The Guinness PRO14’s festive derby action provided plenty of thrills and a lot of drama for rugby lovers to get their teeth into. And there was no chance for fans to sit comfortably following an over-indulgent few days with Round 9’s thrilling contests keeping all watching on the edge of their seats. We start today’s Media Watch in Ireland where Leinster’s remarkable unbeaten campaign continued with a brilliant win over rivals Munster at Thomond Park. Ed Byrne scored the only try in the encounter for a visiting side who, according to The Irish Times, had their “bloody-minded defiance in defence” to thank for the win. On Boxing Day, over in Wales, there was another tight affair as Cardiff Blues edged past Dragons to continue their recent good run. But, having been ahead at the break, Blues captain Josh Navidi was actually relieved to see his side hold on in the end. These were the thoughts of try scorer Shane Lewis-Hughes following the Boxing Day win over Dragons at Cardiff Arms Park. Cardiff Blues will aim to make it three from three in the festive derbies as Scarlets visit CAP on Friday, January 3. 🎟️ https://t.co/41dZV8Z9OR pic.twitter.com/i11IYzoVSr — Cardiff Blues (@cardiff_blues) December 28, 2019 In Italy, even the early dismissal of Nacho Brex could not stop Benetton from earning their fourth win of the campaign in impressive fashion against Zebre. It is the performance of hat-trick scoring hooker Hame Faiva who Rugby Pass, naturally, focus on in their report of the match. Edinburgh, meanwhile, levelled up the scores in this season’s 1872 Cup stakes as they beat Glasgow Warriors in a thrilling battle in front of a record crowd of 27,000 people. The all-Scottish clash was full of quality from the very opening exchanges with a number of exhilarating tries punctuating the match. There were more dominant victories elsewhere as, firstly, Scarlets were sensational in beating Ospreys to nil. The Welsh outfit ran in six tries and Ospreys captain Justin Tipuric afterwards said the hammering was his worst experience playing for the region. Finally, Ulster outgunned Connacht with five tries at Kingspan Stadium in a “stylish showing” to get back to winning ways.
