys | 2 |
| Bryn Cunningham | Ulster | 2 |
| Trevor Hogan | Leinster | 2 |
| Dafydd James | Llanelli Scarlets | 2 |
| Matt Mostyn | Connacht | 2 |
TOP POINTS SCORERS:
| Name | Team | T | C | PG | DG | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| David Humphreys | Ulster | 1 | 10 | 18 | 0 | 79 |
| Mark McHugh | Connacht | 1 | 5 | 17 | 0 | 66 |
| Stephen Jones | Llanelli Scarlets | 0 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 55 |
| Chris Paterson | Edinburgh | 1 | 3 | 14 | 0 | 53 |
| Ceri Sweeney | Newport Gwent Dragons | 1 | 6 | 11 | 1 | 53 |
| Dan Parks | Glasgow Warriors | 1 | 5 | 11 | 0 | 48 |
| Felipe Contepomi | Leinster | 0 | 5 | 8 | 0 | 34 |
| James Hook | Ospreys | 0 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 31 |
| Nick Robinson | Cardiff Blues | 1 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 28 |
| Ben Blair | Cardiff Blues | 1 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 26 |
| Darren Daniel | Llanelli Scarlets | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 |
| Jeremy Manning | Munster | 0 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 23 |
| Calum MacRae | Border Reivers | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 21 |
| Name | Team | Good | Att | Kick% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dan Parks | Glasgow Warriors | 16 | 18 | 88.89 |
| Ben Blair | Cardiff Blues | 8 | 10 | 80 |
| Mark McHugh | Connacht | 22 | 28 | 78.57 |
| David Humphreys | Ulster | 28 | 36 | 77.78 |
| James Hook | Ospreys | 12 | 16 | 75 |
| Ceri Sweeney | Newport Gwent Dragons | 17 | 23 | 73.91 |
| Jeremy Manning | Munster | 8 | 11 | 72.73 |
| Stephen Jones | Llanelli Scarlets | 22 | 31 | 70.97 |
| Chris Paterson | Edinburgh | 17 | 25 | 68 |
| Felipe Contepomi | Leinster | 13 | 20 | 65 |
| Calum MacRae | Border Reivers | 7 | 11 | 63.64 |
| Nick Robinson | Cardiff Blues | 6 | 11 | 54.55 |
| Qual: 10 place kicks at goal. |
RESULTS ROUND-UP -
Friday, September 29, 2006 at Murrayfield
Edinburgh (6) 14: Hugo Southwell(T) Chris Paterson(2P) Duncan Hodge(D)
Glasgow Warriors (0) 9: Colin Gregor(D) Dan Parks(2P)
Attendance: 4,342
Friday, September 29, 2006 at The Sportsground
Connacht (7) 16: Darren Yapp(T) Mark McHugh(C/2P) Daniel Riordan(P)
Leinster (13) 31: Trevor Hogan(T) Guy Easterby(T) Shane Horgan(T) Denis Hickie(T) Felipe Contepomi(C/2P) Gordon D'Arcy(D)
Attendance: 3,678
Saturday, September 30, 2006 at Musgrave Park
Munster (12) 21: David Wallace(T) Anthony Horgan(T) Ronan O'Gara(C/3P)
Ulster (13) 13: Paul Steinmetz(T) David Humphreys(C/2P)
Attendance: 5,674
