Magners League round-up:Results went against Leinster tonight and Michael Cheika's side must at least draw with Edinburgh on Sunday to secure a home semi-final. From first, Leinster now find themselves chasing a home draw as wins for both Ospreys and Glasgow moved them into first and second in the standings respectively.
Tonight’s scorelines also mean a home semi-final is beyond Munster, regardless of their result against Cardiff. In tonight’s Irish derby, Ulster reasserted their authority over Connacht with a 41-10 win at Ravenhill.
The Ospreys guaranteed themselves a home tie in the play-offs with a bonus-point 42-10 victory over the Dragons at the Liberty Stadium.
The hosts saw off their Welsh regional rivals by five tries to one with skipper Ryan Jones, Dan Biggar, who scored 22 points, Nikki Walker and Ryan Bevington adding to a first-half penalty try which highlighted the Ospreys’ dominance up front.
The home side fielded 15 full internationals in their starting line-up, including Ireland’s Tommy Bowe, while the depleted Dragons had 14 players out injured including openside flanker Gavin Thomas who was forced to pull out of the side before the kick-off.
Ulster secured eighth place in the table with a thumping six-try bonus point win in their final game over Connacht, who finish bottom of the table for another season.
Tries from Simon Danielli, Ian Humphreys, replacement Andi Kyriacou, Ian Whitten, Dan Tuohy and Jamie Smith brought the home side back-to-back league wins.
It finishes off what has been a disappointing season for Brian McLaughlin’s squad, although they were too strong for Connacht on their coach Michael Bradley’s last game in charge.
The only low point was a suspected ankle injury to Rory Best which saw the Ireland hooker leave the field early in the second half and could have an impact on Ireland’s tour to New Zealand and Australia next month.
Glasgow moved into second spot with a bonus point 37-32 win away to the Scarlets.