Rabo Direct Pro 12 - Round 19 Wrap

Newport-Gwent Dragons 19-27 Connacht   

The Dragons continue to rise up the standings and have now overtaken Italian side, Benetton Treviso after the two teams have seemingly switched roles frmo the first half of the season. Ahead of the Dragons are the Cardiff Blues who with eleven more points appear to demonstrate a significant split between the top seven and the bottom five in the Rabo Direct Pro 12. The bottom five appearing to be more like second division sides. 

Ulster 45-7 Aironi 

Ulster´s big win keeps the pressure on the top four as the Northern-Irish side is only one point outside the Semi Finals zone. Should the province continue winning and one of the Ospreys, Munster and the Glasgow Warriors lose then Ulster will enter the top four. The Argentine-Italian flyhalf, Luciano Orquera came off the bench to lpay the latter stages of the match for Aironi.

Glasgow Warriors 31-3 Cardiff Blues

A massive home win in Scotland sees the Glasgow Warriors continue to look like genuine title contenders. The 28 point win featured former Argentine international winger, Federico Martín Aramburu for the full 80 minutes. The other wing was occupied by the USA´s Tommy Seymour. Despite the season starting to reach its conclusion there is still no sign of Canadian international centre, DTH van der Merwe returning to action for the Scottish side. His form at the World Cup and last season was outstanding.

Edinburgh 26-23 Scarlets

A rare Rabo Direct Pro 12 win for Edinburgh gets the Scottish side back on track ahead of its Heineken Cup home Semi Final match vs Toulouse. The hero was the yuong Scottish international flyhalf, Greig Laidlaw who scored 16 points. The Scarlets were fielding a powerful side which made the win all the more important for the hosts. Edinburgh fielded former Argentine international secondrower, Esteban Lozada who came off the bench.

Munster 9-18 Leinster

The top of the table clash was anything other than a showcase for Irish, Celtic of European rugby as the match was not very competitive or much of a running affair. Leinster´s away win in Limerick sees the side continue to dominate the standings while Munster slip behind the Ospreys and are now tied with the Glasgow Warriors. The California bon Irish international flyhalf, Ronan O'Gara kicked all over Munster´s points. 

Ospreys 41-10 Benetton Treviso 

A big home win in Swansea gets the Ospreys´ back on track as every win from here on in is vital to guarantee a spot in the Semi Finals. The result for the Italians sees the sides pre-Christmas form count for nothing as the team has been unable to match it recently and it could now finish ahead of only Aironi as its lead over Connacht and Edinburgh is now less than one victory. The match featured the USA´s Hanno Dirksen on the right wing for the Ospreys but Canada´s Chauncey O´Toole again was not used. Argentine flyhalf, Alberto Di Bernardo landed a conversion for the Italians as did Franco Sbaraglini, Ignacio Fernández Rouyet and Gonzalo Padro fom the bench.

Rabo Direct Pro 12 Standings

1	Leinster		69
2	Ospreys		58
3	Munster		56
4	Glasgow		56
5	Ulster		55
6	Scarlets		51
7	Cardiff		44
8	Dragons		33
9	Treviso		30
10	Connacht		29
11	Edinburgh		27
12	Aironi		19