Another try-fest at the Sportsground was most welcome and congrats to Jack on taking over the record, but in other venues the results were a bit of a mixed bag.
Edinburgh, Benetton and Zebre all had half-time leads that would have done our European ambitions no harm, but all let them slip. Munster and Sharks are edging towards safety.
Were Connacht to manage to win all the remaining games, we could still catch Munster if they lost their last two on the road in South Africa. And even though we only need one more win than Sharks, their games in hand mean they would need to lose at least three even if we keep winning. Ideally they lose two of the next six, as in their end of season clash with Munster, at least they can’t both win …
A defeat at home to Stormers this weekend would be a good start.
Of course all of this pre-supposes that the qualification system remains the same as last time out, which doesn’t seem to have been officially confirmed anywhere, but it seems reasonably safe to assume.
| Team | Games | Points |
| Munster Rugby | 13 | 37 |
| Benetton Rugby | 13 | 34 |
| Cell C Sharks | 11 | 33 |
| Edinburgh Rugby | 13 | 31 |
| Connacht Rugby | 13 | 30 |
| Ospreys | 13 | 29 |
| Emirates Lions | 12 | 24 |
| Scarlets | 13 | 22 |
The flipside is that in terms of just getting into the URC play-offs, the three teams immediately ahead of us lost, and we may even be in a position to move into eighth spot after the next full round of games in three weeks if it goes to plan.
The Ospreys win keeps them breathing down our necks, while Zebre’s performance shows they can’t be written off at home. Scarlets, despite their big win, probably haven’t got enough season left.