Road to the play-offs: New URC log-leaders
28/04/2024 21:32
SPOTLIGHT: Glasgow Warriors are the new leaders of the United Rugby Championship having jumped above Leinster at the top of the table.
Franco Smith's team did a professional job in recording a 40-9 bonus point victory away to Zebre, with wing Kyle Steyn and hooker Gregor Hiddleston both crossing twice.
They were then able to watch on as Leinster went down to a second successive heavy defeat in South Africa, losing 12-42 to the Stormers in Cape Town, following on from last week's 12-44 beating at the hands of the Lions.
That gives Glasgow a four-point buffer at the top of the log with three rounds of matches to go, while Leinster are now just one point ahead of reigning champions Munster who made it back-to-back bonus point wins in South Africa by despatching the Lions.
Having triumphed 27-22 against the Bulls in Pretoria in Round 14, they were comfortable 33-13 winners in Johannesburg, with the league's leading carrier Gavin Coombes one of their four try scorers.
As for Jake White's Bulls, they bounced back in style with a 61-24 victory over the Ospreys to stay six points clear of the Stormers in fourth spot.
Connacht were the big risers, jumping up from tenth to sixth thanks to a hard-fought 34-27 bonus point victory over Dragons at Rodney Parade.
They are now level on 44 points with Ulster and Benetton who were involved in a ten-try thriller in Belfast on Friday, with the home side winning 38-34.
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Match of the weekend
Scarlets 27-32 Sharks
The Sharks arrived in Llanelli pretty much fully loaded, with the likes of Eben Etzebeth, Ox Nche, Makazole Mapimpi, Lukhanyo Am, Vincent Koch and Grant Williams on board.
There must have been a fair degree of trepidation for Scarlets fans to see so many Springbok stars in the opposition ranks, particularly after heavy defeats to Glasgow and Edinburgh for the Welsh region in their previous two games.
But those supporters would have ended up encouraged by the way their team made such a game of it, pushing the Sharks all the way amid a grandstand finish.
What's coming up next?
The URC takes a break next weekend, but three of the league's teams will be involved in big knock-out rugby.
Leinster take on Northampton in a Champions Cup semifinal, which will be played in front of an 82,300-capacity crowd at a sold-out Croke Park.
In the EPCR Challenge Cup semifinals, the Sharks will be up against French club Clermont Auvergne at the Twickenham Stoop, while Benetton will travel to Kingsholm to face Gloucester.
Then, the following week, it's back to URC action for Round 16.
New league leaders Glasgow will have their title credentials fully tested when they take on the Bulls in Pretoria, the first of back-to-back games in South Africa for them.
Having left the Rainbow Nation without gaining a single point from their two matches on tour, second-placed Leinster will want to get back on track when they entertain the Ospreys in Dublin.
Just behind them in the table are red-hot Munster who host Connacht in an Irish derby at Limerick's Thomond Park.
Elsewhere, you've got Dragons v Stormers, Edinburgh v Zebre, Scarlets v Ulster, Sharks v Benetton and Lions v Cardiff.
