Saturday’s PRO14: Leinster & Dragons win

Garry Ringrose scored two of Leinster’s eight tries as their fantastic season continued at home to Connacht

A round-up all of Saturday’s Guinness PRO14 action from across Ireland, Wales and Italy…

Benetton 19-38 Glasgow Warriors

Scotland scrum-half George Horne scored two of Glasgow’s six tries as the Warriors claimed an impressive 38-19 victory over Benetton in Treviso.

Sam Johnson, Pete Horne, Nikola Matawalu and Andrew Davidson also crossed for last season’s Guinness Pro14 runners-up at Stadio Monigo, with Pete Horne adding four conversions.

Glasgow’s bonus-point win leaves them third in Conference A on 24 points, 12 behind second-placed Ulster, and was the ideal response to last weekend’s 1872 Cup defeat to rivals Edinburgh.

Dragons 25-18 Ospreys

Adam Warren’s late try sealed a remarkable 25-18 Guinness PRO14 derby win over Ospreys at Rodney Parade.

Dean Ryan’s team led 10-8 at half-time after prop Leon Brown responded to a try by his Wales team-mate George North.

The Ospreys got their noses in front through young centre Tiaan Thomas-Wheeler early in the second half – and looked set to win for the first time since October.

However, wing Rio Dyer crossed in the 76th minute and was swiftly followed over by replacement centre Warren to claim victory for the hosts.

Zebre 41-13 Cheetahs

Zebre emphatically beat the Cheetahs 41-13 at the Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi in Parma on Saturday to leave the South African franchise with a fourth loss in eight games in the league.

The Italian outfit outscored the Cheetahs by five tries to two with Charlie Walker (2), Johan Meyer, Josh Renton and Giulio Bisegni crossing. Carlo Canna added five conversions and two penalties.

The Cheetahs managed two tries through Wilmar Arnoldi and Tian Meyer while George Whitehead kicked a penalty.

The Bloemfontein-based side now return to South Africa where they will face the Southern Kings on January 25 in Port Elizabeth.

Leinster 54-7 Connacht

Leinster claimed the quickest try-scoring bonus point of the Guinness PRO14 season in a facile 54-7 derby win over Connacht at the RDS.

Leo Cullen’s men chalked up their bonus point with just under 20 minutes on the clock – Glasgow’s 23 minutes was the previous best – as Max Deegan, who crossed after only 103 seconds, Dave Kearney, Ciaran Frawley and Joe Tomane swept over for scores.

It was a point a minute for Leinster in the first half, as further tries from Luke McGrath and Deegan left injury-hit Connacht a full 40 points behind. James Ryan’s withdrawal for a suspected calf injury was a concern for the rampant hosts.

Garry Ringrose’s well-taken brace sandwiched a consolation 69th-minute maul try from Connacht replacement Tom McCartney, with their 10th victory of the PRO14 campaign keeping Leinster 11 points clear of Ulster at the top of Conference A.