North in lively form, but Sarries take spoils
WALES wing George North enjoyed a lively Ospreys debut, but couldn’t prevent his new side from slipping to a 31-14 defeat to English champions Saracens at the Honourable Artillery Company in the heart of London.
The match provided the British Lion with a first appearance for the Liberty region since his headlinegrabbing return to Wales from Northampton Saints.
And his 40-minute display was a tantalising appetiser for the Liberty faithful.
He was typically strong with the ball in hand, came off his wing looking for work and set up a try for flanker Sam Cross.
Elsewhere, another new arrival, scrum-half Aled Davies, had his moments, while one of the region’s stalwarts James Hook also showed he has something to offer at the age of 33.
But ultimately, it was Saracens’ powerful line-out drive and aggressive defence that proved key to the win.
With both sides stacked with international talent, it was the home side who enjoyed all the early pressure and were rewarded on seven minutes when England centre Alex Lozowski was put through a gap in midfield to cross.
The Ospreys had done well to repel a number of home forward drives, but the English champions doubled their advantage when prop Richard Barrington ploughed over after one of those line-out surges had been hauled down.
North had been prominent throughout the first 40 minutes and it was his surge and off-load that paved the way for Cross to showcase his sevens awareness and pace to dive over for the Ospreys’ opening score on 31 minutes.
However, moments before the interval, the visitors conceded a third try in bizarre fashion. When scrum-half Ben Spencer interfered with Aled Davies’s attempt to pass from a defensive ruck on the 22, almost every player stopped expecting referee Matt Carley to award the Ospreys a penalty.
However, the whistle didn’t sound and giant Aussie lock Will Skelton picked up, bounced off Sam Davies and touched down.
Clarke changed his entire XV for the second half, while Saracens opted to keep the majority of their starting line-up on the field for the opening exchanges at least.
But it was the visitors who stunned their hosts with a try two minutes after the restart when hooker Scott Otten drove through a maul for the score.
The so-called ‘second-string’ enjoyed plenty of possession in the second period with James Hook providing some nice touches.
But when they did get into Sarries territory, a spluttering line-out was a cause of frustration.
A Spencer penalty and try for French international hooker Christopher Tolofua, from another closerange line-out drive, completed the scoring and the win for Saracens.
But Clarke will leave the city with plenty of positives, as well as lots to work on ahead of next weekend’s Guinness PRO14 opener against Edinburgh in Swansea.
Tries: A. Lozowski, R. Barrington, W. Skelton, C. Tolofua. Cons: B. Spencer (3), Lozowski. Pen: Spencer.
SARACENS .......................... 31 OSPREYS ............................. 14
Saracens: Ospreys:
Tries: S. Cross, S. Otten. Cons: S. Davies, L. Price.