Leinster pull clear of Edinburgh

JONATHAN Sexton was the toast of the RDS Arena as his late drop goal saw Leinster pip provincial rivals Connacht to a hard-earned 17-14 win which puts them four points clear of Edinburgh and Munster at the top of the Magners League.

This was top versus bottom but Connacht really turned the tables on Leinster, giving themselves every chance of recording their first victory in Dublin since 2002. Winger Fionn Carr, a former Leinster Academy player, showed his home province what they are missing with two tries in the opening 22 minutes.

Lions player Rob Kearney touched down to close the gap to 14-8 at half time, and Sexton won the battle of the stand-offs in the second period by landing two penalties and the decisive 79th-minute drop goal.

It was cruel luck for Connacht for whom Ian Keatley missed two drop goals and Sean Cronin was inches away from scoring a try, with seven minutes remaining.

Meanwhile, Newport Gwent Dragons moved a step closer to securing a Heineken Cup spot for next season with a 28-20 win over a star-studded Ospreys at Rodney Parade.

Scotland will play Japan today in the quarter-final of the third-tier Bowl at the IRB Sevens World Series event in Hong Kong after rounding off their pool matches with a 42-5 victory over Chinese Taipei and a 22-5 defeat to New Zealand.

After defeat by France on Friday the Scots needed a big win over Chinese Taipei to book their place in the last eight of the Bowl and did so with a resounding six-try-to-one victory. Lee Jones (2), Mike Adamson (2), Grant Anderson and Stuart McInally notched the Scots' tries.

Against the All Blacks, Andrew Turnbull ran in a try from his own 22.