Stuart Hogg's hat-trick was in vain as Glasgow relinquished ground to Pro12 play-off rivals Munster in a thrilling 35-29 victory by the defending champions.

In Galway Connacht flyhalf Miah Nikora claimed a 16-point haul as his side dented Ulster's play-off hopes in a thrilling 26-21 derby win.
 
Gavin Duffy, Tiernan O'Halloran and Nikora went over for the home side while the 26-year-old Kiwi also kicked 11 points.

Centre Paddy Jackson also scored 16 for Ulster and scrumhalf Paul Marshall nipped in but the play-off chasers were unable to match Sunday's Heineken Cup heroics.

Ospreys produced a stunning second-half comeback to boost their play-off hopes with a fifth-straight win over Welsh rivals Cardiff Blues at the Cardiff City Stadium.
 
Leigh Halfpenny kicked four first-half penalties to give the hosts a 12-6 half-time lead, despite Ospreys' superiority in the scrum.
 
But after the interval Ospreys inflicted an onslaught with 27 unanswered points as Alun-Wyn Jones and Adam Jones crashed over the whitewhash before Tom Smith scored a late try to seal a crucial bonus point.

Connacht 26-21 Ulster

The scorers:

For Connacht:
Tries: Nikora, Duffy, O'Halloran
Con: Nikora
Pens: Nikora 3

For Ulster:
Tries: Marshall, Jackson
Con: Jackson
Pens: Jackson 3

Connacht: 15 Gavin Duffy, 14 Tiernan O'Halloran, 13 Kyle Tonetti, 12 Henry Fa'afili, 11 Fetu'u Vainikolo, 10 Miah Nikora, 9 Frank Murphy, 8 George Naoupu, 7 Ray Ofisa, 6 John Muldoon, 5 Mike McCarthy, 4 Michael Swift, 3 Ronan Loughney, 2 Ethienne Reynecke, 1 Brett Wilkinson.
Replacements: 16 Adrian Flavin, 17 Denis Buckley, 18 Rodney Ah You, 19 Mick Kearney, 20 Johnny O'Connor, 21 Paul O'Donohoe, 22 Matthew Jarvis, 23 Eoin Griffin.
 
Ulster: 15 Stefan Terblanche, 14 Ian Whitten, 13 Nevin Spence, 12 Paddy Jackson, 11 Adam D'Arcy, 10 Ian Humphreys, 9 Paul Marshall, 8 Robbie Diack, 7 Willie Faloon, 6 Mike McComish, 5 Neil McComb, 4 Lewis Stevenson, 3 Tom Court, 2 Nigel Brady, 1 Paddy McAllister.
Replacements: 16 Andi Kyriacou, 17 Callum Black, 18 Adam Macklin, 19 Iain Henderson, 20 Ali Birch, 21 Ruan Pienaar, 22 Craig Gilroy, 23 Michael Allen.
 
Referee: Dudley Phillips

Glasgow Warriors 29-35 Munster

The scorers:

For Munster:
Tries: O'Dea, O'Mahony, Murray
Cons: Keatley
Pens: Keatley 6

For Glasgow:
Tries: Hogg 3
Pens: Jackson 2, Weir 2

Yellow card: Aramburu (Glasgow - 70th min)

Munster: 15 Felix Jones, 14 Luke O'Dea, 13 Johne Murphy, 12 Lifeimi Mafi, 11 Simon Zebo, 10 Ian Keatley, 9 Tomas O'Leary, 8 Peter O'Mahony, 7 Tommy O'Donnell, 6 Donnacha Ryan, 5 Mick O'Driscoll, 4 Donncha O'Callaghan, 3 Stephen Archer, 2 Mike Sherry, 1 Wian du Preez.
Replacements: 16 Damien Varley, 17 Marcus Horan, 18 Billy Holland, 19 John Ryan, 20 Paddy Butler, 21 Conor Murray, 22 Scott Deasy, 23 Ivan Dineen
 
Glasgow Warriors: 15 Peter Murchie, 14 Federico Aramburu, 13 Stuart Hogg, 12 Alex Dunbar, 11 Colin Shaw, 10 Ruaridh Jackson, 9 Chris Cusiter, 8 Johnnie Beattie, 7 Chris Fusaro, 6 Rob Harley, 5 Al Kellock (captain), 4 Richie Gray, 3 Mike Cusack, 2 Pat MacArthur, 1 Jon Welsh.
Replacements: 16 Dougie Hall, 17 Ryan Grant, 18 Moray Low, 19 Tom Ryder, 20 Calum Forrester, 21 Henry Pyrgos, 22 Duncan Weir, 23 Tommy Seymour.
 
Referee: Nigel Owens

Ospreys 33-12 Cardiff Blues

The scorers:

For Cardiff Blues:
Pens: Halfpenny 4

For Ospreys:
Tries: AW Jones, AR Jones, Smith
Cons: Biggar 3
Pens: Biggar 4

Yellow cards: Evans (Cardiff - 9th min); Sweeney ( Cardiff - 53rd min)

Cardiff Blues: 15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Gavin Evans, 12 Dafydd Hewitt, 11 Harry Robinson, 10 Ceri Sweeney, 9 Lloyd Williams, 8 Luke Hamilton, 7 Martyn Williams, 6 Michael Paterson, 5 James Down, 4 Bradley Davies (c), 3 Sam Hobbs, 2 Marc Breeze, 1 John Yapp.
Replacements: 16 Kristian Dacey, 17 Nathan Trevett, 18 Ryan Harford, 19 Josh Navidi, 20 Maama Molitika, 21 Richie Rees, 22 Dan Parks, 23 Casey Laulala.
 
Ospreys: 15 Richard Fussell, 14 Hanno Dirksen, 13 Tom Isaacs, 12 Andrew Bishop, 11 Shane Williams, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Kahn Fotuali'i, 8 Joe Bearman, 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 Ryan Jones, 5 Ian Evans, 4 Alun Wyn Jones (c), 3 Adam Jones, 2 Richard Hibbard, 1 Paul James.
Replacements: 16 Scott Baldwin, 17 Ryan Bevington, 18 Aaron Jarvis, 19 James King, 20 Tom Smith, 21 Rhys Webb, 22 Matthew Morgan, 23 Sonny Parker.
 
Referee: George Clancy