Magners League Round-up
Munster down Dragons to reclaim top spot
Scrum.com
March 7, 2009
Munster's Paul Warwick tries to shake off a tackle, Munster v New Zealand, Thomond Park, Limerick Ireland, November 18, 2008
Munster fly-half kicked two conversions and two penalties in his side's victory over the Dragons © Getty Images
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Munster reclaimed top spot in the Magners League with an impressive 20-9 victory over the Dragons at a rain-sodden Rodney Parade.

The Irish were without nine of their best players including such notables as Ronan O'Gara, Paul O'Connell and Doug Howlett, whereas the Dragons were able to include prop Rhys Thomas who is set to line up for Wales next Saturday in Italy. It was a typical Munster performance, a strong defensive effort overcoming the loss of two men to the sin-bin in the second half - Alan Quinlan and Darragh Hurley - and scoring at vital times. The Dragons had their chances but ultimately were guilty of poor ball retention and were devoid of attacking ideas in the difficult conditions.

Tries from wing Ciaran O'Boyle and replacement Anthony Horgan and 10 points from the boot of fly-half Paul Warwick proved enough for Munster to secure victory. Fly-half James Arlidge kicked all the points for the Dragons who were also reduced to 14-men when flanker Richard Parks was sin-binned in the first period.

The latest round of action kicked off with Cardiff Blues snatching a smash-and-grab 16-14 victory over Connacht in Galway.

Connacht let a 14-3 lead slip when losing to the Scarlets in their last home league game and it was similar story tonight at the Sportsground as the Blues snatched a victory they scarcely deserved courtesy of a late try from Robin Sowden-Taylor.

A try from Samoan flanker Ray Ofisa and three penalty goals from Ian Keatley saw Connacht cruise to a 14-0 half-time advantage. The Blues lost hooker Rhys Thomas to the sin-bin just before the break but got back in touch thanks to two penalties from Ben Blair.

The New Zealander notched a third but Connacht regained control in the final quarter and looked set to end the game on the attack. But the home side had an uncharacteristic lapse in defence, two minutes from time, and that was all Cardiff needed as a 35-metre break was finished off by Welsh international Sowden-Taylor.

Elsewhere on Saturday, Ulster recorded a 12-0 victory over Glasgow at Ravenhill. Matt Williams' side had not experienced the joy of victory in the league since seeing off Munster in Limerick in early January, but first-half tries from Darren Cave and Andrew Trimble ensured they would get back to winning ways. However the game as a spectacle was forgettable and there were no points scored in the second half.

Playing into the strong wind, Ulster opened the scoring after two minutes when, from a scrum, Simon Danielli came on a diagonal run off Ian Humphreys' pass and the Scotland international offloaded to Cave who scored close to the posts. Humphreys kicked the straightforward conversion. Prop Kevin Tkachuk was sin-binned by referee Nigel Owens after 25 minutes for handling on the deck and, while Glasgow were still down to 14 men, Ulster struck again with man-of-the-match Danielli putting Trimble into space for the winger to burst through two tackles and run in for a well-taken score.

In the final game of the weekend on Sunday, two first-half tries were enough for the Scarlets to seal a 13-6 victory over Edinburgh in a turgid affair at Parc y Scarlets.

But the home side, who were without their four Wales players Stephen Jones, Mark Jones, Matthew Rees and Dafydd Jones, should have made the win more convincing because their kickers - Rhys Priestland and Dan Evans - missed a total of 16 points through six wayward place kicks. It took until the last kick of the game for the Scarlets to have a successful kick at goal when Evans registered a penalty. They went into a 10-0 lead with unconverted tries for wing Daniel Evans and hooker Ken Owens.

The downside to the Scarlets' win was that their talented fullback Morgan Stoddart was stretchered off with a serious looking knee injury. Edinburgh, including six Scotland squad members, did earn a bonus point but never looked like scoring a try - their points coming from the boot of fly-half David Blair.

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