Guinness PRO12
Ulster 24 Cardiff Blues 24
ULSTER'S hopes of making the Guinness PRO12 play-offs suffered what could prove to be a fatal setback after they drew 24-24 with Cardiff Blues at the Kingspan Stadium which ended the Irish province's run of six straight wins.
In a game which saw the lead change hands throughout – with the sides also being tied at 17-17 earlier in the game – Les Kiss' squad stayed in fourth but their place in the top four looks vulnerable with three games to play.
Ulster scored tries through Paddy Jackson and Luke Marshall. Jackson kicked three conversions and a penalty while they were also awarded a penalty try in the first half which ended with the home side leading 14-10.
Blues centre Rey Lee-Lo scored two tries – both in the second half – while skipper Sam Warburton got over in the opening 40 minutes before he hobbled off. Gareth Anscombe kicked three conversions and a penalty.
Anscombe scored the first points of the game with a ninth-minute penalty after Rory Best failed to roll away from a ruck but Ulster then struck back two minutes later after Ruan Pienaar's chip through was collected by Jackson who ran in under the sticks.
He converted his own score to put Ulster 7-3 up.
But the Blues struck back after 22 minutes when a series of missed first-up tackles saw skipper Warburton driven over from close range and Anscombe added the extras.
Four minutes later, though, and Ulster put a penalty into the corner and from the driving maul referee Ian Davies awarded a penalty try which Jackson again converted to put the home side back in the lead.
The Blues got off the mark just six minutes after the restart when Lee-Lo exploded through a gap to dot down under the sticks. Anscombe converted and Cardiff led again 17-14.
Jackson tied the scores with his first penalty on 56 minutes but the Blues hit back four minutes later with Lee-Lo scoring his second which Anscombe converted to take the Blues into a 24-17 lead.
The home side were not finished though and Marshall barrelled through to score after 68 minutes from Jackson's inside pass, with the out-half's conversion bringing Ulster level again.
Despite a frantic finish from the home side, with Charles Piutau nearly getting away after a length-of-the-field break-out, they could not add any more points and had to be content with the draw.
Edinburgh 19 Connacht 22
REIGNING Guinness PRO12 champions Connacht bounced back from their shock defeat to Zebre by holding off an Edinburgh fightback to win 22-19 at Myreside.
Connacht were stunned 25-22 by Zebre as their hopes of qualifying for the Champions Cup suffered a setback, but Pat Lam's men got their campaign back on track with victory over an Edinburgh side whose losing streak now stands at eight.
The visitors had to withstand a late onslaught, though, with Edinburgh scoring 19 unanswered points in the space of 10 second-half minutes to get within touching distance of their opponents.
That scenario looked a long way off at half-time as Connacht swept into a 16-0 lead thanks to a converted try from Eoin McKeon and 11 points from the boot of Steve Crosbie.
Crosbie then added two more penalties at the start of the second half to put Connacht 22-0 ahead and seemingly home and dry.
But the contest roared back into life as Edinburgh staged a stunning recovery that featured a penalty try and a Hamish Watson touchdown, both converted by Duncan Weir, before Glenn Bryce grabbed a third try to set up a tense finale, which saw the hosts just come up just short.
Edinburgh had a chance to open the scoring four minutes in but Weir, who had earlier missed touch with a penalty from hand, pulled a 40-metre penalty attempt left of the target.
Connacht's first visit to home territory yielded a penalty and Crosbie hammered over the kick to nudge the champions into the lead.
Edinburgh were enjoying the greater share of possession but it was drab stuff. The Irish outfit had barely broken sweat in coping comfortably with the toothless Edinburgh attack, and it was the visitors who bagged the next points when Crosbie banged over his second three-pointer, this time from halfway.
The gap grew to 13 points after half-an-hour when Connacht finally displayed their attacking edge and second phase ball allowed Kieran Marmion to deliver a perfectly-weighted pass to McKeon, who raced over between the sticks untouched, leaving Crosbie with a simple conversion.
A scrum offence on the edge of the Connacht 22 handed Weir an opportunity to atone for his earlier miss. But again he pulled his kick left of the posts.
Within a couple of minutes, Crosbie once more showed him how it should be done, his third successful penalty extending Connacht's lead to 16 points at the interval.
Edinburgh restarted with greater vigour but a promising run ended with Rory Scholes being penalised for holding onto the ball after being tackled.
Connacht were also looking livelier and exhibiting some slick handling. However, they resorted to Crosbie's flawless boot to add a further three points.
The margin could have grown further had Tiernan O'Halloran not knocked on within sight of the line, but the visitors were now firmly in the ascendancy and Crosbie added three more points to the tally with a straightforward penalty.
Connacht were cruising to victory but, in the space of 10 minutes, the complexion of the game was transformed.
Edinburgh's top performer was Watson and the Scotland international flanker created the first score for the hosts. His break carried play into Connacht territory where he offloaded to winger Damien Hoyland, who sprinted into contact. In the aftermath, O'Halloran intercepted but the Connacht full back had been off side and received a yellow card, while the referee awarded a penalty try which Weir converted.
Within two minutes, Edinburgh were back in the game when a renewed spell of pressure ended with Watson crashing over.
Weir's conversion offered a glimmer of hope, and they edged ever closer with seven minutes to play when Watson again did the spadework and Bryce thundered over for an unconverted score.
However, Connacht managed to negotiate a fraught few minutes to secure the win.
