Ospreys scored seven tries in an emphatic victory over Southern Kings to maintain their Pro14 and Heineken Champions Cup hopes and put pressure on rivals Cardiff Blues and Connacht.

Dan Evans scored a hat-trick of tries, Bradley Davies crossed twice and there was a try apiece for Cory Allen and Hanno Dirksen.

Allen Clarke's side dominated a first half in which they secured a potentially vital bonus point.

They move up to fourth in Conference A.

Ospreys had remained in South Africa after picking up a bonus point in a 31-14 win over Cheetahs last weekend.

They made a slow start at the Madibaz Stadium but a break in midfield led to full-back Evans crossing under the posts for game's opening try.

Luke Price converted the try and four minutes later Evans scored his second of the game following good work from the pack.

Price again added the extras and with the visitors in full control they extended their lead through Allen's fine try, created by Keelan Giles.

The hosts' defensive frailties were being exposed and Ospreys secured the bonus point when Dirksen scored the fourth try on 25 minutes, which Price converted.

The visitors' domination continued as lock Davies powered over the line for his first try and Price's successful conversion saw them go in at the break with a comfortable 33-0 lead.

Kings did cross for a try early in the second half but Stefan Ungerer's effort was not allowed to stand after the TMO ruled there had been a forward pass.

The home side's woes continued when lock Stephan Greef was yellow carded for taking the man out in the air.

Ospreys made the most of the numerical advantage with Evans completing his hat-trick, although replacement Sam Davies failed to convert.

The hosts did finally get on the scoresheet in the second half through Michael Willemse's try, which was converted by Masixole Banda.

But Ospreys had the final word and Davies crossed in the corner for his second try of the game and his side's seventh to keep their season alive.

Southern Kings: Beyers; H Klaasen, Sithole, B Klaasen, Basson; B Pretorius, Ungerer; Tshakweni, Willemse, Terblanche, Greeff, Astle (capt), Ntsila, Van Schalkwyk, Lerm.

Replacements: A Van Rooyen, Ferreira, Scholtz, Oelofse, De Wit, R Van Rooyen, Banda, Rokoua.

Ospreys: D Evans; Dirksen, Allen, Watkin, Giles; Price, A Davies; N Smith, Baldwin, Fia, Beard, B Davies, Cracknell, Tipuric (capt), King.

Replacements: Parry, G Thomas, Botha, Lydiate, Cross, Aubrey, Davies, L Morgan.

Referee: Andrew Brace (IRFU)

Assistant referees: Frank Murphy (IRFU), Ruhan Meiring (SARU)

TMO: Sean Veldsman (SARU)

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Munster kept their Pro14 home semi-final hopes alive with a bonus-point win over Benetton at Stadio Monigo.

JJ Hanrahan kicked 17 points in his 100th Munster appearance as the Irish side came from 11 points behind to win.

Rhys Marshall, Dan Goggin, Shane Daly and Alby Mathewson all crossed to put Munster top of Conference A before Glasgow visit Leinster on Saturday.

Benetton remain third in the conference table and can secure a play-off place with a win against Zebre on 27 April.

Benetton's Tommaso Benvenuti and Monty Ioane both scored in the first half and the Italian side appeared to be on course for a play-off place when they moved 28-17 ahead early in the second half with a penalty try, but Munster came roaring back with two final-quarter scores to clinch a battling victory.

The Irish province will hope that Glasgow fail to win against Leinster at the RDS before they host provincial rivals Connacht on the final day of the regular season, with the team that finishes top of their conference earning a bye into the last four and a home semi-final draw.

Benetton wing into early lead

Following their last-minute draw against Leinster last weekend, Benetton went into the game having lost just once in 10 Pro14 matches and the Italian side showed once again why they are such a formidable force under head coach Kieran Crowley.

The pace and power of wingers Ioane and Ratuva Tavuyara was a constant source of momentum for the home side as they powered into a ten-point lead inside the opening eight minutes against a second-string Munster.

Allan dispatched an early penalty before a searing Tavuyara break to set up Benvenuti for a clinical opening try.

Munster responded with a two-try salvo in as many minutes as Marshall rumbled over and Goggin strolled over untouched after a chip-and-chase by Darren Sweetnam created a mix up in the Benetton defence.

Allan was able to kick his side back into the lead with two penalties in quick succession and Benetton looked to have taken a decisive lead when they scored tries either side of the half-time break.

Number eight Toa Halafihi rode a thunderous tackle and full-back Jayden Hayward sliced through the Munster cover for Ioane to finish-off a wonderful attack in the left corner in the 38th minute.

The home side maintained their momentum after the break and were rewarded with a penalty try when Sweetnam was sent to the sin bin for deliberately knocking the ball on to spoil a two-man Benetton overlap.

Centurion Hanrahan leads the cavalry

Hanrahan kicked a pair of straight-forward penalties to settle his side and the fly-half's experience proved crucial in the final quarter.

The playmaker was able to dictate the tempo as Benetton's challenge wilted and a powerful break by Dan Goggin allowed Daly to skate over for a superb score and Hanrahan converted from the touchline to nudge his side into the lead.

The fly-half also played a crucial role in the final try as he cut into Benetton territory with a jinking break before finding Mathewson for a score under the posts.

Benetton rallied in the closing minutes as they pushed for fourth try and a losing bonus point but Munster held firm to take a major step towards a home semi-final.

Benetton: Hayward; Tavuyara, Benvenuti, Zanon, Ioane; Allan (capt), Duvenage; Quaglio, Bigi, Riccioni, Herbst, Ruzza, Negri, Steyn, Halafihi.

Replacements: Faiva, Traore, Ferrari, Lazzaroni, Pettinelli, Tebaldi, Rizzi, Iannone.

Sin bin: Benvenuti 52

Munster: Haley; Sweetnam, Arnold, Goggin, Daly; Hanrahan, Mathewson; Loughman, Marshall, Archer, Wycherley, Holland (capt), O'Donoghue, Cloete, Coombes.

Replacements: O'Byrne, O'Connor, Parker, O'Shea, O'Callaghan, Cronin, Johnston, McHenry.

Sin bin: Sweetnam 44

Referee: B Whitehouse (Wales)

Ulster secured a Pro14 play-off spot and dealt Edinburgh's end-of-season aspirations a huge blow with a bonus-point win at Murrayfield.

The visitors coasted to a 15-0 lead at the break thanks to tries from Jordi Murphy and Robert Baloucoune.

Winger Rob Lyttle powered over to extend the advantage before John Barclay scored a consolation.

Billy Burns crossed for the four-try bonus as Ulster secured second spot in Conference B.

The defeat means Edinburgh must beat rivals Glasgow at Scotstoun on 27 April - and hope Benetton lose to Zebre - to clinch the final play-off spot.

A grim night for Edinburgh

Ulster had way too much for Edinburgh - too much power up front, too much control at half-back, too much of a ruthless streak when opportunities presented themselves, too much big-game nous.

Iain Henderson's return as captain, and inspiration, gave them an extra aggression, and they blew their hosts away.

For Edinburgh, it was a grim night. They needed to win to give themselves the best chance of squeezing into the knockouts in third place in their conference, but they rarely raised a gallop. Both teams would have felt this was a must-win game, but only Ulster played like it.

John Cooney put them ahead with an early penalty and they landed a second blow when scoring their first try shortly after.

Ulster were calling the shots, their power, accuracy and speed of thought greater than Edinburgh's. The score that put precious distance between them and their conference rivals came when Grant Gilchrist ripped ball out of Nick Timoney's hands close to the Edinburgh line, the ball spinning loose only for Murphy to pounce on it first.

Cooney banged over the conversion to put Ulster into a 10-0 lead with only a dozen minutes on the clock. Edinburgh had their moments, but Ulster's organisation in defence was as sharp as their edge in attack.

Edinburgh were blurred. They missed touch from a couple of penalties, they kicked out on the full, they missed a straightforward shot at goal.

Just before the end of the first half they lost another score. The difference between the sides was seen in microcosm in that moment when Billy Burns' pass into the wide channel found Baloucoune, who sped around Darcy Graham with a pace and grace that stunned the home crowd. It was a classy finish from the wing.

Even though Cooney missed his conversion, Ulster were now 15 points clear and good value for it.

Jacob Stockdale was always a danger at full-back, Stuart McCloskey was a thumping presence in midfield, Burns and Cooney ran the show at half-back, and up front Ulster were a long way clear of their opposite numbers. Their back row routed Edinburgh's for much of it.

A third Ulster try came 15 minutes into the second half and again it was a piece of opportunism, as well as timid Edinburgh defence, that made it happen.

Ulster went wide again, down the left this time through Stockdale, who fed Lyttle. The little wing had plenty to do, but he did it with ease, beating one defender then taking another couple with him over the line. Cooney's conversion made it an Ulster romp at 22-0.

Barclay came off the bench and dummied his way over just before the hour, but there was never even the slightest suggestion Ulster were going to get fazed by it.

Instead, they got a fourth try and the bonus point that came with it. More pressure, more stress on the Edinburgh defence, more cracks and the excellent Burns went through. The extras made it a 22-point game.

Ulster will be there when the play-offs begin but Edinburgh's fate is no longer in their own hands after this loss. Put simply, if Benetton beat Zebre with a bonus point on the final weekend - possible if not probable - then Edinburgh's play-off hopes will be over.

Edinburgh: Graham; Hoyland, Bennett, Scott, van der Merwe; van der Walt, Pyrgos; Schoeman, McInally (capt), WP Nel, Toolis, Gilchrist, Bradbury, Watson, Mata.

Replacements: Ford, Dell, Berghan, Hunter-Hill, Barclay, Shiel, Hickey, G Taylor.

Ulster: J Stockdale, R Baloucoune, L Marshall, S McCloskey, R Lyttle; B Burns, J Cooney; E O'Sullivan, R Herring, M Moore, I Henderson (capt), K Treadwell, N Timoney, J Murphy, M Coetzee.

Replacements: J Andrew, A Warwick, R Kane, A O'Connor, S Reidy, D Shanahan, P Nelson, A Kernohan.