Cardiff Blues caused the shock of the weekend as they went to Musgrave Park and saw off Munster to leave the playoff picture even tighter following Leinster's bonus point win against Edinburgh.
Zebre came within a whisker of their first-ever win but Dan Biggar's second-half try was decisive in Ospreys' 16-15 success, while there were also victories for Connacht and Glasgow Warriors.
TRY OF THE WEEKEND
A nip and tuck affair for much of the 80 minutes in Ireland, it took a try from No.8 Robin Copeland to seal a surprise win for the Blues against Munster.
After a Munster breakout from their own try-line was halted on halfway, quick turnover ball found its way to Copeland and the 25-year-old sidestepped a couple of tacklers before bursting clear for his first try of the season, sealing the win for the Blues in the process.
BREAK OF THE WEEKEND
With Scarlets going down to a heavy defeat in Ulster the chance was there for Glasgow Warriors to move up to second with a bonus-point win against Treviso.
And Gregor Townsend's troops did not disappoint in a 41-7 win, the pick of the tries coming from the in-form Tommy Seymour who intercepted on his own try-line before racing the length of the pitch for his fifth try in his last four league games.
PLAY OF THE WEEKEND
Leinster moved back into the play-off places on Saturday as they went to Edinburgh and ground out a bonus-point victory.
But the all-important bonus point was not sealed until ten minutes from time when Ian Madigan, on at full-back for Rob Kearney, grabbed their fourth try of the night , finishing off a fine flowing move by the visitors.
An honourable mention must however go here to the Zebre physio, whose slip and subsequent two-footed tackle on winger Tito Tebaldi was exquisitely timed, if entirely unintentional!
PLAYER OF THE WEEKEND
Ulster needed to bounce back from their Munster defeat if they were to avoid the doubts creeping into their title challenge.
And No.8 Nick Williams appeared to have made it his personal mission to make sure the Irish province proved the sceptics wrong.
The powerhouse forward was rampaging in the loose, breaking clear in the first half for a what was almost a field-length score and carrying four would-be Scarlets tacklers over when he did eventually get his richly-deserved try after the break.
LIONS WATCH
Warren Gatland will have been delighted for the most part with what he saw this weekend in the RaboDirect PRO12.
Leigh Halfpenny and Jamie Roberts both made their returns from injury for the Blues and their arrival paid immediate dividends in a fantastic 17-6 win against Munster.
Also impressive for the Welsh outfit was Rhys Patchell at fly-half, the youngster's growing list of plaudits were extended this weekend in a fine display that could well put him in contention for Wales in the absence of the injured Rhys Priestland.
Jonny Sexton and Sean O'Brien were both magnificent for Leinster while Adam Jones' rehabilitation from injury continued apace as he was given the captain's armband in Ospreys' narrow win over Zebre.
Finally the one black spot for Gatland was the injury sustained by George North who was stretchered off in Scarlets' defeat to Ulster.
But initial reports suggest that the powerful winger's neck injury is not as bad as first feared.
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