Munster leave it late to climb top, Cuthbert responds to critics

Munster left it late to defeat Ospreys and move top of the Pro12 table in a thrilling match at the Liberty Stadium on Saturday.

Both sides had a chance to replace Leinster - who had gone top by beating Edinburgh on Friday - at the summit in a close-fought battle for first place, but it was the Irish province who prevailed 25-23.

The visitors were staring down the barrel of a first defeat in the competition since October until Dave Kilcoyne crossed the whitewash and Tyler Bleyendaal coolly slotted the decisive conversion with a minute to spare.

Ospreys had been in prime position to take the win, with first-half tries from Hanno Dirksen and Kieron Fonotia backed up with 10 points from the boot of Sam Davies, although Munster looked to be on the comeback trail in an impressive 11-minute spell before the beak.

Bleyendaal's penalty preceded tries from Jack O'Donoghue and Francis Saili, the latter of which was converted to make it 20-18 at the interval.

Davies' penalty extended the hosts' advantage, but Munster applied the pressure and made it count when Kilcoyne touched down.

Alex Cuthbert's late try rounded off Cardiff Blues' 57-20 win over Treviso as the Wales international offered a fitting response to his detractors.

Having been criticised for his display in the Six Nations loss to England, Cuthbert was released to represent his club and touched down in the final minute to complete a convincing Blues triumph, winning player of the game in the process.

And... @acuthbert11 today's Domino's Player of the Game! @CardiffDP pic.twitter.com/1B7uEKyPWF

— Cardiff Blues (@cardiff_blues) February 18, 2017

Elsewhere, Ulster boosted their top-four hopes with a 37-17 victory against Glasgow Warriors, and Connacht beat Newport Gwent Dragons 14-9.