Irish sides follow the script

Magners League:Leinster will host Ulster in the Magners League semi-final and Munster will welcome Ospreys to Thomond Park after the final round of games finalised the top four this evening. Table-toppers Munster had been guaranteed a home tie prior to this evening's games but elsewhere it was all to play for, though none of the Irish sides fluffed their lines.

Ospreys, however, were indebted a late James Hook penalty in Aironi and Llanelli's 38-23 defeat of Cardiff Blues, who began the day in fourth and ended it in sixth.

Ospreys were trailing Aironi 10-9 before Hook’s intervention and Cardiff conceded three late tries to their Welsh rivals. Scarlets, therefore, finished between the Blues and Ospreys, following a brief stint in fourth prior to Hook's late three-pointer in Italy.

Leinster made nine changes from the side that beat Toulouse in the European Cup semi-final but still blew Glasgow Warriors away in the second half with tries from Shane Horgan, Gordon D'Arcy, Dominic Ryan and Kevin McLaughlin.

Two tries from Nevin Spence and one from Pedrie Wannenburg helped Ulster into a 20-6 lead at the break and though the Dragons struck back in the second half, the northerners held on for a win, which wasn't necessary in the end.

Munster proved too strong for Connacht as tries from Simon Zebo, Alan Quinlan and Doug Howlett ensured the win. Ian Keatley was Connacht's only scorer with two penalties.

Leinster will play Ulster at the RDS on Friday May 13th (7.04pm), before Munster face Ospreys on May 14th (6.30pm).

The venue for the MAy 28th final has yet to be decided.

Match summaries

Aironi Rugby(7) 10. Tries: Demas. Cons: Tebaldi. Pens: Tebaldi.
Ospreys(3) 12. Pens: Biggar 3, Hook.
Att:3,700

Benetton Treviso(16) 31. Tries: McLean 2, van Zyl. Cons: de Waal 2. Pens: de Waal 4.
Edinburgh(6) 6. Pens: Paterson 2.
Att: 5,000

Leinster(6) 38. Tries: Horgan, D'Arcy, D. Ryan, McLaughlin. Cons: McFadden 3. Pens: McFadden 4.
Glasgow(3) 3. Pens: Weir.
Att: 16,500

Munster(12) 22. Tries: Zebo, Quinlan, Howlett. Cons: O'Gara 2. Pens: O'Gara.
Connacht(6) 6. Pens: Keatley 2.
Att: 20,000

Newport-Gwent D'gons(6) 13. Tries: Riley. Cons: M. Jones. Pens: M. Jones, Tovey.
Ulster(20) 20. Tries: Spence 2, Wannenburg. Cons: Humphreys. Pens: Humphreys.
Att:4,780

Scarlets(20) 38. Tries: I. Thomas, Morgan, Lamont 2. Cons: S. Jones 2, Priestland. Pens: S. Jones 2, Priestland 2.
Cardiff Blues(20) 23. Tries: Czekaj, Hewitt. Cons: Parks 2. Pens: Parks 2. Drop Goals: Parks.
Att: 11,200