HEROIC BONUS POINT FOR SCARLETS
16-PAGE SPORT PULLOUT
ALL bad things come to an end, but not for the Ospreys just yet as they opened their Champions Cup campaign with a home defeat.
Steve Tandy’s team had been hoping to arrest a run of five straight losses.
But Clermont Auvergne extended the misery to six games for the Welsh region with a powerful display at the Liberty yesterday evening.
The Ospreys showed there was absolutely nothing wrong with their ticker as they battled back from a disastrous start that saw them trail 14-0 after just 10 minutes.
Two second-half tries from Dan Evans, following a first-half touchdown from Rhys Webb, took them to within just two points of the French with five minutes to play. But Scott Spedding killed off hopes of a comeback win with a booming penalty from miles out.
Ultimately, the French probably deserved their success.
The Ospreys won plenty of ball but didn’t always make great use of it and were undermined by silly errors. Their line-out was unreliable and they also had more than the occasional problem at the scrum.
Justin Tipuric had a strong game for them, while Owen Watkin caught the eye in front of Warren Gatland and Sam Davies and Tom Habberfield looked lively off the bench. Dan Evans attacked well from the back. But the Welsh side couldn’t quite do it.
Tries from Alivereti Raka and Spedding had given Clermont that early momentum and they packed the power and resolve to hold off the home team.
It is no disgrace to succumb to the men from the Massif Central, who have been called the best side never to win the Champions Cup.
But if the Ospreys were to pull off a rugby miracle and make it out of a group that also contains Saracens and Northampton Saints, it was widely accepted they simply had to win their home games as a starting point.
But this setback knocks that hope square on the head and next up are Saracens away on Saturday. Look up the meaning of the word ‘difficult’ in the nearest dictionary and the chances are there will be a reference to this pool.
This was a sad defeat in many ways, not least because it meant the end of the Ospreys’ proud record of never having lost to a French side at the Liberty Stadium.
The run had stood at 15 games over 12 years, with some crack sides seen off, including Toulouse and Toulon, but Clermont were able to succeed where so many others had failed.
At least the Ospreys know where they are in the Champions Cup.
This time a year ago they were belting second or even third teams in the shambles that passes for the Challenge Cup pool stages and it was easy to believe the region were all-powerful.
Reality subsequently administered a seriously hard smack to the face.
The Champions Cup doesn’t tolerate any such delusions.
Full-strength sides are picked with no one seeing the tournament as an opportunity to give the frontline lads a week or two off in readiness for the resumption of league action. This is a serious competition played by serious teams and players.
Heck, even Benetton had given a respectable account of themselves on the opening weekend, making Bath work hard at The Rec.
The Ospreys welcomed back Tipuric, Dmitri Arhip, Keelan Giles, Owen Watkin and Dan Baker to their starting line-up.
Clermont were Clermont, with a starting line-up that read more like a threatening letter.
Alivereti ‘The Rocket’ Raka and Dave Strettle gave them serious strikepower out wide, with Raka not nicknamed The Rocket because he hangs about; Morgan Parra and Camille Lopez offered class at halfback; and there were giant locks in the shape of the 6ft 8in, 19st 9lb Sebastien Vahaamahina and the 6ft 6in, 18st 2lb Paul Jedrasiak, plus Rabah Slimani and Benjamin Kayser in the front row and Fritz Lee at No. 8.
On paper, then, they boasted some team.
And on grass they didn’t look bad either in the opening 10 minutes.
They were 14-0 up with the Ospreys seemingly still in neutral.
The first try came after just four minutes when a kick out of defence by Evans was run back with the ball reaching Raka some 40 metres out.
The Fijian simply took off, living up to his nickname of The Rocket.
He surged past several defenders before crossing for a score that even home fans might have been tempted to applaud.
The Ospreys were soon lining up beneath their posts yet again.
This time half-backs Parra and Lopez combined smartly in the home 22 to create the space for fullback Spedding to dive across.
With Parra converting both scores, it was 14-0 to the visitors and the Ospreys had problems.
To their credit, they responded with a typical poacher’s try from Webb, the scrum-half forcing his way over from close range after Dmitri Arhip had been held up.
But the hosts spurned a couple of kickable penalties and the gambles didn’t come off as Clermont kept them out, with Alun Wyn Jones being stopped on the line on one occasion.
You felt that the Ospreys needed to build their score and take the kicks on offer.
But they evidently believed playing rugby was the way to beat Clermont and they continued to attack the French outfit. They had enjoyed 68% of the possession in the opening half, but the visitors led 20-7 at the break.
The visitors edged further ahead with another penalty from Parra, only for the Ospreys to hit back with Evans’s first try.
The score came courtesy of beautiful passing from Dan Biggar and Watkin, sweeping the ball out to the full-back. He still had work to do but showed good footwork to beat the cover and cross for the score, reward for a hard-working effort.
His second touchdown came after more excellent work from young Watkin, checking his run before distributing. Suddenly it was game on with just a point in it with five minutes to go.
But up stepped Spedding from 53 metres out. Over went the ball.
Defeat for the Ospreys; Saracens away on Saturday.
Rugby can be a tough game.