At the conclusion of a weekend of unexpected results that saw a feast of running rugby, three of the four Magners League semi-finalists have been confirmed, but none of the teams have yet secured the vital home advantage.
Leinster, the Ospreys and Glasgow Warriors are assured of a top four finish, while Munster, the Cardiff Blues and Edinburgh must fight it out for the fourth and final play-off place in round 18 in two weeks’ time.
Ulster rose to the challenge to beat Edinburgh 37-25 in a memorable five-try performance which has assured them of Heineken Cup rugby for next season.
The Scarlets recorded their highest ever Magners League score with a 58-10 victory over Connacht, their nine tries equalling their all-time record.
Meanwhile, Deiniol Jones arrival off the bench for the Cardiff Blues to set a new Magners League caps record with 118 appearances. His team-mate, Ben Blair, broke through the 500-point barrier for the Blues on Friday night.
2009/10 MAGNERS LEAGUE – AFTER ROUND 17:
TOP TRY SCORERS –
10 – Tim Visser (Edinburgh)
7 – Tommy Bowe (Ospreys), Fionn Carr (Connacht), Simon Danielli (Ulster)
6 – Jonathan Davies (Scarlets), Aled Brew (Newport Gwent Dragons), Will Harries (Newport Gwent Dragons)
TOP POINTS SCORERS –
199 – Dan Parks (Glasgow Warriors) (14 conversions, 49 penalty goals and 8 drop goals)
166 – Dan Biggar (Ospreys) (2 tries, 18 conversions, 34 penalty goals and 6 drop goals)
145 – Ben Blair (Cardiff Blues) (1 try, 22 conversions and 32 penalty goals)
133 – Ian Keatley (Connacht) (1 try, 7 conversions, 36 penalty goals and 2 drop goals)
120 – Ian Humphreys (Ulster) (3 tries, 15 conversions and 25 penalty goals)
118 – Rhys Priestland (Scarlets) (3 tries, 11 conversions and 27 penalty goals)
115 – Chris Paterson (Edinburgh) (2 tries, 15 conversions and 25 penalty goals)
113 – Jonathan Sexton (Leinster) (1 try, 9 conversions, 28 penalty goals and 2 drop goals)
BEST PLACE-KICKERS –
88.89% – Chris Paterson (Edinburgh) (40 successful kicks from 45 attempts)
78.79% – Jason Tovey (Newport Gwent Dragons) (26/33)
75.51% – Jonathan Sexton (Leinster) (37/49)
73.26% – Dan Parks (Glasgow Warriors) (63/86)
72.73% – Niall O’Connor (Ulster) (16/22)
72.41% – Phil Godman (Glasgow Warriors) (21/29)
72% – Stephen Jones (Scarlets) (18/25)
71.88% – Fergus McFadden (Leinster) (23/32)
70.59% – Paul Warwick (Munster) (12/17)
Qual: 10 place-kicks at goal
RESULTS ROUND-UP –
Friday, April 23, 2010 at Firhill Stadium
Glasgow Warriors (13) 30: Rob Dewey(2T), Bernardo Stortoni(T), Dan Parks(3C/3P)
Leinster (6) 6: Ian Madigan(2P)
Attendance: 4,638
Glasgow Warriors v Leinster Match Report
Friday, April 23, 2010 at Rodney Parade
Newport Gwent Dragons (8) 14: Ben Castle(T), James Arlidge(3P)
Cardiff Blues (3) 20: Ben Blair(2C/2P), Gavin Evans(T), Ceri Sweeney(T)
Attendance: 8,108
Saturday, April 24, 2010 at Thomond Park
Munster (3) 11: Ronan O’Gara(T/2P)
Ospreys (6) 15: Dan Biggar(5P)
Attendance: 24,112
Munster v Ospreys Match Report
Sunday, April 25, 2010 at Murrayfield
Edinburgh (10) 25: Phil Godman(2C/2P), Andrew Turnbull(T), Tim Visser(2T)
Ulster (10) 37: Stephen Ferris(T), Ian Humphreys(T/2C/P), Jamie Smith(T), Niall O’Connor(C/P), Simon Danielli(T), Ian Whitten(T)
Attendance: 3,759
Edinburgh v Ulster Match Report
Sunday, April 25, 2010 at Parc y Scarlets
Scarlets (31) 58: Jonathan Davies(2T), Sean Lamont(T), Regan King(2T), Rhys Priestland(5C/P), Rhys Thomas(2T), Rob McCusker(T), Josh Turnbull(T)
Connacht (3) 10: Eoin Griffin(T), Ian Keatley(C/P)
Attendance: 5,023
Scarlets v Connacht Match Report
ROUND 18 FIXTURES:
May 7-9 –
Cardiff Blues v Munster, Cardiff City Stadium
Leinster v Edinburgh, the RDS
Ospreys v Newport Gwent Dragons, Liberty Stadium
Scarlets v Glasgow Warriors, Parc y Scarlets
Ulster v Connacht, Ravenhill
Magners League rules state that any final round matches that have an impact on which teams finish in the top four places in the league and thereby qualify for the play-off stage will be required to be played on the same day and kick off at the same time. Therefore, round 18 games will be confirmed as soon as possible.
LEAGUE PLACING DECISIONS:
If two or more teams finish with the same number of league points, their placings will be determined by the following criteria in descending order:
– Number of matches won
– The difference between points for and points against
– The number of tries scored
– The most points scored
– The difference between tries for and tries against or, failing which, placings will be dependent upon the fewest number of red and yellow cards received
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