Ebbw Vale staged one of the upsets of the Welsh/Scottish League season when they put Cardiff’s

Ebbw Vale staged one of the upsets of the Welsh/Scottish League season when they put Cardiff’s title ambitions on ice with an improbable 22-20 success on a Eugene Cross Park pitch coated in snow. The home side’s winning points arrived with a fifth successful penalty kick by their full-back Gareth Cull in the final minute of a match which Cardiff had led 17-3 at half-time. Nick Robinson landed two penalties for Cardiff and also converted tries by the wing Anthony Sullivan and the lock Adam Jones, his first for the club.Edinburgh, for whom Kevin Utterson touched down twice, consolidated their mid-table position with a 35-21 victory at Caerphilly. Chris Paterson and Craig Smith also went over for the visitors while Ken Morris and Sione Tuipulotu crossed for Caerphilly.Rotherham’s 48-6 romp over Henley, which included a hat-trick of tries for the right wing Oriel Ripol, maintained their three-point lead in National League One. Second-placed Worcester kept in touch by beating Moseley 33-12.Leicester’s march to a fourth successive Zurich Premiership title may be a foregone conclusion, but the relegation battle at the other end of the table is far from clear cut.Leeds, currently 11th out of 12, entertain the bottom club Wasps at Headingley today knowing that victory could put them nine points ahead of their rivals – a more than useful cushion in light of several difficult forthcoming fixtures.But Leeds’ director of rugby, Phil Davies, refuses to become too fired up about the game.

“In our position we can’t afford to start picking games to perform in,” he said. “It’s just as important we play our best in all games and let the results take care of themselves.”Leeds’ trip to Sale last weekend was frozen off and Davies believes this has enabled his troops to prepare properly for their attempt to avenge a 64-14 drubbing by Wasps in November. “Wasps gave us a real lesson at Loftus Road last month and that is something we have used during training,” added Davies.Matt Holt replaces the injured Rob Rawlinson at hooker for Leeds while Wasps recall the wing Shane Roiser and Simon Shaw at lock.Saracens have already sold 11,500 tickets for this afternoon’s Premiership contest against Harlequins at Vicarage Road. Sarries, thrashed 43-6 at The Stoop earlier in the season, welcome back their Scotland lock Scott Murray following a shoulder injury.Shannon stretched their advantage in Ireland’s AIB League to five points when they saw off Dungannon 22-14.. The Celtic League final between Leinster and Munster at Lansdowne Road a couple of weeks ago was one of the best games I saw in 2001 and should have set up both sides to charge confidently in the Heineken Cup next weekend.

The battles that will be taking place in the final matches of the group stage over the next two weekends are not just about winning your group but being one of the four sides to play at home in the quarter-finals. This is such a massive advantage it almost decides who is going to play in the semis.There are six groups and the winners of each group plus the best two runners-up go forward. So you can win your group and still have to play away in the quarters.At the moment Leinster appear to be in a strong position at the top of Group Six where they are four points ahead of Newport, in second place. But Leinster have to visit Newcastle Falcons on Saturday and Toulouse the following Saturday.With their well-balanced side and a razor-sharp three-quarter line they are well capable of winning both – but they’ll have to, to be sure of a home draw.Munster have a two-point lead in Group Four and play Harlequins at home on Saturday. They go to Castres Olympique the following weekend so they’ll need every bit of their solidity and persistence. Ulster are sharing top spot with Stade Fran?s in Group Two but the French team have a superior try count and points difference and also have a slightly easier remaining programme.As much as I would like to see the Irish adventure continue, my favourites for the Heineken would still be Stade Fran?s and Leicester, the holders.Leicester have a two-point advantage over Llanelli in Group One.