Magners League: Round 19 Review
Ronan O’Gara’s last-minute penalty capped off a tremendous second half comeback from Munster in Saturday’s Magners League showdown with Leinster. The 24-23 victory keeps them very much on course for a home semi-final.
Speaking after Munster’s rousing win at Thomond Park, their number 8 James Coughlan, who had an excellent game, said: “That is another four points in the bag and we are really happy with that.
“It was a very physical game and they won the first half and we won the second in terms of physically. We weren’t matching them physically and needed to step up and that is what we did.
“We knew at half-time that we needed to keep hold of the ball more as every time in the first half we got into their 22, we gave them the ball back softly and could never build momentum.
“We held on and got more clarity into our game. We managed to hold onto the ball and won more of the 50-50s and managed to come out on top.
“It was a great win and it meant a lot to the supporters, the noise out there was fantastic.”
Results elsewhere saw Ulster climb into second place while the Ospreys are now third in the table after drawing with the Cardiff Blues.
The Blues, with a game in hand, are still very much in with a chance of a top four finish. The Scarlets’ defeat in Belfast has probably left their fate in the hands of others.
The league now takes a break for a week, with the focus of Leinster, Munster and Ulster turning to the Heineken Cup and Amlin Challenge Cup quarter-finals.
But when the league returns, four of the top six teams will be in action against each other. Leinster will host provincial rivals Ulster on Saturday, April 16, on the same night that the Scarlets entertain table toppers Munster.
The Cardiff Blues and Ospreys are both away on Friday, April 15, taking on Connacht and the Newport Gwent Dragons respectively.
Munster apart, the competition for the remaining play-off places is so tight that the battle could go right down to the wire.
2010/11 MAGNERS LEAGUE – AFTER ROUND 19:
TOP TRY SCORERS –
12 – Tim Visser (Edinburgh)
9 – Jonathan Davies (Scarlets)
8 – Aled Brew (Newport Gwent Dragons)
7 – Craig Gilroy (Ulster), Fionn Carr (Connacht), Richard Fussell (Ospreys), DTH van der Merwe (Glasgow Warriors), Nikki Walker (Ospreys)
6 – Doug Howlett (Munster)
5 – Shane Horgan (Leinster), Adam Hughes (Newport Gwent Dragons), Gareth Maule (Scarlets), George North (Scarlets), Brian Tuohy (Connacht)
TOP POINTS SCORERS –
220 – Dan Biggar (Ospreys) (4 tries, 25 conversions, 45 penalty goals and 5 drop goals)
195 – Ian Keatley (Connacht) (2 tries, 19 conversions and 49 penalty goals)
147 – Ronan O’Gara (Munster) (15 conversions, 38 penalty goals and 1 drop goal)
144 – Rhys Priestland (Scarlets) (3 tries, 12 conversions, 33 penalty goals and 2 drop goals)
142 – Isa Nacewa (Leinster) (4 tries, 19 conversions and 28 penalty goals)
127 – Tobie Botes (Benetton Treviso) (4 tries, 10 conversions and 29 penalty goals)
119 – Jason Tovey (Newport Gwent Dragons) (2 tries, 14 conversions, 25 penalty goals and 2 drop goals)
113 – Duncan Weir (Glasgow Warriors) (1 try, 12 conversions, 27 penalty goals and 1 drop goal)
112 – Ruan Pienaar (Ulster) (4 tries, 7 conversions, 25 penalty goals and 1 drop goal)
105 – Dan Parks (Cardiff Blues) (9 conversions, 21 penalty goals and 8 drop goals), Chris Paterson (Edinburgh) (3 tries, 12 conversions and 22 penalty goals)
102 – Paul Warwick (Munster) (1 try, 14 conversions, 22 penalty goals and 1 drop goal)
97 – Ceri Sweeney (Cardiff Blues) (2 tries, 9 conversions, 22 penalty goals and 1 drop goal)
86 – Ruaridh Jackson (Glasgow Warriors) (7 conversions, 23 penalty goals and 1 drop goal)
80 – David Blair (Edinburgh) (1 try, 6 conversions, 20 penalty goals and 1 drop goal)
79 – Stephen Jones (Scarlets) (14 conversions and 17 penalty goals)
75 – Jonathan Sexton (Leinster) (6 conversions and 21 penalty goals)
61 – Ian Humphreys (Ulster) (2 tries, 12 conversions and 9 penalty goals)
BEST PLACE-KICKERS –
83.33% – Greig Laidlaw (Edinburgh) (10 successful kicks from 12 attempts)
81.58% – Stephen Jones (Scarlets) (31/38)
79.10% – Ronan O’Gara (Munster) (53/67)
78.95% – Dan Parks (Cardiff Blues) (30/38)
77.50% – Ceri Sweeney (Cardiff Blues) (31/40)
77.14% – Jonathan Sexton (Leinster) (27/35)
76.92% – Kris Burton (Benetton Treviso) (10/13)
75.56% – Chris Paterson (Edinburgh) (34/45)
75% – Paddy Wallace (Ulster) (9/12)
72.22% – Duncan Weir (Glasgow Warriors) (39/54)
71.43% – Willem de Waal (Benetton Treviso) (15/21)
71.21% – Isa Nacewa (Leinster) (47/66)
70.91% – Tobie Botes (Benetton Treviso) (39/55)
70% – Ian Humphreys (Ulster) (21/30)
69.57% – Ruan Pienaar (Ulster) (32/46)
69.39% – Ian Keatley (Connacht) (68/98)
69.23% – Paul Warwick (Munster) (36/52)
68.42% – David Blair (Edinburgh) (26/38)
66.67% – Dan Biggar (Ospreys) (70/105)
66.18% – Rhys Priestland (Scarlets) (45/68)
64.52% – Matthew Jones (Newport Gwent Dragons) (20/31), Niall O’Connor (Ulster) (20/31)
63.64% – Ludovic Mercier (Aironi Rugby) (14/22)
60% – Leigh Halfpenny (Cardiff Blues) (9/15)
59.09% – Jason Tovey (Newport Gwent Dragons) (39/66)
58.33% – Miah Nikora (Connacht) (7/12)
56.60% – Ruaridh Jackson (Glasgow Warriors) (30/53)
53.13% – Tito Tebaldi (Aironi Rugby) (17/32)
Qual: 10 place-kicks at goal
RESULTS ROUND-UP –
Friday, April 1, 2011 at Ravenhill
Ulster (13) 20: Ian Humphreys(2T), Ruan Pienaar(2C/2P)
Scarlets (6) 18: Jonathan Davies(T), Aaron Shingler(T), Rhys Priestland(C), Stephen Jones(2P)
Attendance: 8,646
Ulster v Scarlets Match Report
Friday, April 1, 2011 at the Sportsground
Connacht (22) 27: Fionn Carr(2T), Penalty try, Gavin Duffy(T), Ian Keatley(2C/P)
Edinburgh (17) 23: Scott Newlands(T), James King(T), Greig Laidlaw(2C/3P)
Attendance: 1,586
Connacht v Edinburgh Match Report
Saturday, April 2, 2011 at Stadio Zaffanella
Aironi Rugby (6) 16: James Marshall(T/C/P), Tito Tebaldi(2P)
Glasgow Warriors (10) 17: Peter Murchie(T), Ryan Grant(T), Ruaridh Jackson(2C/P)
Attendance: 2,700
Saturday, April 2, 2011 at the Liberty Stadium
Ospreys (15) 21: Dan Biggar(5P/D), James Hook(D)
Cardiff Blues (9) 21: Dan Parks(5P/2D)
Attendance: 11,619
Saturday, April 2, 2011 at Thomond Park
Munster (9) 24: Ronan O’Gara(7P), Paul Warwick(P)
Leinster (20) 23: Shane Horgan(T), Jonathan Sexton(6P)
Attendance: 25,923
Munster v Leinster Match Report
Sunday, April 3, 2011 at Rodney Parade
Newport Gwent Dragons (19) 33: Adam Hughes(T/2C), Aled Brew(2T), Ashley Smith(T), Will Harries(T), Jason Tovey(2C)
Benetton Treviso (3) 10: Kris Burton(T/C/P)
Attendance: 4,051