It was just one solitary bonus point but by missing out on the full house of five log points against Ospreys at the weekend Ulster significantly added to what they need to do when they host Leinster in the plum fixture of the next round of the Guinness PRO14.
With the top two teams in each conference advancing straight to the final of this edition of the competition, Saturday night’s return clash between the champions and their strongest challengers in the group has been an eagerly awaited one. Two weeks ago the gap was four points between the first and second-placed teams, meaning just one win, then it stretched to five a week ago when Leinster kept their bonus point momentum up and Ulster fell short.
Due to Leinster picking up a bonus point for scoring four tries against Glasgow Warriors and Ulster failing to get across the chalk a fourth time against Ospreys in the latest round, the gap is now six points - which does give Leinster a significant advantage that will become insurmountable if Ulster don’t just win, but win well, in Belfast.
A bonus-point win for Ulster while denying Leinster any log points will put them one point adrift with only a few fixtures remaining, while just a win will be enough to keep them in the race. Should they lose, however, the race will have been run and Leinster can start preparing for yet another final.
That final looks set to be against Munster after their fellow Irish rivals maintained their stranglehold at the top of Conference B with a comfortable win away against the Cardiff Blues. Their nearest challengers Connacht kept in the race with a narrow win away over Benetton but the nine-point gap that persists between the two teams looks a less easy one for Connacht to overcome with each week that passes without there being any change.
Apart from the battle for a place in the final, the last weeks of the league phase of the PRO14 are providing an intriguing tussle between the sides vying for top three places in the respective conferences, meaning qualification for next season’s Champions Cup.
It may have become a bit less intriguing after Scarlets scored an exciting 27-25 win over Edinburgh at Murrayfield. It was the Scarlets’ first win in Edinburgh since 2013 and was an important one as it stretches the Welsh team’s lead on Edinburgh to 14 log points. Had Edinburgh won, it would be all to play for in the remaining fixtures but Scarlets’ current lead looks too much, although they do also have Cardiff Blues chasing them. The Blues don't look capable of buying a win right now though so the eight point gap should be too much for the fourth placed team too.
The Edinburgh/Scarlets clash was a really entertaining game, a great advert for rugby and the competition. Edinburgh started well and led 20-17 at halftime, and were full value for that lead, only for Scarlets to get the bit between their teeth straight after the break, scoring 10 points to go ahead 27-20. Edinburgh hit back with a try but Scotland’s South African born flyhalf Jaco van der Walt missed the conversion to leave his team two points adrift with 20 minutes remaining. And that is the way it stayed for the rest of the game.
In the shock result of the weekend, Italian team Zebre lifted themselves from bottom in Conference A to fourth with a surprisingly easy 26-15 win over the Welsh team, the Dragons. It was the Dragons’ sixth successive defeat but they were expected to beat Zebre.
Weekend results
Benetton 17 - 19 Connacht
Cardiff Blues 11 - 20 Munster
Ulster 21 - 7 Ospreys
Edinburgh 25 - 27 Scarlets
Zebre 26 - 5 Dragons
Leinster 40 - 21 Glasgow Warriors