OSPREYS MISS OUT IN PLAY-OFF BATTLE
Ulster defeat means Champions Cup no-go:
THE Ospreys will be playing in the second tier of European rugby next season after missing a golden opportunity against an under-strength Ulster in yesterday’s Champions Cup play-off in Belfast.
Against a home team shorn of a host of star names, the Ospreys would have fancied their chances of ending a difficult season on a high.
Instead, it proved a miserable return to the Kingspan for Ulsterman Allen Clarke, who faces a big summer ahead in charge of a side in a real stage of transition.
With the likes of Dan Biggar, Rhys Webb, Dmitri Arhip and Ashley Beck moving on, newly-installed head coach Clarke has some huge boots to fill, although the arrival of Wales duo George North and Scott Williams, among others, will help to counter those departures.
That said, not being in the Champions Cup will be a massive disappointment to the Ospreys, who worked hard to resurrect their Guinness PRO14 campaign after a woeful start
But ultimately, in a one-off play-off tie to decide the final place in the continent’s elite, they were unable to raise their game and gifted a grateful Ulster a couple of second-half tries to compound their afternoon.
The visitors, with seven internationals in their pack, failed to make their expected forward superiority tell against a home eight missing British and Irish Lions Rory Best and Iain Henderson, while an aggressive home defence caused the Ospreys’ attacking game all sorts of problems throughout.
Trailing 8-7 at the break, the Welsh side conceded three second-half scores and were comprehensively beaten by the end.
As for Biggar, ending his Ospreys’ career on such a low will leave a bitter taste after giving so much to the Liberty cause over the years.
There was, at least, some consolation, his late try seeing him break the PRO14’s all-time scoring record, previously held by Scotland international Dan Parks.
Boosted by the return from injury of Dan Lydiate, the Ospreys had the chance to get on the board after just five minutes, only for Biggar to hit the upright with his 40-metre penalty attempt.
However, with the visitors dominating possession and territory, they were rewarded with the game’s opening try after 15 minutes.
A booming touchfinder from Biggar put his side in a threatening attacking position and from it, a superbly-manufactured line-out drive took the Ospreys to within inches of the Ulster whitewash.
Somehow, the home side managed to halt the surge, but with the line under his nose, skipper Alun Wyn Jones managed to find the space to drive over.
Biggar slotted the conversion to give the visitors a deserved 7-0 advantage, a lead that was reduced by a penalty from Ulster’s player of the year John Cooney on 25 minutes.
Understandably, the match was proving an edgy affair, particularly as both sides hadn’t played for three weeks.
And it meant clear-cut try-scoring chances were at a premium.
The Ospreys enjoyed a clear edge up front but were not able to transfer that ascendancy on to the scoreboard, with Biggar hitting the other post with a second penalty shot.
Instead, it was Ulster who struck six minutes before half-time.
Ill-discipline forced the visitors deep into their own territory and they could do nothing to prevent a beautifully-weighted kick from centre Luke Marshall sitting up in the path of wing Craig Gilroy, who touched down athletically.
The score would have been a source of huge frustration for Clarke, who would have felt his side should have been further ahead instead of 8-7 behind at the interval, although he could have no complaints at how the game panned out in the second half.
A half-full Kingspan was brought to its feet within two minutes of the restart with the impressive Gilroy, a late inclusion for the injured Charles Piutau, claiming his second after a mistake from an Ospreys attack on halfway.
An inside pass from Sam Davies was intercepted by Cooney; his halfback partner Jonny McPhillips kicked through and Ireland international Gilroy showed good composure to win the race and touch down.
Cooney’s conversion made it 15-7 and provided the home camp with a clear injection of confidence.
In contrast, the Ospreys were already looking shorn of ideas, not helping their own cause with some dreadful errors.
One of those, from a defensive line-out, gifted Ulster an attacking scrum, and from it lock Kieran Treadwell showed good strength to charge over for his side’s third.
Facing a 15-point deficit, the Ospreys suddenly released the shackles as they desperately attempted to claw their way back into the game.
Former sevens star Sam Cross was introduced and made an immediate impact as his break almost led to a corner try for fellow replacement James Hook.
Jeff Hassler, another player heading off to pastures new, was freed out wide by a lovely miss-pass from Hook to give the Ospreys some hope of a comeback.
Biggar, though, missed the conversion, and two more penalties from Cooney kept the Welsh side at arm’s length.
The Ospreys’ afternoon was summed up when Six Nations player of the tournament Jacob Stockdale, who has enjoyed his interception tries against Welsh opposition this season, picked off a Hook pass to race to the line unopposed.
There was still time for a late Biggar score, a five-pointer which saw him surpass Parks’s record tally of 1,582.
But it was scant consolation.