Munster scored five tries in the final 25 minutes to record a bonus-point 42-20 Guinness PRO12 victory over Connacht at a wet and windy Thomond Park to take a step closer to securing a play-off spot.

An error-strewn first half ended 7-3 in the home side's favour, Billy Holland dotting down from close range in response to Jack Carty's second-minute penalty.

A second Carty penalty made it a one-point game before Munster went up through the gears on the hour mark, setting up tries for Duncan Casey, Simon Zebo and Andrew Smith with captain Denis Hurley and Keith Earls also touching down in the dying minutes.

The avalanche of scores took the losing bonus point away from Connacht, who gained some consolation in the form of converted efforts from replacements Miah Nikora and Shane O'Leary.

Scarlets replacement scrum-half Gareth Davies was sent off as Edinburgh earned a valuable 26-15 victory at Parc y Scarlets to boost their hopes of a top six finish.

Davies, who came on in Wales' Six Nations win in Italy last weekend, saw red from referee John Lacey on 60 minutes for a head butt on Andries Strauss, an incident which was reviewed by TV match official Derek Bevan.

Edinburgh's victory came thanks to tries for Phil Burleigh and Dave Denton with man of the match Sam Hidalgo-Clyne kicking 16 points. All of Scarlets' points came from Steve Shingler's five first-half penalties.

It was Edinburgh's first win over the Scarlets for three years - a run of 13 matches - and moved them above the Welsh region to seventh in the overall standings.

In other action on Saturday, Ospreys thrashed Zebre 53-22, while Dragons enjoyed a 17-32 victory away to Benetton Treviso.

In Friday's heavyweight clash, Leinster and Glasgow Warriors earned three points apiece at the end of an enthralling 34-34 draw at the RDS.

Table-topping Warriors were well on top in the first half, establishing a stunning 27-7 interval lead as Peter Horne converted tries from Stuart Hogg, Richie Vernon and Mark Bennett.

But the defending champions turned the game on its head by producing a thrilling 24-point turnaround which included a brace of tries from man-of-the-match Isaac Boss and a superb solo effort from Jordi Murphy.

Ian Madigan converted all three and his 70th-minute penalty to put the hosts seven points clear - only for Glasgow to hit back just three minutes later, with replacement Glenn Bryce touching down and Horne landing the levelling conversion.

Ulster stayed on track to make the play-offs by seeing off Cardiff Blues in a pulsating 36-17 encounter on the night flanker Chris Henry returned to playing for the hosts, four months after career-threatening health issues.

The home side bagged the vital bonus-point result and stayed in second spot after stretching their winning record in the league to all nine games played in Belfast so far this season.

It was a dramatic clash with six tries scored in total, Ulster claiming four then having their 21-0 lead cut to 21-17 before late tries from Louis Ludik - his second of the game - and Paul Marshall secured the game and brought maximum points.

Both Stuart Olding, on his return from injury, and Rhys Patchell were stretchered off, with Nick Williams being yellow-carded over the latter incident after seven minutes.