BKT United Rugby Championship: Round 2 Review

Leinster and Cardiff sit level on maximum points at the top of the BKT United Rugby Championship table as the only teams to have claimed back-to-back wins in the opening two rounds.

BKT UNITED RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP – ROUND 2:

Friday, September 27 –

LEINSTER 34 DRAGONS 6, Aviva Stadium

GLASGOW WARRIORS 42 BENETTON 10, Scotstoun Stadium

Saturday, September 28 –

EMIRATES LIONS 35 ULSTER 22, Emirates Airline Park

VODACOM BULLS 22 EDINBURGH 16, Loftus Versfeld

ZEBRE 42 MUNSTER 33, Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi

SCARLETS 15 CARDIFF 24, Parc y Scarlets

CONNACHT 36 HOLLYWOODBETS SHARKS 30, Dexcom Stadium

OSPREYS 37 DHL STORMERS 24, Duraven Brewery Field

Leo Cullen’s men ran in six tries during their 34-6 triumph over the Dragons on Friday night, while Cardiff also secured a second successive bonus point victory when coming from behind to win 24-15 at the Scarlets.

Playing at the Aviva Stadium with the RDS under redevelopment, Leinster celebrated Cian Healy setting a new record as the province’s most-capped player.

A subdued first half ended with Leinster leading 10-6 thanks to unconverted tries from captain Jack Conan (17 minutes) and Ross Byrne (37). Lloyd Evans landed two penalties for the Dragons.

Conan scored during Chris Coleman’s sin-binning, and player-of-the-match Max Deegan struck six minutes into the second half. Joe McCarthy, Jordan Larmour, and Aitzol King made it a 29-point margin in the end.

Praising the 36-year-old Healy for his milestone 281st appearance, head coach Cullen said: “He’s a remarkable individual. We had big Devin in the dressing room after the game making the presentation to him.

“It was a special moment for Cian. Dev says he is happy he’s passing it on, but I think it’s going to be a while before Cian has to pass it on to someone else. That is the reality.

“He is a phenomenal individual and just such a popular member of the squad. It’s an amazing milestone for him, and he has plenty more in the tank as well.”

Conan added: “It was nice to give Cian the day he deserved. It was such a momentous occasion for him.

“All the lads are incredibly proud of him, and I’m glad we could do it for him and give him a win because it would have been pretty sickening not to do that for him.”

Connacht erased a 20-point half-time deficit to defeat the Hollywoodbets Sharks 36-30 in a topsy-turvy tussle at Dexcom Stadium.

It took a brilliant second half from Pete Wilkins’ charges to open their win account for the season. Replacement Oisin Dowling’s 70th-minute try was the one that mattered the most.

Trailing to an early Dave Heffernan score, the Carling Currie Cup-winning Sharks took over 20 minutes to reach the opposition 22 but built a 27-7 interval lead.

Rugby World Cup winner Andre Esterhuizen powered over twice, Jordan Hendrikse delivered two monster penalties from the tee, and Gerbrandt Grobler also crossed late on.

However, Connacht marked prop Denis Buckley’s 250th appearance with a fitting result thanks to further tries from player-of-the-match Heffernan, Cathal Forde, Shane Jennings, and Dowling.

Giving his reaction afterwards, Connacht head coach Wilkins said: “In terms of last week’s result (losing at Munster), it’s important we bounce back from that, it’s important we get our first win of the season, it’s important we win in front of our fans in the first home game of the season.

“That immediate response, I was really pleased with. For us to show that we can deliver that kind of intense performance and maintain that belief that we are moving in the right direction, and that we can beat anyone on our day.

“I suppose what we’ve shown tonight is that we can beat anyone regardless of the scoreline at half-time.

“Yes, it would be nice not to have that hurdle to overcome in 40 minutes, but it shows our progress and shows the sign of the quality in our group as well.”

The four South African sides experienced very mixed fortunes as they entered the fray following the postponement of their scheduled round 1 derbies because of a clash with last week’s Currie Cup final.

Ulster went down 35-22 to the Emirates Lions in the first match of their South Africa tour. Richie Murphy’s side salvaged a try-scoring bonus point with an improved second half performance despite the altitude and the near 30-degree heat.

Returning scrum half John Cooney sniped over from a ruck to close the gap to 15-5 at half-time in Johannesburg. The hosts’ powerful maul had earlier paved the way for tries from Rabz Maxwane and Francke Horn.

Irish-qualified out-half Aidan Morgan, set up by Cooney, crossed for his second try of the campaign, only for the Lions to lift their game again. Franco Marais and Henco van Wyk both crossed, and Kade Wolhunter, who kicked 10 points, added a fifth try late on.

Positives for the Ulstermen were provided by Werner Kok’s first try for the province, as he battled to get on the end of a Nathan Doak kick, and newly-signed prop Corrie Barrett crashed over for their bonus point in the 77th minute.

Speaking in the aftermath, Ulster head coach Murphy said: “A difficult afternoon, we lost control of the game early on. We kicked the ball poorly in relation to our kick chase to put them under pressure.

“We didn’t kick it long enough or high enough to put them under pressure in the contest, and that brought a lot of pressure back onto us.

“Second half we managed to get ourselves back into the game, but a couple of basic mistakes, missed tackles, a really tough day over here in Johannesburg with 27, 28 degrees at altitude and it was a difficult day a the office.

“Happy the way the lads stuck to task and got the bonus point which is very important. We have five points from two games, not the figure we wanted but it’s where we are at. We’ll take this, review it, and come back stronger (for the Bulls match).”

The result of the weekend came in Parma where six-try Zebre, who finished bottom of the table last season, recorded a famous 42-33 bonus point victory over an off-colour Munster.

Approaching half-time, a first Munster try for Garryowen co-captain Bryan Fitzgerald – a nice finish in the right corner after quick hands from Mike Haley – gave the visitors a 28-15 lead.

Haley also touched down during the opening 40 minutes, along with Gavin Coombes, Munster’s latest centurion, helping himself to a brace. However, Zebre shifted the momentum in their favour, and a late Shay McCarthy score was all last season’s table toppers could muster.

After watching his charges concede four tries and 24 points between the 41st and 63rd minutes, Munster head coach Graham Rowntree admitted: “I could be here until it gets dark talking about things we need to do better.

“That wasn’t good enough from us. We lost our way in the third quarter. A spirited, brilliant performance from Zebre. Credit to them.

“They didn’t stop playing. They took their opportunities. They were great at the breakdown, so credit to Zebre for their win.”

Munster had won all 20 previous meetings between the teams, and the result ended Zebre’s 14-match losing run in the URC. Jacopo Trulla and Alessandro Fusco bagged two tries each for the Italians, who last beat Irish opposition when visiting Connacht in February 2018.