Magners League: Round 14 Review
With just four full rounds left to play, Munster’s 22-5 derby victory over Leinster in front of a full house at Thomond Park Stadium on Saturday night, saw them pull seven points clear of their opponents at the top of the Magners League table.
Connacht’s 39-17 five-try win over the Newport Gwent Dragons was their first bonus point win in the Magners League since they defeated Glasgow Warriors at the Sportsground in May 2006.
Connacht have picked up a try-scoring bonus point twice since then but on both occasions losing the game.
Glasgow Warriors’ victory at the Scarlets saw them post the biggest away score of the season to date, 38.
Meanwhile, Thom Evans’ two tries in that Parc y Scarlets game has put him clear at the top of the try scoring charts with eight.
Stephen Jones’ 11 points for the Scarlets on Saturday saw him become the sixth player break through the 500 Magners League career points barrier. Four more players are queuing up to join him before the end of the season.
2008/09 MAGNERS LEAGUE – AFTER ROUND 14:
TOP TRY SCORERS –
8 – Thom Evans (Glasgow Warriors)
7 – Keith Earls (Munster), Richard Fussell (Newport Gwent Dragons)
6 – Doug Howlett (Munster)
5 – Fionn Carr (Connacht), Luke Fitzgerald (Leinster), Niall Ronan (Munster)
4 – Darren Cave (Ulster), Simon Danielli (Ulster), Deacon Manu (Scarlets), Martin Roberts (Scarlets), Jason Tovey (Newport Gwent Dragons)
TOP POINTS SCORERS –
150 – Felipe Contepomi (Leinster) (15 conversions and 40 penalty goals)
111 – Dan Parks (Glasgow Warriors) (9 conversions, 28 penalty goals and 3 drop goals)
106 – James Hook (Ospreys) (3 tries, 14 conversions, 20 penalty goals and 1 drop goal)
104 – Ian Keatley (Connacht) (1 try, 9 conversions, 25 penalty goals and 2 drop goals)
102 – Stephen Jones (Scarlets) (2 tries, 13 conversions and 22 penalty goals)
98 – Chris Paterson (Edinburgh) (2 tries, 14 conversions, 19 penalty goals and 1 drop goal)
84 – Ben Blair (Cardiff Blues) (1 try, 11 conversions and 19 penalty goals)
73 – Paul Warwick (Munster) (2 tries, 15 conversions and 11 penalty goals)
72 – Ian Humphreys (Ulster) (1 try, 14 conversions and 13 penalty goals)
62 – James Arlidge (Newport Gwent Dragons) (1 try, 6 conversions and 15 penalty goals)
56 – Ronan O’Gara (Munster) (10 conversions, 11 penalty goals and 1 drop goal)
53 – Phil Godman (Edinburgh) (4 conversions, 13 penalty goals and 2 drop goals)
52 – Shaun Connor (Newport Gwent Dragons) (1 try, 7 conversions and 11 penalty goals)
BEST PLACE-KICKERS –
85% – Phil Godman (Edinburgh) (17 successful kicks out of 20 attempts)
80% – Matthew Jarvis (Ospreys) (4/5)
78.57% – Chris Paterson (Edinburgh) (33/42)
74.47% – Stephen Jones (Scarlets) (35/47)
74.32% – Felipe Contepomi (Leinster) (55/74)
73.19% – James Hook (Ospreys) (34/46)
73.19% – Ben Blair (Cardiff Blues) (30/41)
72% – Shaun Connor (Newport Gwent Dragons) (18/25)
71.43% – David Blair (Edinburgh) (5/7), Jason Tovey (Newport Gwent Dragons) (5/7)
70.27% – Paul Warwick (Munster) (26/37)
70% – James Arlidge (Newport Gwent Dragons) (21/30)
67.74% – Ronan O’Gara (Munster) (21/31)
67.50% – Ian Humphreys (Ulster) (27/40)
66.67% – Ian Keatley (Connacht) (34/51)
58.33% – Ceri Sweeney (Cardiff Blues) (7/12)
56.06% – Dan Parks (Glasgow Warriors) (37/66)
55.56% – Leigh Halfpenny (Cardiff Blues) (5/9)
53.85% – Clinton Schifcofske (Ulster) (14/26)
53.33% – Colin Gregor (Glasgow Warriors) (8/15)
52.38% – Dan Biggar (Ospreys) (11/21)
47.62% – Rhys Priestland (Scarlets) (10/21)
40% – Andy Dunne (Connacht) (2/5)
33.33% – Niall O’Connor (Ulster) (2/6)
RESULTS ROUND-UP –
Friday, April 3, 2009 at the Sportsground
Connacht (3) 39: Ray Ofisa(T), Fionn Carr(2T), Liam Bibo(T), Niva Ta’auso(T), Ian Keatley(4C/P/D)
Newport Gwent Dragons (10) 17: Richard Fussell(T), Danny Lydiate(T), Jason Tovey(C/P), Shaun Connor(C)
Attendance: 1,272
Connacht v Newport Gwent Dragons Match Report
Michael Bradley Post-Match Reaction
Friday, April 3, 2009 at Ravenhill
Ulster (3) 13: Simon Danielli(T), Clinton Schifcofske(C/2P)
Ospreys (6) 16: Filo Tiatia(T), James Hook(C/3P)
Attendance: 9,600
Friday, April 3, 2009 at Murrayfield
Edinburgh (3) 16: Simon Webster(T), David Blair(D), Chris Paterson(C/P/D)
Cardiff Blues (0) 3: Ben Blair(P)
Attendance: 2,540
Saturday, April 4, 2009 at Parc y Scarlets
Scarlets (14) 21: Gavin Evans(T), Dafydd Jones(T), Stephen Jones(C/3P)
Glasgow Warriors (26) 38: Thom Evans(2T), John Barclay(2T), Moray Low(T), Max Evans(T), Colin Gregor(4C)
Attendance: 6,103
Saturday, April 4, 2009 at Thomond Park Stadium
Munster (6) 22: Keith Earls(T), Denis Fogarty(T), Ronan O’Gara(3P/D)
Leinster (0) 5: Gordon D’Arcy(T)
Attendance: 26,000
Munster v Leinster Match Report
Tony McGahan Post-Match Reaction; Ian Dowling Post-Match Reaction
Michael Cheika Post-Match Reaction; Malcolm O’Kelly Post-Match Reaction