Australian scrum half Chris Whitaker scored his first try for Leinster as they claimed a 38-23 win over Glasgow to edge closer to the second-placed Scarlets.
MAGNERS LEAGUE ROUND 9 RESULTS: Friday, November 10
At Netherdale (Att: 1,103) - Border Reivers (13) 13 Llanelli Scarlets (10) 19: Scorers: Borders: Calum MacRae (C/2P), Simon Danielli (T); Llanelli: Jonathan Mills (T), Ceiron Thomas (C/4P)
At Rodney Parade (Att: 3,846) - Newport Gwent Dragons (0) 17 Edinburgh (10) 10: Scorers: Dragons: Nic Fitisemanu (T), Nathan Brew (T), Aled Thomas (C/P), Craig Warlow (C); Edinburgh: David McCall (T), Duncan Hodge (C/P)
At Donnybrook (Att: 3,750) - Leinster (16) 38 Glasgow Warriors (18) 23: Scorers: Leinster: Ketih Gleeson (T), Brian Blaney (T), Chris Whitaker (T), Denis Hickie (T), Andrew Dunne (C), Rob Kearney (C/3P); Glasgow: Jon Petrie (T), Thom Evans (T), Kevin Tkachuk (T), Dan Parks (C/2P)
Michael Cheika's Leinster side twice came from behind against the Warriors to extend their unbeaten home record to 12 games in all competitions. The Scottish side had led at the interval at Donnybrook.
The Llanelli Scarlets, meanwhile, took advantage of a game in hand to narrow the gap at the top of the Magners League table to just one point behind leaders Ulster. Heavy conditions at Netherdale helped nullify Llanelli's chances of gaining the bonus point that would have taken them joint top, whilst the Borders' defeat was compounded by an injury to Scotland winger Simon Danielli.
Rodney Parade witnessed a home fightback as the Dragons overturned a 10-0 half-time deficit to run out 17-10 winners over Edinburgh in a game played in the pouring rain. Nic Fitisemanu and Nathan Brew scored the crucial tries, with Aled Thomas and Craig Warlow kicking the remaining points for the Welsh region.
...Rob Kearney congratulates Denis Hickie on his try against Glasgow...
MAGNERS LEAGUE TABLE -
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | TB | LB | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ulster | 8 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 222 | 126 | 4 | 1 | 29 |
| Llanelli Scarlets | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 184 | 131 | 4 | 0 | 28 |
| Leinster | 8 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 201 | 156 | 4 | 2 | 26 |
| Edinburgh | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 131 | 127 | 0 | 2 | 20 |
| Ospreys | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 108 | 107 | 1 | 1 | 18 |
| Connacht | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 164 | 187 | 1 | 2 | 17 |
| Newport Gwent Dragons | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 130 | 147 | 0 | 3 | 15 |
| Glasgow Warriors | 9 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 178 | 207 | 1 | 2 | 15 |
| Cardiff Blues | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 109 | 101 | 0 | 2 | 14 |
| Munster | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 98 | 140 | 0 | 1 | 9 |
| Border Reivers | 8 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 87 | 183 | 0 | 2 | 6 |
| Name | Team | Tries |
|---|---|---|
| Darren Daniel | Llanelli Scarlets | 6 |
| Bryn Cunningham | Ulster | 4 |
| Denis Hickie | Leinster | 4 |
| Paul Steinmetz | Ulster | 4 |
| Aled Brew | Newport Gwent Dragons | 3 |
| Thom Evans | Glasgow Warriors | 3 |
| Gavin Evans | Llanelli Scarlets | 3 |
| Dafydd James | Llanelli Scarlets | 3 |
| Regan King | Llanelli Scarlets | 3 |
| Matt Mostyn | Connacht | 3 |
| Name | Team | T | C | PG | DG | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| David Humphreys | Ulster | 1 | 17 | 22 | 0 | 105 |
| Mark McHugh | Connacht | 1 | 7 | 21 | 2 | 88 |
| Felipe Contepomi | Leinster | 2 | 11 | 16 | 0 | 80 |
| Dan Parks | Glasgow Warriors | 2 | 10 | 15 | 0 | 75 |
| Chris Paterson | Edinburgh | 2 | 7 | 16 | 0 | 72 |
| Ceri Sweeney | Newport Gwent Dragons | 1 | 6 | 14 | 1 | 62 |
| Stephen Jones | Llanelli Scarlets | 0 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 55 |
| Calum MacRae | Border Reivers | 0 | 2 | 14 | 0 | 46 |
| Colin Gregor | Glasgow Warriors | 0 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 35 |
| Jeremy Manning | Munster | 0 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 35 |
| Ben Blair | Cardiff Blues | 1 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 34 |
| James Hook | Ospreys | 0 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 31 |
| Darren Daniel | Llanelli Scarlets | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 |
BEST KICKERS -
| Name | Team | Good | Att | Kick% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colin Gregor | Glasgow Warriors | 11 | 11 | 100 |
| Mark McHugh | Connacht | 28 | 35 | 80 |
| Ronan O'Gara | Munster | 8 | 10 | 80 |
| Ceri Sweeney | Newport Gwent Dragons | 20 | 26 | 76.92 |
| David Humphreys | Ulster | 39 | 51 | 76.47 |
| Dan Parks | Glasgow Warriors | 25 | 33 | 75.76 |
| James Hook | Ospreys | 12 | 16 | 75 |
| Ben Blair | Cardiff Blues | 11 | 15 | 73.33 |
| Felipe Contepomi | Leinster | 27 | 37 | 72.97 |
| Chris Paterson | Edinburgh | 23 | 32 | 71.88 |
| Stephen Jones | Llanelli Scarlets | 22 | 31 | 70.97 |
| Jeremy Manning | Munster | 11 | 16 | 68.75 |
| Calum MacRae | Border Reivers | 16 | 24 | 66.67 |
| Ceiron Thomas | Llanelli Scarlets | 7 | 11 | 63.64 |
| Nick Robinson | Cardiff Blues | 6 | 14 | 42.86 |
| Gavin Henson | Ospreys | 4 | 11 | 36.36 |
| Qual: 10 place kicks at goal. |
