**The festivities are done and dusted and we’re at the start of a new year, but Round 10 delivered the same feast of thrills, spills and scintillating rugby action that has been on display throughout 2020/21.** Among six thrilling derby clashes played across Friday and Saturday, the standout result saw triple-defending champions Leinster lose their 26-game winning streak in the Championship at home to Irish rivals Connacht. Last season’s beaten finalists Ulster now remain the only unbeaten Guinness PRO14 side, with Dan McFarland’s men holding off Conference B leaders Munster at the Kingspan to extend their lead over Leinster at the top of Conference A. Elsewhere, there were victories in Wales for Scarlets and Ospreys over Dragons and Cardiff Blues respectively, while Zebre inflicted an eighth straight defeat on Benetton and Edinburgh took the 1872 Cup advantage with a win over Glasgow Warriors. While there were a range of free-scoring, entertaining encounters and more gritty, hard-fought comings together, a number of individuals made their presence known with standout displays that earned them recognition in the statistics charts. And as preparations continue behind the scenes ahead of another mouth-watering bout of derby fixtures this weekend, we’ve delved into the OPTA stats to pick out three of the top performers from Round 10. # Jack Carty, Connacht - 25 points scored Where else to start than in the Irish capital, where 2015/16 Guinness PRO14 champions Connacht became the first Irish province to defeat Leinster on home soil since October 2014 with a 35-24 win at the RDS Arena. Andy Friend’s men were irresistible from the off and, amidst a sea of brilliant performances from men in green, fly-half Jack Carty was the pick of the bunch, steering his side to success by notching over 70 per cent of their total points tally.
