In the weekend’s first match between Ulster and Munster on Friday (20/12), a hat-trick of tries from Tom Farrell saw Munster get the bonus point win–  22-19 – over the hosts at the Kingspan Stadium in Belfast. Ulster, who played more than half the game reduced to 14 men after Tom O’Toole’s red card, have now lost their last five games in all competitions.

The Italian derby between Benetton and Parma Zebre in Treviso saw Benetton scrape through 11-10 thanks to an 80th-minute penalty from fullback Rhyno Smith. The dramatic win, epitomised by a manic final ten minutes, now moves Benetton up to 11th in the URC table.

In Cape Town, the South African derby between the Stormers and the Lions ended in a 29-10 victory for the hosts after a brace of tries by Joseph Dweba.  A red (Ruben Schoeman) and yellow card (Manny Ras) for the Lions did not help their cause at all, but the men from the Highveld will have ample time to lick their wounds. Their season resumes in January, while the Stormers will have to face the Sharks in Cape Town next weekend.

 Joseph Dweba scored a try for the Stormers. Photo: X

In Durban, the other South African derby the Sharks just managed to hold on against the Bulls, securing a 20-17 win over the visitors at Kings Park on Saturday.  The match will be remembered though for a controversial penalty try that secured the win for the home team. The Bulls will now have a break until early January when their season resumes with a Champions Cup match against Castres Olympique at Stade Pierre Fabre.

In Wales, a last-gasp Iestyn Hopkins try secured a dramatic 23-22 victory for the Ospreys over arch-rivals Scarlets in Swansea.  Their win boosted Scarlets into the top 10 on the URC log in 9th place.

‘Leinster made it ten wins’

At the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, log leaders Leinster made it ten wins from ten in all competitions this season with a hard-fought 20-12 victory over Connacht at the Aviva Stadium, despite two yellow cards (Lee Barron and Jimmy O'Brien) in the second half.

In the two final matches in Round 8, Glasgow Warriors – currently in second place on the table – will host Edinburgh on Sunday, while Dragons will take on Cardiff at Rodney Parade Stadium in Newport on Boxing Day.

OFM Sport/Ilse Smalberger dg