Munster claims top spot
PRO14 WRAP: Munster nudged their noses ahead in Conference B, as Arno Botha struck late in a bonus-point win over Ospreys.
* In the other Friday match, Ulster made it three wins from their opening four games, as they swept early-season strugglers Cardiff Blues aside 23-14.
We look at the Friday matches!
Munster 28-12 Ospreys
Munster nudged their noses ahead in Conference B, as Arno Botha struck late in a bonus-point win over Ospreys.
Johann van Graan's men were well-beaten by the Cheetahs in Round Three, but mostly looked comfortable at Irish Independent Park, with James Cronin going in early.
Ospreys made the hosts work though and were only down 7-6 at half-time, but scores for Rhys Marshall, Mike Haley and Arno Botha seized the day in the second half.
Key moments
This match was an arm-wrestle for the opening, but burst into life on 16 minutes saw a smart backs move result in the ball passed inside to Dan Goggin - the outside centre drawing two defenders and looping an excellent pass over to the waiting Cronin.
The Ospreys response came from two Luke Price penalties and they remained 6-7 down at half-time but more than in the fight.
After the interval came the telling passage of play, as Sam Cross saw yellow, Marshall skittled defenders across the in-goal area to touch down and Haley got a third on 49 minutes.
Price got two more penalties and Ospreys battled away in the last quarter at 21-12, until Botha scrambled over with a minute to go and JJ Hanrahan booted the conversion.
Man of the match
Without doubt, Haley was Munster's most potent attacking weapon on the night.
Goggin's outside break for Cronin's try was a delight but Haley made an astonishing 16 carries from full-back and claimed 121 metres - double that of anyone else.
Play of the day
Munster scored a wide variety of tries on the night but the pick of the bunch cam on 49 minutes as Haley danced over.
A flowing backs move looped Haley onto the outside of the defence and Haley broke into the 22 before stepping the last man for a simple dive over the line.
The scorers
For Munster:
Tries: Cronin, Marshall, Haley, Botha
Cons: Bleyendaal 3, Hanrahan
For Ospreys:
Pens: Price 4
Yellow card: Sam Cross (Ospreys, 42)
Teams:
Munster: 15 Mike Haley, 14 Calvin Nash, 13 Dan Goggin, 12 Rory Scannell, 11 Shane Daly, 10 Tyler Bleyendaal, 9 Neil Cronin, 8 Jack O'Sullivan, 6 Jack O'Donoghue, 7 Tommy O'Donnell, 5 Billy Holland (captain), 4 Jed Holloway, 3 Stephen Archer, 2 Rhys Marshall, 1 James Cronin
Replacements: 16 Kevin O'Byrne, 17 Liam O'Connor, 18 Jeremy Loughman, 19 Fineen Wycherley, 20 Arno Botha, 21 Craig Casey, 22 JJ Hanrahan, 23 Sammy Arnold
Ospreys: 15 Cai Evans, 14 Hanno Dirksen, 13 Scott Williams, 12 Tiaan Thomas-Wheeler, 11 Tom Williams, 10 Luke Price, 9 Matthew Aubrey, 8 Gareth Evans, 7 Sam Cross, 6 Olly Cracknell, 5 Lloyd Ashley, 4 Dan Lydiate (captain), 3 Tom Botha, 2 Sam Parry, 1 Rhodri Jones
Replacements: 16 Scott Otten, 17 Gareth Thomas, 18 Ma'afu Fia, 19 Will Griffiths, 20 Dan Baker, 21 Reuben Morgan-Williams, 22 James Hook, 23 Lesley Klim
Referee: Stuart Berry (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Nigel Correll, Paul Haycock (Both Ireland)
TMO: Charles Samson (Scotland)
Ulster 23-14 Blues
Ulster made it three wins from their opening four games, as they swept early-season strugglers Cardiff Blues aside.
Victory moves Ulster level on points with Leinster and the Cheetahs at the top of Conference A, but an unconvincing performance at home may give some fans cause for concern.
Meanwhile defeat for Cardiff leaves them with just one win for the season and only Benetton and Southern Kings below, both yet to get their first victory.
Key moments
It took just three minutes for Ulster to open their account after Sean Reidy charged down Jarrod Evans’s attempted clearance kick and passed to Luke Marshall to slide over the line from close range.
John Cooney added the extras before extending the lead with a penalty to give Ulster a 10-point lead in as many minutes.
Flyhalf Billy Burns produced a moment of magic for the second try but persistent penalties at the maul led to Marshall being sin-binned just before half-time; and Cardiff made the man-advantage count after the break as Aled Summerhill made the most of a pick-and-go opportunity.
And the Welshmen got a second after Cooney fumbled his clearance collection and the ball moved out wide for Will Boyde to walk it over the line and bring the scores to within a converted try.
But the hosts could not muster the additional try and Cooney pushed Ulster even further in front just after the hour-mark with another penalty and the final score of the game.
Man of the match - John Cooney
Ulster was far from at their best on home turf but No.9 Cooney did just about enough to steer his side in the right direction and added the necessary extras to see them over the line.
Play of the day
In a game that lacked standout quality, Burns came up with the highlight.
Matty Rea and Marcell Coetzee made some big carries to create the space before Burns took the ball as first receiver, shaped to pass out wide but then dummied and after bouncing one tackler out of the way, and turned on the afterburners to reach the try line.
The scorers
For Ulster:
Tries: Marshall, Burns
Cons: Cooney 2
Pens: Cooney 3
Cardiff Blues:
Tries: Summerhill, Boyde
Cons: Evans 2
Yellow card: Luke Marshall (Ulster, 39)
Teams:
Ulster: 15 Will Addison, 14 Craig Gilroy, 13 Luke Marshall, 12 James Hume, 11 Louis Ludik, 10 Billy Burns (captain), 9 John Cooney, 8 Marcell Coetzee, 7 Sean Reidy, 6 Matthew Rea, 5 Kieran Treadwell, 4 Alan O'Connor, 3 Tom O'Toole, 2 John Andrew, 1 Jack McGrath
Replacements: 16 Adam McBurney, 17 Eric O'Sullivan, 18 Ross Kane, 19 Sam Carter, 20 Nick Timoney, 21 David Shanahan, 22 Bill Johnston, 23 Matt Faddes
Cardiff Blues: 15 Matthew Morgan, 14 Jason Harries, 13 Garyn Smith, 12 Willis Halaholo, 11 Aled Summerhill, 10 Jarrod Evans, 9 Lloyd Williams, 8 Nick Williams (captain), 7 Olly Robinson, 6 Will Boyde, 5 Rory Thornton, 4 Josh Turnbull, 3 Scott Andrews, 2 Liam Belcher, 1 Brad Thyer
Replacements: 16 Kristian Dacey, 17 Corey Domachowski, 18 Keiron Assiratti, 19 Seb Davies, 20 Shane Lewis-Hughes, 21 Lewis Jones, 22 Jason Tovey, 23 Harri Millard
Referee: Mike Adamson (Scotland)
Assistant referees: Sean Gallagher (Ireland), David Sutherland (Scotland)
TMO: Neil Patterson (Scotland)
Source: PRO14Official