Biggar joins Ospreys 200-club on a crucial day in Pro12 title race

LIONS captaincy favourite Sam Warburton was forced off with an injury after contributing a try to a terrific effort from Cardiff Blues in this dramatic draw in Belfast.

The flanker hobbled from the field just before the break at the Kingspan Stadium, with the initial diagnosis being damage to his left knee. However, the word from the Blues camp was it didn’t appear to be anything major and that it was hopefully just a precaution.

Lions coach Warren Gatland will certainly be hoping that will be the case, with Warburton the firm favourite to be his captain in New Zealand this summer.

The openside was one of five injuries for Danny Wilson’s team, which makes their effort all the more creditable against an Ulster side that had won six on the trot.

They produced arguably their best performance of the season, with Rey Lee Lo crossing twice to add to Warburton’s first-half effort.

Lee Lo and fellow centre Willis Halaholo caused havoc with their stepping in midfield, while Gareth Anscombe pulled the strings superbly at outside-half.

Rhun Williams, Matthew Morgan and Alex Cuthbert also proved a potent back three, with some of the Blues’ attacking play being of the highest order.

There was also a titanic shift from the pack and the way the visitors overcame their injury adversity was commendable, with wing Blaine Scully having dislocated his elbow and lock George Earle sustaining leg damage.

It was a thrilling contest all round, with the sides finishing level on the scoreboard and on try-count, at three apiece, following a breathless, open encounter.

Ulster led 14-10 at half-time, having claimed a Paddy Jackson touchdown and penalty try in response to Warburton’s closerange effort which had followed one of a series of Halaholo breaks.

That was a scoreline that didn’t really reflect the Blues’ showing and the visitors continued to impress after the break, this time with due reward.

Both times it was Lee Lo who struck, first crossing via an Anscombe pass and then delivering a superb individual finish for his second as he broke a tackle and stepped inside to the line.

It looked as though the Blues were on course for a memorable win, but Ulster centre Luke Marshall tied things up as he touched down 12 minutes from time. JUSTIN Tipuric and Dan Biggar miss out on head-to-head auditions for the Lions when Ospreys clash with Guinness Pro12 leaders Leinster in a crucial clash at the Liberty Stadium today.

For there’s no Sean O’Brien and Johnny Sexton in the Leinster side although flanker Tipuric will face a test from the dangerous Josh van der Flier while Biggar is up against one of the hottest prospects in British and Irish rugby in Joey Carbery.

Another Lions contender, Jamie Heaslip, and full-back Rob Kearney are injured but, apart from the absence of Leinster’s centre Garry Ringrose, Sexton and O’Brien, the Champions Cup semi-finalists are heading to Swansea with a strong team.

There’s just four rounds of fixtures remaining of the regular Pro12 season with the top four finishers advancing to the end of season championship play-offs.

Leinster are two points ahead of Munster at the summit with the Ospreys, who suffered a shock reverse at Treviso in their last league match, another four behind with Ulster and the Scarlets right in the mix.

Five into four doesn’t go and Ospreys cannot afford defeat against Leinster – and they will want to celebrate talisman Dan Biggar’s 200th appearance for the region with victory.

Coach Steve Tandy said: “He is the ultimate competitor and it’s an amazing achievement for Dan, particularly when you look how young he still is.

“You look at his level of consistency, the number of games he has played and his incredible pointsscoring record, and it tells you all you need to know about his appetite for work.

“He leaves nothing to chance; it’s all about the preparation he puts in. Anyone who knows him will tell you about his commitment, the hard work day in, day out, to ensure he is the very best he can be.

“He is never satisfied and he expects the same from everyone around him. Nobody plays as many games, for the Ospreys and Wales, as he has by the age of 27, or scores the points they have, by chance.

“His character probably makes him easy to knock from the outside but he just shrugs criticism off, he is someone who thrives on adversity with his will to win.

“He’s not always had the credit that he does deserves outside of our environment, but in recent seasons it’s as if the rest of the world has finally seen what ‘Biggs’ brings to any team he’s involved with.” Biggar will become just the fifth player in Ospreys history to pass the double century landmark, joining Duncan Jones (223), Paul James (217), Alun Wyn Jones and Andrew Bishop (both 209), almost exactly five years after he also became the youngest to a century, a record he still holds. “It’s a really nice achievement, something to be proud of, certainly, for someone who is from the area. It’s the kind of thing that when you get to the end of your career and look back on, particularly when you see the list of people already there,” he said. But Biggar was quick to stress: “Hopefully the day will be more about the Ospreys picking up a positive result rather than my 200th appearance. “It’s an important game and we’ve all got a job to do, which is to ensure we bounce back from last weekend and keep moving in the right direction towards securing a play-off spot and, hopefully, creating more positive moments before the end of the season.”

Biggar was just 18 when supporters got their first glimpse of him in an Ospreys shirt, a late introduction off the bench in place of James Hook in the closing minutes of a 30-3 win over Saracens in the Anglo-Welsh Cup in March 2008.

His tally of 2029 points for the Ospreys puts him top of the region’s all-time list, well ahead of Hook in second place with 796. He has scored 25 tries, putting him ninth on the list, sandwiched between Ashley Beck and Gavin Henson.

“You always want more, you always want to be involved when you can, but you can never, ever, predict playing 200 games for your home region,” said Biggar.

“In recent seasons I’ve not been able to play for the Ospreys as much as I would have liked as I’ve been fortunate enough to be involved more regularly with Wales in the Six Nations and autumn period, but that makes you appreciate each appearance all the more.

“I’m 27 now so I’m hanging on in there at the moment. Most people are probably sick of the sight of me by now!

“I’ve played a lot of games over the years so I’ve been able to get there quicker than the rest. I don’t know what that says about me, if anything,