Round 4 is in the books and there is only one unbeaten team left standing – step forward reigning champions Leinster. The Irishmen probably won’t want to reflect for too long on the game that made it four wins from four – the joint-lowest scoring contest in Championship history, a 3-0 victory over Zebre that could generously be described as one for the rugby purists – but their perfect record survived at least, whereas Toyota Cheetahs’ and Scarlets’ fell by the wayside. However, such in the parity on display in the Guinness PRO14 this season that six teams now have three wins and one loss behind Leinster – here are all the key quotes from the clubs after a fascinating Round 4. Scarlets take their medicine The Brad Mooar era at Scarlets hit its first speedbump as a scintillating Edinburgh performance saw them run out 46-7 winners at BT Murrayfield – for the Welsh side’s first loss of the season. But Mooar isn’t panicking and believes the setback could actually do his side some good in the long run. “If you can wrap everything that could go wrong into one performance, that was it,” said the Scarlets coach. “Early on, we weren’t at the races and gave them opportunities, it is little moments that add up and, all of a sudden, they got a roll on. “We looked pretty flat, so that’s something we can easily rectify and make sure we have a spring in our step for next week. “It is a tough old pill to swallow, but sometimes you have just got to take your medicine and usually when you take your medicine you get better. So, it’s a good week ahead.” Waking up this morning like… 😃Which GIF sums up your mood after watching us run in seven scores last night? pic.twitter.com/Irwp2c09TO— Edinburgh Rugby (@EdinburghRugby) October 27, 2019 Davies’ newest fan Speaking of new eras, Dean Ryan has got the Dragons roaring once more as they recorded a second win of the campaign with a gritty 18-5 triumph over Glasgow Warriors. It was old school, pack-dominated rugby in tough conditions at Rodney Parade and victory capped an extra-special week for Dragons lock Joe Davies after he welcomed a new baby boy – James – into the world with partner Katy on Tuesday. “It’s been great. I’ve had a little boy and he is a big old lumper at 11lb 4oz so he takes after his old man,” said Davies. “In terms of the game the forwards dug in hard and it was pretty much a units session out here with scrums and lineout drives. “We stuck to our gameplan. We said we would be tight and dominant and we chucked that up front and took them around the park.” Larkham making his mark Munster kept on rolling with a 28-12 victory over Ospreys on Friday night that saw them also wrap up a four-try bonus point. The Irish province’s traditional defensive resilience remains but it is their evolving attack, under new senior coach and Australia legend Stephen Larkham, that is impressing boss Johann van Graan. Van Graan said: “I thought we did some very good things in attack, some very nice off-loads. I think what will be key for us going forward into the winter months is the balance. “It is something we have worked on since the start of the pre-season, so you have to develop your game, like I said keep your DNA in place, but it is nice to see we are moving forward.” Super performance from Man of the Match @MikeHaley1 tonight! 👏👏👏 href=“https://twitter.com/hashtag/MUNvOSP?src=hash&refsrc=twsrc%5Etfw”>#MUNvOSP #SUAF 🔴 pic.twitter.com/vOZczzqj8s— Munster Rugby (@Munsterrugby) October 25, 2019 Slow start has Cardiff feeling Blue Elsewhere on Friday night, Ulster raced into a 17-point lead over Cardiff Blues by half-time and although the Welsh side fought back, they eventually went down 23-14. And head coach John Mulvihill admitted his side need to be faster out of the blocks. “It’s a very disappointed changing room. We didn’t give ourselves a chance in that first half,” said Mulvihill. “There were too many basic errors and a few soft tries. In the second half, I thought we were pretty good. “But if you give teams like Ulster points early on, it’s tough to play that chasing game for the rest of it.” Leinster escape with win As intimated in the opening, it was hardly vintage Leinster as they ground out a 3-0 win over Zebre in Parma. But if the old cliché about winning when not at your best being the sign of a champion is true, then Leo Cullen’s men look in good shape – although the Leinster coach unsurprisingly wants more form his men. “We’re pleased to get a win – that’s probably about it really,” said Cullen. “A win away from home is really, really important in the context of the overall standings. It gives us four points and away we go. “In terms of performance, we know we’ve got a long way to go. We’ll take the learnings and we’ll need to perform a lot better if we want a positive outcome [against Dragons] next week.” Fortune favours the brave Connacht left it late, incredibly late, but ended Toyota Cheetahs’ 100 per cent record to open the season with a dramatic 24-22 victory at the Sportsground. Trailing by three points as the clock turned red, Connacht twice turned down kickable penalties to tie the game and were rewarded as Tom Farrell stretched out for the winning try. “I’m really pleased for the players,” said head coach Andy Friend. “There’s a lot of belief in this team. The boys backing themselves and getting the try at the end was pretty exciting “Fortune favours the brave and we were brave out there. We managed to get the bonus point and the win.”
