Munster made it two from two as their British and Irish Lions stars excelled in a 38-10 victory over Ulster in their second Rainbow Cup match to continue to set the pace among the PRO14 sides.
Leinster hit back hard after their opening week’s loss to Munster, beating Connacht 51-20 in their match while captain’s challenges and red cards were the talking points up north and down south as the experimental laws continued to play their part.
Conor Murray put in a vintage performance and Tadgh Berne was superb in the loose for Johann van Graan’s side as they continued to impress after their disappointment in the PRO14 final last month.
“That was a pretty complete performance,” van Graan said. “Defensively that last 10 minutes where we didn’t concede was pretty important to us,” he added. “I’m very happy with a good night’s work.”
And then he turned to the players who excelled on the evening, Murray and Berne.
“That was a team goal to make sure we got players on the tour. Firstly Conor, a world-class player, it seems that he’s been playing forever. I can remember him doing so well with the 2013 Lions in Australia and then on the 2017 tour in New Zealand. Now he’s going to South Africa to complete the set.
“So I’m really proud of him, the way he’s performing. He’s got a lot of competition in Ireland and in Europe but he always comes out on top and is a man for the big game. And the one thing I’ll say about Conor, why I believe he’s a Lion, is that he turns up every day to do the hard yards, he’s a true professional in terms of that.
“And Tadhg, I’m ecstatic for him really. He joined Munster at the start of my second season, and he’s been phenomenal for us. He really came into his own this season in terms of calling the lineout, running the forward pack. I thought he was excellent in the Six Nations and it’s fully deserved. When you are selected for the Lions that says you’ve got world-class players in our team.”
Leinster conceded early but then came back with ferocity as a treble of tries by Hugo Keenan saw the PRO14 champions bounce back from their defeat at the hands of La Rochelle in the Champions’ Cup to secure a strong victory.
On Sunday, Lion Josh Adams made an immediate strong impact for Cardiff Blues while Teddy Williams scored a late try to give his side a narrow 17-16 win over the Dragons despite being down to 13 for a part of the game.
17-points from Leigh Halfpenny was enough for Scarlets to down the Ospreys 22-6 in Llanelli while Benetton won their Italian derby against Zebre 25-20 and Glasgow Warriors took the honours in the Scottish derby 29-19.
Results:
Zebre 20-25 Benetton
Munster 38-10 Ulster
Glasgow Warriors 29-19 Edinburgh
Connacht 21-50 Leinster
Scarlets 22-06 Ospreys
Cardiff Blues 17-16 Dragons