Guinness PRO12
Glasgow sweep Zebre aside to go top
ESPN Staff
March 7, 2015

Glasgow swept aside Guinness PRO12 bottom side Zebre to claim a bonus point in their 26-5 victory on Friday night.

DTH Van der Merwe scored twice for the Warriors with Chris Fusaro and Kevin Bryce also touching down with a try each. Fly-half Peter Horne kicked two conversions and Connor Braid one as Glasgow moved back to the top of the league standings.

Dion Berryman scored Italian side Zebre's only points with a try in the 58th minute.

Glasgow wisely made full use of the good conditions that prevailed at Scotstoun during the first half, before torrential second-half rain made for poor entertainment.

The hosts had the bonus point in the bag by the break after winger Van Der Merwe scored the first try in the fourth minute, flanker Fusaro rounded off a line-out drive, hooker Bryce burst through a couple of tackles for the third and three minutes from the turn Van Der Merwe bagged his second.

Stand-off Horne converted the first two, before withdrawing with a head knock, and Braid converted the third.

Zebre showed up better in the second period with replacement scrum-half Brendon Leonard bringing focus and winger Berryman scoring a good try from a grubber kick.

The Ospreys got their play-off charge back on track with a 26-12 victory over fellow title contenders Munster on Saturday.

After three games without a victory Steve Tandy's side returned to winning ways to boost their chances of a top-four finish.

Outside half Sam Davies, son of former Scarlets and Gloucester coach Nigel, kicked 21 points and set up a try for number eight Dan Baker to seal a much-needed win.

A first-half yellow card for forward Dave O'Callaghan proved to be costly for the visitors as the home side scored 11 of their 26 points while Munster were down to 14 men.

Munster's reply came from late tries by Donnacha Ryan and Keith Earls but the outcome was never really in doubt by that stage.

Also on Saturday, Scarlets enjoyed a 23-13 victory against Leinster to derail the visitors' play-off hopes. Tries from John Barclay, Jordan Williams and replacement Rory Pitman - coupled with five points from the boot of Steve Shingler and a penalty from Rhys Priestland - spurred the Scarlets to victory.

Ben Te'o scored Leinster's only try and Jimmy Gopperth added a further eight points from the boot.

Matt Scott scored a brace of tries to lead Edinburgh to a 29-8 victory over Treviso.

After a cagey opening, Mike Coman put the visiting Scots ahead in the 17th minute when he had the simple task of touching down following a driving maul.

Two minutes later Scott grabbed his first try, with both converted by Sam Hidalgo-Clyne to make it 14-0.

By half-time, Treviso only had a single penalty from full back Jayden Hayward to show for their efforts, and that was matched by Hidalgo-Clyne to restore Edinburgh's 14-point advantage at the interval.

The Italians tried to hit back after the break but they could not add to their tally and Edinburgh all but guaranteed victory when Andries Strauss touched down in the 59th minute.

Treviso refused to lie down and Simone Ragusi cut the deficit with the hosts' first try but, with seven minutes to go, Scott went over for the bonus-point score, which was converted by Hidalgo-Clyne.

A last minute try by Joaquin Tuculet converted by Rhys Patchell gave Cardiff Blues a nail-biting 18-17 win over Connacht at the Arms Park.

Connacht had much the better of the first half and led 10-3 at the interval but they should have been much further ahead as they squandered a number of scoring opportunities which allowed Blues to remain in the game.

Connacht's tries came from Aly Muldowney and Jake Heenan, with Craig Ronaldson adding two conversions and penalty. Tuculet scored both Blues' tries with Patchell kicking two penalties and a conversion.

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