Guinness Pro12: Top Weekend Performers

Top Performers from the weekend Pro12 Action

Steve Crosbie – Making only his 2^nd competitive start for the Irish province. The former St. Gerards pupil slotted 6/6 kicks to snatch victory in Edinburgh. 17 points from the boot of Crosbie secured a valuable 4 points for Pat Lam’s side. Crosbie orchestrated proceedings from out-half, bringing his big ball carriers into the game and pinned the Edinburgh defence deep into their half with some accurate kicks from hand.

Reynold Lee-Lo – The Cardiff centre crossed the whitewash twice in 13 2^nd half minutes against Ulster at the Kingspan. Lee-Lo struck what could be a decisive blow in Ulster’s hopes for the Pro12 play offs. His first try saw him crash over after some clever work by centre partner Halaholo before he showed his quality, beating Olding on the outside and stepping the last defender to claim a second of the night.

Edoardo Padovani – The Italian full-back helped his side claim a bonus-point victory over Newport Gwent Dragons in Parma. Padovani scored a brilliant solo effort in a man-of-the-match display to guide Zebre to a second successive home victory. The win was Zebre's third of the season and moved them off the bottom of the table, above Treviso, and just two points behind the Dragons.

Sean Cronin – The Irish hooker made his 1^st senior start since January in a nail-biting finish in Swansea. The speedy hooker scored on his return, receiving a clever out the back offload from Henshaw, stepping Ospreys fly-half Dan Biggar and racing away to touch down for an excellent piece of individual skill. Cronin was accurate at set-piece and worked hard around the park. His dynamic style of carrying helped Leinster gain some vital yards on the gainline. 

Conor Oliver – The young Munster back-rower had another fine game in the 7 shirt at Irish Independent Park. Oliver made a nuisance of himself at the breakdown and pitched in with 11 tackles on the night to stem the Glasgow attack. His work with ball in hand continues to impress as he made 17 carries for a gain of 37 metres. The win helped Munster boost their chances of securing a home semi-final.

DTH Van der Merwe – The Scarlets wing scored three times in an eight-try hammering of Treviso that helped his side climb into the top 4 of the Pro12. With the Canadian flyer agreeing to join Newcastle Falcons next season, his natural ability to score tries will be sorely missed by the Welsh outfit in the 2017/18 campaign. Special mention to Scarlets hooker Ken Owens, who marked his 200th appearance with a try.