Round Four of the 2019⁄20 Guinness PRO14 season is done and dusted and, and is always the case, there were some standout performances over a pulsating weekend of action. Leinster are now the only side in the competition who boast an undefeated record after their close-fought 3-0 triumph over Zebre in Parma, while Connacht sit at the Conference B summit following their equally tight 24-22 victory over Toyota Cheetahs. Elsewhere, Edinburgh inflicted Scarlets their first defeat of the season with an emphatic 46-7 win, while Ulster extended their impressive start after a 23-14 victory over Cardiff Blues. On a weekend where the dynamic of both conference tables shifted, we’ve picked out seven individuals who played an influential role in their team’s results – here’s the Guinness PRO14 heroes of the weekend. You can also download our app to keep all with Guinness PRO14 news by clicking HERE. Adeolokun at his menacing best Winger Niyi Adeolokun was Connacht’s key protagonist in an entertaining game against Cheetahs in west Ireland, providing a potent combination of attacking creativity and defensive solidity. Connacht now sit joint-top of Conference B level on points with Munster, with the wide man taking his try clinically on Saturday in a potential portent of things to come for the rest of the season. 7️⃣ MOTM awards, but which was the stand-out? 🌟@mikehaley1 🦌 href=“https://twitter.com/JCooney09?refsrc=twsrc%5Etfw”>@JCooney09 ⚪️@griffiths12895 🐲@iankeatley 🦁Niyi Adeolokun 💚Marco Manfredi 🦓@duhanvdmerwe 🏰Read more and vote on our app 📲 https://t.co/Kf3R956R1h pic.twitter.com/PsDcFs9sEm— PRO14 RUGBY (@PRO14Official) October 28, 2019 Cooney helps engineer important Ulster success It was far from Ulster’s most polished performance but scrum-half John Cooney was the man who stood out most visibly in the Irish side’s pivotal victory over Cardiff. The No. 9 represented a continual thorn in Blues’ side, distributing possession effectively and kicking off the tee with precision as Dan McFarland’s team remained third in the Conference A standings. 🎬 "We're happy with the 4 points but there's still plenty to work on."@BillyBurns10 reflects on tonight's win against the Cardiff Blues! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/299z80Lm12— Ulster Rugby (@UlsterRugby) October 25, 2019 Van der Merwe fills his boots South African wing Duhan van der Merwe was in scintillating form in the Scottish capital on Saturday night, blowing away the Scarlets defence with a brilliant hat-trick as his team romped to a seven-try victory. His two-year spell for Richard’s Cockerill’s men has been characterised by relentless attacking enterprise, with his two early tries this weekend getting his side off to the perfect start and extinguishing any Scarlets optimism. Your Guinness Man of the Match: @duhanvdmerwe 🏅With three tries it was hard not to give the man his just reward as @EdinburghRugby romped to Round 4 victory 🎩#GuinnessPRO14 #EDIvSCA pic.twitter.com/ektLDBU90a— PRO14 RUGBY (@PRO14Official) October 26, 2019 Hewitt inspires Dragons win In a game short of standout performers, it was Ashton Hewitt who conjured up the most entertaining moment as he helped set up Taine Basham’s try before going over to score the second himself. The Welshman is emerging as one of his team’s most exciting young talents, bursting through the Glasgow Warriors defence and dashing towards the line before Basham completed the move to give Dragons an early second half lead. Heroic Haley stars for Munster Full-back Mike Haley was his team’s unequivocal standout player in south Ireland on Friday night, making a considerable 16 carries and running no fewer than 121 metres as Munster cruised to victory over Ospreys. Haley was consistently creative throughout, carrying the ball over double the amount of any other player and his 49th minute try completing Munster’s early second half barrage that consolidated their lead. 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 Manfredi provides Zebre resistance While Zebre succumbed to a largely uneventful yet closely-fought 3-0 defeat to table-toppers Leinster – the joint-lowest score in Guinness PRO14 history – hooker Marco Manfredi was immense for the Italian hosts. Zebre’s No.2 made 16 tackles – the most in his team – to help relentlessly thwart Leo Cullen’s men, preventing them from finding their fluent, try-scoring best as fly-half Ross Byrne nevertheless kicked them to victory. Keatley the key cog for Benetton Saturday represented fly-half Ian Keatley’s 200th Guinness PRO14 appearance, and he marked it in style as he scored one try and helped create another against Isuzu Southern Kings. Benetton’s No.10 touched down just before half-time to open up a decisive lead for his side, before spotting the space for Juan Ignacio Brex to dot down for the fourth, bonus point attaining try in the second half.
