Injury-hit Ospreys fall to another heavy defeat
TWO matches, two defeats, 91 points and 13 tries conceded: that’s the worrying start the Ospreys have made in the Guinness PRO14.
And coach Allen Clarke’s side suffered more injury problems with new signing Ben Glynn, fellow lock Lloyd Ashley and No. 8 Dan Baker departing during a 53-5 thrashing against champions Leinster in Dublin.
They finished with hooker Scott Otten at flanker and two back-rowers at lock as the Champions Cup finalists ran in eight tries in front of a crowd of 11,259 at the RDS.
Leinster were 22-0 ahead at the end of the first half and crossed the whitewash for a fourth try and a bonus point just five minutes into the second.
It wasn’t until the final 10 minutes of the one-sided encounter that the Ospreys troubled the scoreboard operator, with Wales wing cap Luke Morgan going over.
The reverse came on the back of a five-try 38-14 walloping against Ulster in Belfast a week earlier.
The Ospreys were without 18 players, 10 of whom are at the World Cup with the rest injured for the trip to Leinster.
Injuries and unavailabilities meant Wales’s 2011 World Cup star Dan Lydiate figured at lock, with Glynn, who they signed earlier this week, on the bench.
There were also three players aged 21 or under in the backs, including teenager Tiaan ThomasWheeler.
Experienced South African scrum-half Shaun Venter made his debut but couldn’t stem the flow of points.
It was the Ospreys’ sixth consecutive defeat against sides from the Emerald Isle, while they haven’t won in Ireland for more than three years.
Hooker Ronan Kelleher (three), Max Deegan, Fergus McFadden, Joe Tomane, Michael Milne and Harry Byrne scored Leinster tries.
The clash with Ulster had deprived the Ospreys of centre Cory Allen, who ruptured an anterior cruciate ligament in a knee, backrow or lock James King, full-back Dan Evans and youngster Rhys Henry (all shoulder).
The Ospreys will hope to stop the rot when they face last season’s PRO14 surprise package Benetton at Swansea’s Liberty Stadium next Saturday night. LEINSTER: Tries: McFadden, R. Kelleher (3), Tomane, Deegan, H. Byrne, Milne. Cons: R. Byrne (4), H. Byrne. Pen: R. Byrne. OSPREYS: Try: L. Morgan.