The Glasgow Warriors boosted their Pro14 title hopes by beating the Cardiff Blues 40-15, while there were also wins for Leinster, the Cheetahs, Connacht, Munster, Scarlets and Dragons.
Both Conference A leaders, Glasgow, and Conference B leaders, Leinster, won with a bonus point on Friday.
A brace from Warriors wing Niko Matawalu, to go with tries to Adam Ashe, Callum Gibbins, Tommy Seymour and replacement Rory Hughes pushed the home side to a morale-boosting victory.
The Blues took an inital lead through a penalty from Jarrod Evans, who also scored a try in the second half, but it was all Glasgow from then on, despite Cardiff pulling a try back just after the break through Kristian Dacey.
Meanwhile, defending champions Leinster scored seven tries to claim a convincing 52-7 victory over the Ospreys.
The first half was one-way traffic, as the home side cruised to a 27-0 half-time lead thanks to tries from centre Conor O’Brien, debutant flank Scott Penny and scrumhalf Nick McCarthy.
In other results, the Scarlets beat Ulster 29-12 in a victory that could go a long way to determine who finishes second in Conference B. The Cheetahs came from behind to win 31-25 against Treviso in a topsy-turvy game in Bloemfontein, and Connacht ran in four tries for a 31-14 bonus-point victory against the Kings.
Munster cut Glasgow’s conference lead to eight points as they beat Zebre 32-7 in Parma, while in the late kick-off, the Dragons held on to stun Edinburgh 18-12.
Round 9 results:
Glasgow Warriors 40 Cardiff Blues 15
Leinster 52 Ospreys 7
Scarlets 29 Ulster 12
Cheetahs 31 Treviso 25
Kings 14 Connacht 31
Zebre 7 Munster 32
Dragons 18 Edinburgh 12
Photo: SNS
