OSPREYS TOP OF THE PRO12 PILE THANKS TO BATTLING VICTORY IN EDINBURGH
EDINBURGH 9 OSPREYS 13
SAM Davies came up with a moment of sublime inspiration to complement the industrial quantities of perspiration the Ospreys expended when closing out a victory that took them back to the top of the Guinness Pro12 table.
Playing against the elements, the Welsh region had next to no ball after the break as they tried to turn back wave after wave of Edinburgh pressure.
But they held out in appalling conditions, with the likes of Olly Cracknell, James King and Tyler Ardron to the fore in repulsing repeated home attacks.
Ultimately, though, a flash of quality from Davies proved the difference.
Receiving a pass from Tom Habberfield from a ruck midway through the first half, the fly-half deceived the cover with a dummy before manufacturing a back-of-the-hand pass that sent Josh Matavesi across for the try.
It was a breathtaking moment of magic that will only strengthen his claim to figure in the Wales starting line-up against Ireland on Friday evening. Deservedly, Nigel Davies’s son walked off with the man-of-thematch award after a complete performance in the wind and rain.
For the Ospreys, it was only their second victory on the road against Edinburgh in 10 games.
They may have been missing 28 players — 17 to injuries, 11 to representative calls — but on the grounds of effort alone they were worthy winners.
Coach Steve Tandy had started with five of the players released back to the Ospreys by Wales, the exception being Rhodri Jones, who figured on the bench.
Edinburgh had slipped to four straight defeats in the Pro12 since beating Zebre in Parma on New Year’s Eve.
By contrast, the Ospreys had won 14 of their last 15 games in all competitions.
So form was very much with the visitors.
There was a minute’s silence before kick-off in memory of Elli Norkett, the young rugby player from Llandarcy who was tragically killed in a car accident last weekend.
Rob Howley would have been keen to see Davies performed, a week out from the international against Ireland.
Indeed, just about everyone outside of Trappist monasteries had had a say on whether he or Dan Biggar should take the field against the Irish, with 85 percent of respondents in one website poll calling for Davies to get the nod.
Howley is unlikely to have been among them.
He has stuck by Biggar through thick and thin — he values his experience and all-round solidity — and it will be fascinating to see whether he is prepared to change for a game where the stakes will be seriously high.
But Davies’s early play gave the national coach something to think about.
In wind and rain that fairly sliced through Myreside, he put in a couple of beautifully flighted diagonal kicks that secured vital territory for his side.
There was the odd attempted pickup that was misjudged.
But then came the kind of moment that explained why such a bandwagon of support has developed behind the youngster.
From a ruck some 35 metres out, the 23-year-old spotted two front rowers in the defensive line and created space with a flashing dummy.
A rapid burst of speed had defenders desperately trying to get close to him, like moths around a candle, before Davies did the whole lot of them with a back-of-the-hand pass which sent Josh Matavesi diving over beneath the posts.
Edinburgh had only dropped their guard for a split-second, but Davies had the quality to exploit the lapse. It was a neon-lit moment of the highest class.
The Ospreys also defended well throughout the opening 40 minutes, typified by their response to a stray line-out that put them under pressure just before the break.
Edinburgh moved menacingly into the visitors’ 22, only to be met by resolute tackling which snuffed out the danger.
At half-time, with a 10-3 lead, the Welsh region had missed just two out of 59 tackles.
Playing into the wind and rain, and starved of ball, the Ospreys had serious defending to do.
Nicky Smith, Sam Parry, James King, Brian Mujati, Sam Underhill and Rory Thornton all put their bodies on the line as the pressure mounted.
Two penalties from Weir, sandwiched by a 38-metre strike from Davies, left the visitors’ just four points ahead with six minutes to play.
The Scots continued to press to the very end, but a strong carry from Dan Baker from a scrum helped ease the pressure. Seconds later, the final whistle sounded. The visitors’ defiance had been rewarded.
Scorers – Edinburgh: Pens: D. Weir (3).
Ospreys: Try: J. Matavesi.
Con: S Davies. Pens: S. Davies (2).