There for the taking, but Ospreys manage to throw it all away
HOW on earth did the Ospreys manage to lose this game? They had a one-man advantage for half the match with Stade Francais winger Josaia Raisque first being sin-binned and then sent off after his second yellow on 50 minutes.
They dominated the game in terms of possession (70 per cent) and territory (76 per cent), while they made twice as many metres as their opponents – 656 to 330.
The “defenders beaten” tally was a remarkable 31-2 in their favour, while they made 12 line-breaks to only three from Stade.
And yet they were still beaten, as they once again bombed out of Europe in the quarter-finals, a stage they have never got beyond in their history. So, explain that one? Well, the truth is, it was a tale of countless missed opportunities and key mistakes, coupled with controversial calls from referee Matthew Carley.
By the end, I had lost count of the number of chances the hosts had spurned there were so many of them.
Time and again, they got into the red zone in the opposition 22, but they were just unable to deliver the clinical finish.
For all their incessant pressure in front of a 12,127 Principality Stadium crowd, they only managed to score two tries, through Josh Matavesi and Tyler Ardron.
The second of those, on 76 minutes, set up a grandstand finish, but it was somehow fitting the game should end with the Ospreys turning over ball just yards from the Stade line.
That was the story of the game, along with the self-inflicted wounds which enabled the visitors to outscore them by three tries to two despite being under the cosh for so long.
Even though they had failed to make the most of their first half superiority, somehow trailing 8-6 at the break, it did look as though the hosts were on their way to a Liberty Stadium semi-final meeting with Bath when they went 14-11 up on 51 minutes.
Raisque had just been red carded following his second yellow, Biggar had slotted the resulting penalty to give them the lead and they were to have a man advantage for the final half hour.
Surely they were on their way now? Think again.
Instead, that was the cue for them to shoot themselves in the foot.
Pretty much from the restart, they were guilty of woefully loose defending as replacement back rower Raphael Lakafia touched down after collecting a Jules Plisson cross-kick in far too much space given his team were down to 14 men.
Then, just before the hour mark, came the game’s pivotal and most contentious incident.
First came the mistake, as fullback Sam Davies threw a pass straight to Stade lock Hugh Pyle who was lurking just inside the opposition half, with Pyle pounding upfield before sending Julien Arias over.
Then came the controversy as referee Carley checked the replays to see if the second row had been offside from his team’s clearing kick miles downfield in their own 22.
In the end, he decided Pyle had been retreating towards his own line, so was not offside and the try stood.
If he had been retreating then it was with the smallest of steps and whether that had been before Davies’ pass is a matter of debate.
It was a huge call and one we doubtless haven’t heard the end of.
The Ospreys still had 20 minutes left to turn around the 11-point deficit, but for all their huffing and puffing and hammering away, they just couldn’t do it, with Ardron’s telescopic stretch for the line proving too little too late.
So, after a perfect group campaign, a hugely-frustrating end to their European adventure.
It was the strangest of games in some ways.
The Ospreys were totally dominant in all aspects, apart from one, the scrum, where they were totally destroyed!
But, despite that set-piece trauma, they still had more than enough opportunities to win the game and they will know this was one that really got away.
There was so much to admire in their approach work, but they just couldn’t add the finishing touch.
This was perfectly illustrated by a sweeping attack from deep on 14 minutes which looked to have produced one of the tries of the season, only for Keelan Giles’ scoring pass to Dan Biggar to be adjudged forward.
That kind of set the tone for the day, with so much spadework going unrewarded.
They got over the line with one driving maul, while another came up just short, and then there were the near things out wide, with Giles just forced into touch late on.
There were also a couple of key kicking errors from Biggar, who hit the woodwork from in front of the posts just before the break and then just failed to find touch with a penal-
ty into the corner two minutes from time. Such are the narrow margins between success and failure.
In fairness to the Ospreys, some of the decisions from referee Carley didn’t really go their way either.
It looked a nailed-on red card for Raisuqe when he stamped on Giles after 19 minutes, only for the ref to limit the punishment to a yellow.
And then came that crucial call on Arias’ try, while a penalised pass from Sam Davies near the Stade line at a pivotal late moment looked less forward than the scoring one from Rhys Webb to Matavesi which was allowed.
But, for all the contentious calls, this game was there for the taking for the Ospreys and they failed to take it. It’s an experience that will take some getting over.