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Guinness PRO14 round-up: Ospreys, Connacht, Edinburgh win; Leinster & Benetton draw

6 April 2019; Benetton players Giovanni Pettinelli, left, and Federico Ruzza celebrate a last minute try during the Guinness PRO14 Round 19 match between Leinster and Benetton at the RDS Arena in Dublin. Photo by Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile
Image: Benetton picked up a thrilling last-minute draw at the RDS on Saturday

Recap Saturday's Guinness PRO14 action as Ospreys, Connacht and Edinburgh all pick up wins, while Leinster and Benetton drew.

Cheetahs 14-31 Ospreys

Cory Allen scored a crucial bonus-point try as Ospreys kept alive their Guinness PRO14 play-off hopes with a 31-14 victory over Cheetahs in Bloemfontein.

First-half tries from Dan Evans and Olly Cracknell gave the visitors a 14-0 lead but Dries Swanepoel hit back for Cheetahs.

Justin Tipuric's opportunist score stretched Ospreys' lead before Allen crossed and secured the bonus-point that could prove decisive in the final play-off reckoning.

Luke Price and Sam Davies kicked 11 points and Cheetahs reduced the deficit through Reinach Venter's try.

James King, on his 150th PRO14 appearance, almost put the gloss on Ospreys' victory, but the number eight fumbled with the line begging after Sam Cross' powerful break.

Zebre 5-6 Connacht

Connacht consolidated third place in Conference A of the Guinness PRO14 with a hard-fought 6-5 win over Zebre in Parma.

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Jack Carty's two first-half penalties proved enough to beat the bottom-placed Italians and establish a four-point lead over Cardiff Blues in fourth.

Zebre winger Mattia Bellini crossed for the only try of the match with a powerful run just after the break.

Darragh Leader dotted down for Connacht with 25 minutes remaining, but the score was disallowed by the television match official because of a forward pass earlier in the move.

Zebre applied late pressure to claim a fourth win of the season, but Edoardo Padovani and Guglielmo Palazzani both sent penalty attempts wide.

Scarlets 12-20 Edinburgh

Edinburgh produced a dramatic second-half comeback that not only stunned the Scarlets but kept their Guinness PRO14 play-off hopes alive as they won 20-12.

Scarlets had led 12-0 at the break thanks to tries from Wales' Grand Slam-winning pair Gareth Davies and Jonathan Davies.

But the Scottish side silenced the Parc y Scarlets crowd with tries from Matt Scott and Jaco Van Der Walt, who also kicked two penalties and two conversions.

Leinster 27-27 Benetton

Benetton Rugby earned a 27-27 Guinness PRO14 draw with Leinster in Dublin as Tommaso Allan landed the levelling conversion of Fijian winger Iliesa Ratuva's last-minute try.

Benetton certainly like playing at the RDS Arena where they enjoyed a famous 17-15 win 12 months ago and hooker Luca Bigi's 12th-minute try was the launchpad for a 13-6 half-time lead.

Italy fly-half Allan kicked the other points with Noel Reid and his replacement Ciaran Frawley booting a penalty apiece for Leinster.

Leinster improved on the resumption and twice drew level, with tries from James Lowe and replacement Bryan Byrne sandwiching Federico Ruzza's 53rd-minute effort.

The impressive Frawley slalomed over for a classy 70th-minute score, which he converted himself, but the Italians' persistence was eventually rewarded as they moved within two points of second-placed Ulster in Conference B.

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