Leinster down hapless Ospreys
Leinster scrapped their way to a battling 18-12 victory in Dublin, as they took advantage of a weakened Ospreys.
The victory lifted the three-time European champions into the top four and was built on the solid foundations of Ian Madigan and Jimmy Gopperth's boot.
But Ospreys, with so many key names involved in the Welsh win over the Springboks in Cardiff, will count themselves unlucky that their fighting performance didn't give them something to show from their short trip across the Irish Sea.
Rising star flyhalf Sam Davies, broke the deadlock with a sixth minute penalty as the visitors were out of the blocks quickly as they looked to rebound from their first defeat of the season to Ulster eight days ago.
But Leinster's record at the RDS Arena was always going to make that a challenge, an unbeaten winning run that stretches back to a memorable 29-29 share of the spoils with Ospreys in September last year.
Three Madigan penalties in just 12 minutes put them back in control but the visitors went through the phases as they sought to reestablish their control.
Flanker Sam Lewis stood out in a battling performance by the Welsh side while centre Hanno Dirksen was dragged down just short of the line in one of few try scoring chances.
But in a firsthalf in which scoring was restricted to the boot, Davies proved unerring with two late secondhalf penalties, meaning a deadlocked scoreline at the break.
The visitors then withstood a barrage of pressure on their own line, with Leinster's David Kearney denied when seemingly through, but they couldn't stop their hosts retaking the lead with a 52nd minute Gopperth penalty.
But recent and historic form dictated this was always going to be a tight affair.
The two teams had both won 11 of their previous 24 encounters, with two draws, and the Ospreys edged their most recent match in March by just six points.
Ospreys missed a drop goal attempt but the unerring Davies levelled the scores after the referee dragged play back for an earlier penalty in the 58th minute.
Gopperth was at the centre of Leinster's attacking endeavour and it was fitting he put them back ahead, converting his second penalty from close range with seven minutes remaining and then making the game safe with another kick from in front of the posts in the dying seconds.
*Elsewhere, secondhalf tries from Michele Visentin and Giulio Bisegni secured a much needed 18-10 win for strugglers Zebre over Edinbrugh at the Stadio XXV Aprile.
Alan Solomons's Edinburgh side are suffering from well-chronicled injury woes and were without key men Grant Gilchrist, Hamish Watson and Cornell du Preez for their trip to Parma.
However, he had claimed spirits were still high as they looked to inject some more confidence into their season and pull themselves up the table towards Champions Cup places.
In contrast, Zebre, with only one win to their name this campaign, ended a four-game losing streak while handing Edinbrugh their fifth loss of the campaign.
*Connacht remains unbeaten at home, thanks to a stunning secondhalf try from Matt Healy which helped the Irish side remain unbeaten at home with a 14-8 victory over Scarlets.
The win also solidified their place in the top six while their handing their opponents their third loss of the competition.
Pat Lam's side have turned their Galway Sportsground into a fortress this season and their cause was further aided by the return of Irish internationals Kieran Marmion and Rodney Ah.
In contrast, Scarlets, with nine players involved in the Welsh win over the Springboks in Cardiff, have not won on their travels since February.
All Saturday's scores and scorers!
Leinster 18-12 Ospreys
The scorers:
For Leinster:
Pens: Gopperth 3, Madigan 3
For Ospreys:
Pens: Davies 4
The teams:
Leinster: 15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Darragh Fanning, 13 Fergus McFadden, 12 Ian Madigan, 11 Dave Kearney, 10 Jimmy Gopperth, 9 Eoin Reddan (captain), 8 Jack Conan, 7 Jordi Murphy, 6 Dominic Ryan, 5 Kane Douglas, 4 Mike McCarthy, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Bryan Byrne, 1 Michael Bent.
Replacements: 16 James Tracy, 17 Peter Dooley, 18 Jamie Hagan, 19 Tom Denton, 20 Rhys Ruddock, 21 Isaac Boss, 22 Noel Reid.
Ospreys: 15 Dan Evans, 14 Aisea Natoga, 13 Andrew Bishop, 12 Hanno Dirksen, 11 Tom Grabham, 10 Sam Davies, 9 Martin Roberts, 8 Dan Baker, 7 Sam Lewis, 6 Joe Bearman, 5 Tyler Ardron, 4 Lloyd Peers (captain), 3 Dmitri Arhip, 2 Sam Parry, 1 Marc Thomas.
Replacements: 16 Scott Otten, 17 Gareth Thomas, 18 Cai Griffiths, 19 Rynier Bernardo, 20 Ieuan Jones, 21 Tom Habberfield, 22 Josh Matavesi, 23 Dafydd Howells.
Referee: Leighton Hodges
Assistant referees: Nigel Correll, Brian MacNeice
Zebre 18-10 Edinburgh
The scorers:
For Zebre:
Tries: Visentin, Bisegni
Cons: Haimona
Pens: Haimona 2
For Edinburgh:
Try: Grant
Con: Heathcote
Pen: Heathcote
The teams:
Zebre: 15 Hendrik Daniller, 14 Leonardo Sarto, 13 Giulio Bisegni, 12 Matteo Pratichetti, 11 Giulio Toniolatti, 10 Kelly Haimona, 9 Brendon Leonard, 8 Samuela Vunisa, 7 Filippo Cristiano, 6 Valerio Bernabò, 5 Marco Bortolami (captain), 4 George Biagi, 3 Dario Chistolini, 2 Andrea Manici, 1 Andrea Lovotti.
Replacements: 16 Oliviero Fabiani, 17 Andrea De Marchi, 18 Lorenzo Romano, 19 Quintin Geldenhuys, 20 Andries Van Schalkwyk, 21 Guglielmo Palazzani, 22 Luciano Orquera, 23 Michele Visentin.
Edinburgh: 15 Nick McLennan, 14 Dougie Fife, 13 Matt Scott, 12 Andries Strauss, 11 Tim Visser, 10 Tom Heathcote, 9 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, 8 David Denton, 7 Roddy Grant, 6 Mike Coman (captain), 5 Ben Toolis, 4 Ollie Atkins, 3 Willem Nel, 2 Ross Ford, 1 Rory Sutherland.
Replacements: 16 James Hilterbrand, 17 Grant Shiells, 18 John Andress, 19 Fraser McKenzie, 20 Tomas Leonardi, 21 Grayson Hart, 22 Greig Tonks, 23 Sam Beard.
Referee: David Wilkinson
Assistant referees: Elia Rizzo, Stefano Roscini
Connacht 14-8 Scarlets
The scorers:
For Connacht:
Try: Healy
Pens: Carty 3
For Scarlets:
Try: Robinson
Pen: Shingler
The teams:
Connacht: 15 Mils Muliaina, 14 Danie Poolman, 13 Bundee Aki, 12 Dave McSharry, 11 Matt Healy, 10 Jack Carty, 9.Kieran Marmion, 8 George Naoupu, 7 Eoin McKeon, 6 John Muldoon (captain), 5 Andrew Browne, 4 Quinn Roux, 3 Rodney Ah You, 2 Tom McCartney, 1 Denis Buckley.
Replacements: 16 Dave Heffernan, 17 Ronan Loughney, 18 Finlay Bealham, 19 Mick Kearney, 20 Willie Faloon, 21 John Cooney, 22 Craig Ronaldson, 23 Darragh Leader.
Scarlets: 15 Steffan Evans, 14 Harry Robinson, 13 Michael Tagicakibau, 12 Regan King, 11 Kristian Phillips, 10 Steven Shingler, 9 Aled Davies, 8 John Barclay (captain), 7 James Davies, 6 Aaron Shingler, 5 Johan Snyman, 4 George Earle, 3 Peter Edwards, 2 Kirby Myhill, 1 Phil John.
Replacements: 16 Ryan Elias, 17 Wyn Jones, 18 Jacobie Adriaanse, 19 Lewis Rawlins, 20 Rory Pitman, 21 Kieran Hardy, 22 Josh Lewis, 23 Gareth Owen.