**An enthralling United Rugby Championship season continued over the weekend as Leinster surged four points clear at the top while the battle for play-off places hots up.** The defending champions beat the Emirates Lions 21-13 at the RDS Arena on Friday night, with the Vodacom Bulls running in six tries in a 45-7 success over Zebre Parma in Italy. The Cell C Sharks continued their fine away form with a 29-7 victory at Benetton their fourth in their last five on their travels in all competitions. Connacht edged the DHL Stormers 19-17 to sit in sixth, but only 11 points separate them and Scarlets in 13th with some teams having games in hand. Here are five things we learned from the weekend's fixtures.
