Two of the Irish provinces recorded impressive bonus point wins over the weekend, with Leinster and Munster chalking up a half-century of points against Edinburgh and the Newport Gwent Dragons respectively. Unfortunately for Connacht and Ulster, their trips to Wales ended in defeat.
After an opening weekend that saw four away wins, Round 2 of the Magners League brought four home victories. The only away win, by the Ospreys over the Glasgow Warriors at Firhill Arena, was not secured until the 79th minute.
Round 2 saw 27 tries scored in five games – an average of 5.4 tries per game.
Two players scored hat-tricks. Luke Fitzgerald for Leinster in their 52-6 win over Edinburgh, and Keith Earls of Munster during their 50-6 defeat of the Newport Gwent Dragons on Sunday evening.
Paul Warwick’s six successful conversions equalled Munster’s Magners League record.
Meanwhile, Dan Parks’ first penalty for Glasgow gave him the required three points to move him to the top of the Magners League all-time points scoring table, overtaking David Humphreys’ previous record of 786.
2008/09 MAGNERS LEAGUE – AFTER ROUND 2:
TOP TRY SCORERS –
4 – Keith Earls (Munster)
3 – Luke Fitzgerald (Leinster)
2 – Thom Evans (Glasgow Warriors), James Hook (Ospreys), Doug Howlett (Munster), Deacon Manu (Scarlets), Nathan Brew (Scarlets), Morgan Stoddart (Scarlets), Paul Warwick (Munster)
TOP POINTS SCORERS –
36 – Stephen Jones (Scarlets) (6 conversions and 8 penalty goals)
35 – James Hook (Ospreys) (2 tries, 5 conversions and 5 penalty goals)
33 – Felipe Contepomi (Leinster) (6 conversions and 7 penalty goals)
26 – Ben Blair (Cardiff Blues) (1 try, 3 conversions and 5 penalty goals)
25 – Paul Warwick (Munster) (2 tries, 6 conversions and 1 penalty goal)
20 – Keith Earls (Munster) (4 tries), Dan Parks (Glasgow Warriors) (1 conversion and 6 penalty goals)
19 – James Arlidge (Newport Gwent Dragons) (2 conversions and 5 penalty goals)
18 – Chris Paterson (Edinburgh) (6 penalty goals)
15 – Luke Fitzgerald (Leinster) (3 tries)
BEST PLACE-KICKERS –
86.67% – Felipe Contepomi (Leinster) (13 successful kicks out of 15 attempts)
82.35% – Stephen Jones (Scarlets) (14/17)
76.92% – James Hook (Ospreys) (10/13)
66.67% – Ben Blair (Cardiff Blues) (8/12)
63.64% – James Arlidge (Newport Gwent Dragons) (7/11)
50% – Dan Parks (Glasgow Warriors) (7/14)
Qual: 10 place-kicks at goal
RESULTS ROUND-UP –
Friday, September 12, 2008 at the RDS
Leinster (20) 52: Luke Fitzgerald(3T) Felipe Contepomi(5C/4P) John Fogarty(T) Shane Jennings(T) Chris Keane(T)
Edinburgh (6) 6: Phil Godman(P) Chris Paterson(P)
Attendance: 14,840
Leinster v Edinburgh Match Report
Friday, September 12, 2008 at Firhill Arena
Glasgow Warriors (10) 18: Thom Evans(2T) Dan Parks(C/2P)
Ospreys (8) 21: Dan Biggar(D/2P) Kristian Phillips(T) James Hook(C) Alun-Wyn Jones(T)
Attendance: 2,651
Friday, September 12, 2008 at the Arms Park
Cardiff Blues (6) 16: Ben Blair(C/3P) Leigh Halfpenny(T)
Ulster (8) 15: BJ Botha(T) Isaac Boss(T) Niall O’Connor(C/P)
Attendance: 8,619
Cardiff Blues v Ulster Match Report
Saturday, September 13, 2008 at Stradey Park
Scarlets (12) 45: Jonathan Davies(T) Nathan Brew(T) Mark Jones(T) Deacon Manu(2T) Morgan Stoddart(2T) Ceiron Thomas(C) Stephen Jones(4C)
Connacht (3) 3: Ian Keatley(P)
Attendance: 6,041
Scarlets v Connacht Match Report
Sunday, September 14, 2008 at Musgrave Park
Munster (19) 50: Paul Warwick(2T/6C/P) Keith Earls(3T) Doug Howlett(2T)
Newport Gwent Dragons (3) 6: James Arlidge(2P)
Attendance: 6,940
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