In what was a weekend of varied Guinness PRO14 rugby, the action was starkly split between a plethora of tightly-fought affairs, while last season’s finalists hit their straps.

Leinster and Glasgow Warriors both hit 50 on Friday night, but the next-biggest winning margin was 15 points, with the remaining four fixtures all being decided by 10 points or less.

With that, it was a weekend that saw a series of standout individual contributions make the difference, whether it be James Lowe’s dazzling feet for Leinster, or David Shanahan’s busy hands for Ulster; here are a look at some of the standout numbers from Round 5 of the Guinness PRO14.

Shanahan the conductor

Many will laud the Ulster scrum-half’s display against Zebre based on his opening score for the hosts, as they were made to battle from behind after Mattia Bellini’s early opener.

And though he wrenched his side back into contention, it was with the ball in hand where he truly asserted their control over the fixture.

IN PICS | Click here https://t.co/FuzErVEbAH for the @dicksondigital gallery from the game against Zebre last night. Another win chalked up - a big thank you to all fantastic supporters for braved those atrocious conditions to help the team achieve that victory #16THMAN #SUFTUM pic.twitter.com/nXTyexnP9C
— Ulster Rugby (@UlsterRugby) November 2, 2019

He made 117 passes in the game, 40 more than anyone else in the entire round of fixtures – that’s more than a 50% increase on Dewaldt Duvenage’s number for Benetton.

In fact, it’s more than anyone has thrown in a match all season long, with only Ulster teammate John Cooney coming close in Round 1 when he notched up 108.

Playing deputy to his experienced teammate for most of the season, Shanahan certainly gave Dan McFarland something to think about with his performance, on the day that he was replaced by Cooney for what was his 50th Ulster cap.

Lowe runs the hard yards

In a match that saw Leinster gain 406m – good enough for only their third-highest showing of the season, a surprise considering their dominance against the Dragons – James Lowe made 131 of them on his own, or 32% of his side’s total.

The New Zealander’s devastating combination of speed, strength and trickery has long been revered since he arrived in the Guinness PRO14 back in 2017, and he once again underlined his status as one of the competition’s most thrilling flyers as Leinster wrapped up their fifth win of the season.

👌#LEIvDRA #JoinTheRoar pic.twitter.com/GZ3ZRK2FEM
— Leinster Rugby (@leinsterrugby) November 1, 2019

Deservedly notching two tries in the 50-15 triumph, it is no surprise that, with him in their team, Leinster rank right up there in terms of ground gained in the Guinness PRO14, sitting third on an average of 393.8m, just behind Ulster and the Toyota Cheetahs.

Warriors back in business

Having won only one of their first four Guinness PRO14 games of the season, last season’s losing finalists were in need of a boost, and they got exactly that on Friday night at Scotstoun.

A blowout 50-0 win over the Isuzu Southern Kings, fired on by their internationals on return from the Rugby World Cup, Dave Rennie can breathe easy once again as his side look to climb back up the Conference A table.

And unsurprisingly, considering the fact that it was by far and away their best performance of the campaign so far, the numbers backed up the result.

📽️ @rtagive, @Petehorne72 and @ZanderFagerson spoke after tonight's 50-0 win over the Southern Kings at Scotstoun. pic.twitter.com/eZMnz1lFEm
— Glasgow Warriors (@GlasgowWarriors) November 1, 2019

In 19 of the 32 major statistical categories, they either improved or equalled their best showings of the season, way outstripping previous bests in passing, clean breaks and – obviously – tries.

They also dramatically decreased their errors, losing only two rucks all game while winning a monster 13 turnovers.

Rennie will no doubt be keen to forget about their hit-and-miss start, with the season starting here for the resurgent Warriors.