Russell and Hogg star in Glasgow win
Cardiff Blues are still on course for a Pro12 top-six finish after they claimed a bonus-point 56-8 win against Bentton Treviso, with Rhys Patchell outstanding throughout.
Munster's Irish contingent returned with a bang as Simon Zebo, CJ Stander and Conor Murray all helped themselves to tries in a commanding 47-0 win over Zebre.
Glasgow Warriors 27-17 Ulster
Stuart Hogg was named Six Nations Player of the Championship earlier this week and the fullback continued his successful week by helping his club side to their fifth consecutive Pro12 victory.
His night did not get off to the best start however when he was sinbinned after less than two minutes and Ulster capitalised with a try for Iain Henderson.
But driven on by impressive man of the match Finn Russell, who kicked four penalties, a conversion as well as a clever cross field chip for Tommy Seymour to dot down in the second-half shortly after Hogg, the Warriors managed to extend their unbeaten run at Scotstoun.
And they also denied Ulster a losing bonus point when Hogg stepped up to fire over a monstrous long-range penalty with the last kick of the game.
The hosts were dealt an early blow when Hogg was sent to the sin bin after less than two minutes for illegally holding up an Ulster attack.
Ulster looked to rub salt into the wounds immediately and they got their rewards on when Henderson, returning to the starting line-up having been out since December with a hamstring injury, found the gap to power over, with Paddy Jackson adding the conversion.
The visitors nearly found space again on ten minutes when Craig Gilroy made the break but Jackson's subsequent kick through was too far.
The numbers were then restored when Hogg returned to the field although it was again Gilroy who was getting the crowd on their feet with a dart up the right wing but his pass went amiss.
But Glasgow were starting to come into the game, opting for the line-out in Ulster's 22 following a penalty on 20 minutes.
Despite the hosts driving towards the line, it looked like the Ulster defence was holding firm but they were then pinged for an infringement and Russell took the opportunity to add three points to make the scoreline 7-3.
From the resulting restart Glasgow were awarded a scrum on the halfway line and a quick break from Josh Strauss suddenly had the hosts on their opponents' line again.
And another infringement from Ulster handed Russell the chance to find his range again, which he duly did from in front of the posts, to make it a one-point game on 28 minutes.
Ulster replied with a penalty of their own through Jackson six minutes later to take their lead back out to four.
Possession was swinging from one team to another and when Russell made a fantastic break to help Glasgow into their opponents' 22 on 39 minutes, the hosts were handed another penalty which the Warriors flyhalf duly slotted over to make it 10-9 at half-time.
It did not take long for the first breakthrough of the second half to arrive and it went the way of Ulster after they kicked to touch.
A quick line-out followed and Stuart McCloskey seized on the ball to touch down with ease, with Jackson adding the extras for 17-9.
The hosts continued to battle away and after being forced to defend, Russell had a chance to reduce the deficit when the Warriors were awarded a penalty but his kick from close to the halfway line was off target on 55 minutes.
But just three minutes later Warriors had themselves their first try of the match when Russell played in Hogg, who gathered in his own chip forward to dink down in the corner, with Russell's missed conversion leaving the hosts three points behind.
But the Glasgow Warriors flyhalf more than made amends just minutes later with a beautifully timed chip out wide to Seymour who ran onto the ball before skipping over.
Russell made no mistake with this conversion and suddenly Scotstoun was rocking as the hosts went 21-17 ahead with 18 minutes to play.
The hosts were required to put in a defensive shift as Ulster looked to find a way back into the match but the visitors were pinged for not releasing.
And another penalty on 73 minutes for Russell helped open up some breathing space although he was off target minutes later to deny Ulster a losing bonus point.
However, Hogg was on hand to pick up the baton when he fired over his kick from over the halfway line.
The scorers:
For Glasgow:
Tries: Hogg, Seymour
Cons: Russell
Pens: Russell 4, Hogg
For Ulster:
Tries: Henderson, McCloskey
Cons: Jackson 2
Pen: Jackson
Teams:
Glasgow Warriors: 15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Tommy Seymour, 13 Mark Bennett, 12 Alex Dunbar, 11 Sean Lamont, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Henry Pyrgos, 8 Josh Strauss, 7 Chris Fusaro, 6 Rob Harley, 5 Leone Nakarawa, 4 Jonny Gray (captain), 3 Sila Puafisi, 2 Fraser Brown, 1 Gordon Reid.
Replacements: 16 James Malcolm, 17 Jerry Yanuyanutawa, 18 Zander Fagerson, 19 Tim Swinson, 20 Ryan Wilson, 21 Grayson Hart, 22 Duncan Weir, 23 Taqele Naiyaravoro.
Ulster: 15 Stuart Olding, 14 Craig Gilroy, 13 Luke Marshall, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Rory Scholes, 10 Paddy Jackson, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Nick Williams, 7 Chris Henry, 6 Iain Henderson, 5 Franco van der Merwe, 4 Alan O’Connor, 3 Ricky Lutton, 2 Rob Herring (captain), 1 Callum Black.
Replacements: 16 John Andrew, 17 Kyle McCall, 18 Andy Warwick, 19 Robbie Diack, 20 Sean Reidy, 21 Paul Marshall, 22 Sam Windsor, 23 Darren Cave.
Referee: John Lacey (Ireland)
Assistant Referees: Graeme Wells, Cammy Rudkin (both SRU)
TMO: Neil Paterson (SRU)
Cardiff Blues 56-8 Treviso
The Welsh region boast one of the best home records in the Pro12, and with two of their final four games at Cardiff Arms Park and also three Welsh derby clashes just round the corner, it was always going to be make or break against the Italians.
And Cardiff didn't disappoint as they demolished Treviso and scored tries through Ellis Jenkins, Josh Navidi, Reynold Lee-Lo, Kristian Dacey, Manoa Vosawai, Tom James, Dan Fish and Rhys Patchell.
The Pro12's leading point scorer, Patchell, may have been relegated into the fullback position and had the kicking duties removed following the return of Gareth Anscombe but he still bossed the game at second or third receiver.
Cardiff boss Danny Wilson picked three openside flank in his back row, including Welsh skipper Sam Warburton, as he looked to run the Italian side ragged.
The first half didn't go according to plan as Treviso pulled Cardiff into a set-piece dominated game, while the likes of Warburton and Lloyd Williams also wasting gilt-edged scoring opportunities.
The home side did score two first half tries, first Jenkins burrowed his way over after only seven minutes, with Anscombe adding the extras, before Navidi went over on 32 minutes to reward Cardiff dominance.
Anscombe converted Navidi's score and also added a penalty as Cardiff led 17-3 at the break, with Jayden Hayward slotting a sole kick for Treviso.
The form book certainly made good reading for the Blues, who have only ever lost once at home to an Italian opponent and just two minutes into the second half they made sure that unwanted statistic would not be repeated.
Lee-Lo forced his way over out wide to give Cardiff their third score of the night; unfortunately Anscombe was unable to add the extras this time around.
And it got worse for Treviso on 54 minutes as Dacey, with the help of skipper Gethin Jenkins burrowed over from close range for his side's fourth score of the night.
Marco Lazzaroni ensured it wasn't a wasted trip to Wales for Treviso on the hour mark as the patience of the Italian side was rewarded with the flank touching down in the corner - Hayward missed the conversion.
Anscombe extended Cardiff's lead to 30-3 on 64 minutes as Treviso were penalised for taking out a Blues' chaser straight from the restart.
Cardiff thought they had scored their fifth try of the night on 68 minutes; a brilliant kick and chase from Anscombe saw the flyhalf offload to Vosawai but the replacement dropped the ball over the line under pressure.
But it didn't take long for Vosawai to get his try as the giant replacement powered over the Treviso line off the back of a driving maul to score Cardiff's fifth try of the night, with Anscombe adding the extras to extend the lead to 37-8.
Treviso now looked a spent force and with five minutes remaining the Blues added their sixth score of the night as James dotted down after a clever Patchell score had created the opportunity.
Next to go over for Cardiff was wing Dan Fish; following a quick tap penalty he ran in unopposed from the halfway line against a tiring Treviso defence.
And it was fitting the final score of the night was scored by Patchell as Cardiff went through the hands and ran in their eighth score of the night from distance.
The scorers:
For Cardiff Blues:
Tries: E Jenkins, Navidi, Lee-Lo, Dacey, Vosawai, James, Fish, Patchell
Cons: Anscombe 3, Evans 2
Pens: Anscombe 2
For Treviso:
Try: Lazzaroni
Pen: Hayward
Teams:
Cardiff Blues: 15 Rhys Patchell, 14 Dan Fish, 13 Garyn Smith, 12 Rey Lee-Lo, 11 Tom James, 10 Gareth Anscombe, 9 Lloyd Williams, 8 Josh Navidi, 7 Sam Warburton, 6 Ellis Jenkins, 5 James Down, 4 Josh Turnbull, 3 Dillon Lewis, 2 Kristian Dacey, 1 Gethin Jenkins (captain).
Replacements: 16 Matthew Rees, 17 Brad Thyer, 18 Scott Andrews, 19 Jarrad Hoeata, 20 Manoa Vosawai, 21 Lewis Jones, 22 Jarrod Evans, 23 Aled Summerhill.
Treviso: 15 Jayden Hayward, 14 Angelo Esposito, 13 Tommaso Iannone, 12 Alberto Sgarbi (captain), 11 Ludovico Nitoglia, 10 Sam Christie, 9 Chris Smylie, 8 Dean Budd, 7 Marco Lazzaroni, 6 Marco Barbini, 5 Tom Palmer, 4 Filo Paulo, 3 Simone Ferrari, 2 Luca Bigi, 1 Alberto De Marchi.
Replacements: 16 Davide Giazzon, 17 Cherif Traorè, 18 Filippo Filippetto, 19 Jeff Montauriol, 20 Abraham Steyn, 21 Andrea De Marchi, 22 Alberto Lucchese, 23 Simone Ragusi.
Referee: Andrew Brace (IRFU)
Assistant Referees: Dan Jones, Martyn Lewis (both WRU)
TMO: Paul Adams (WRU)
Munster 47-0 Zebre
Simon Zebo was the only one of the trio to start and it was his quick-fire double within 13 minutes of the second-half which wrapped up the try bonus point for the hosts - and also made him Munster's record try scorer.
Not to be outdone, CJ Stander added his name to the scoresheet on 55 minutes while Conor Murray crossed just past the hour mark as Munster turned the screw on their opponents.
A penalty try had earlier opened proceedings on 11 minutes before Ronan O'Mahony's effort helped Munster into a 14-0 lead.
But it was four tries in the space of 17 second-half minutes which knocked the stuffing out of the Zebre team with play-off chasing Munster making the most of the opportunity to boost their points difference with another late penalty try.
With a number of Irish internationals back in the squad, Munster head coach Anthony Foley would have been looking for his side to get off to a quick start.
And they duly did that, recording the first score of the night on 11 minutes via a penalty try.
It came after a kick to the corner from Johnny Holland, Munster drove towards the line but found their path blocked when their driving maul was illegally pulled down by the Italians.
A penalty try was awarded and Holland knocked over the extras for 7-0.
Munster continued to look to make the attacking inroads and some neat footwork by Keith Earls saw the Munster centre break clean through but his pass out wide was overcooked and went out instead of finding a teammate.
It was then the turn of O'Mahony to breeze through the Zebre tackles in midfield but he was stopped just short of the line.
Munster kept plugging away close to their opponents' line, finally winning themselves a penalty with Zebre captain Quintin Geldenhuys sent to the bin after becoming the latest visiting player to be caught out on 24 minutes.
And the hosts made the man advantage count almost immediately as, from the scrum, O'Mahony crossed and Holland's conversion made it 14-0.
Zebre, who had lost their last five Pro12 matches, were struggling to get their game going and their task was made harder on 31 minutes when the game was brought back following an incident at the breakdown, with wing Giulio Toniolatti adjudged by the TMO to have been guilty of dangerous play.
The hosts did have a chance to reduce the score deficit five minutes before the break but Kelly Haimona's penalty drifted wide.
It didn't take long for Munster to add to their tally after half-time and it came after a pass by Darren Sweetman played in Zebo to cruise over on 47 minutes, with Holland's conversion making it 21-0.
Zebo's second just six minutes later was even sweeter as Munster turn defence into attack in devastating fashion.
Turning the ball over close to the own 22, Munster broke at pace with Sweetman making the running before neat link up play eventually saw Zebo cross under the posts.
With Holland off the pitch Murray stepped up to make the simple conversion for 28-0.
And he was called into kicking action just a minute later as a slip in the Zebre defence was pounced upon by Tommy O'Donnell who had enough composure to play in Stander to run in. Murray was unable to convert but the score had suddenly accelerated to 33-0 with 24 minutes to play.
Munster were not done there though and another period of pressure resulted in Murray powering over in the corner for their sixth try of the night, with Holland, back on the pitch, converting to bring up a 40-0 scoreline.
The misery continued for Zebre when Bruno Postiglioni was sent to the sin-bin on 72 minutes and just a minute later Munster made their superiority count when the referee awarded a second penalty try of the night. Holland again converted and Munster found themselves just three points off a half-century of points.
The scorers:
For Munster:
Tries: Penalty Try 2, O'Mahony, Zebo 2, Stander, Murray
Cons: Holland 5, Murray
For Zebre: None:
Teams:
Munster: 15 Simon Zebo, 14 Darren Sweetnam, 13 Keith Earls, 12 Rory Scannell, 11 Ronan O'Mahony, 10 Johnny Holland, 9 Tomás O'Leary, 8 Jack O'Donoghue, 7 Tommy O'Donnell, 6 Dave O'Callaghan, 5 Billy Holland (captain), 4 Donnacha Ryan, 3 Stephen Archer, 2 Niall Scannell, 1 Dave Kilcoyne.
Replacements: 16 Mike Sherry, 17 James Cronin, 18 Mario Sagario, 19 Dave Foley, 20 CJ Stander, 21 Conor Murray, 22 Ian Keatley, 23 David Johnston.
Zebre: 15 Kayle Van Zyl, 14 Leonardo Sarto, 13 Giulio Bisegni, 12 Tommaso Boni, 11 Giulio Toniolatti, 10 Kelly Haimona, 9 Guglielmo Palazzani, 8 Johan Meyer, 7 Federico Ruzza, 6 Jean Cook, 5 Valerio Bernabò, 4 Quintin Geldenhuys (captain), 3 Dario Chistolini, 2 Oliviero Fabiani, 1 Guillermo Roan.
Replacements: 16 Bruno Postiglioni, 17 Andrea De Marchi, 18 Pietro Ceccarelli, 19 Gideon Koegelenberg, 20 Emiliano Caffini, 21 Luke Burgess, 22 Ulrich Beyers, 23 Matteo Pratichetti.
Referee: Dudley Phillips (IRFU)
Assistant Referees: David Wilkinson, Helen O’Reilly (both IRFU)
TMO: Brian MacNeice (IRFU)
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