OSPREYS BREAK KNOCKOUT JINX
THE Ospreys sealed their place in the Challenge Cup quarter-finals with a superb victory over Sale Sharks at the Brewery Field in Bridgend.
Tries from Morgan Morris, Keelan Giles and Reuben-Morgan Williams put Toby Booth’s side in a commanding position to reach a quarter-final against Gloucester at Kingsholm next weekend.
Late scores from Arron Reed and Tommy Taylor threatened to spoil the Ospreys’ hopes of a first-ever European knockout victory. But a late Owen Williams penalty ensured the Welsh side progressed to the last eight in front of a raucous crowd.
Much of the talk before this game had been about the decision to bring it to Bridgend. On their last visit to the ground, they’d outmuscled Cardiff in atrocious conditions.
Ospreys head coach Booth praised the stadium for its ‘earthy’ qualities, but the early passages made it appear the English visitors were more comfortable in the conditions.
From the kick-off, they had the home side under pressure, pinning them back in their own 22 and making life difficult for the Ospreys.
That early pressure resulted in Rob du Preez opening the scoring after four minutes with a simple penalty in front of the sticks.
A scrum penalty – always a strength for the Ospreys throughout the night – handed Williams the opportunity for a quick response, but his wind-assisted effort from halfway didn’t quite have the legs.
As the half went on, the Ospreys found their footing, forcing more scrum penalties and playing the conditions well.
Just before the half-hour mark, Williams levelled the scores as his second effort off the tee had enough behind it.
And then, after the Ospreys had disrupted Sale’s attempted clearance kick as the clock ticked towards halftime, came the moment of the first 40 minutes.
Spotting numbers out wide, Justin Tipuric pulled the ball back to flyhalf Williams as he took the ball to the line. Williams, under pressure from the oncoming defence, palmed the ball in the direction of Jack Walsh.
He too, with a light blue jersey looming large, aimed a similar flick of the wrists towards Owen Watkin. And the Wales centre fired his pass across one team-mate into Morris’ arms, allowing the No. 8 to run in the opening try out wide.
Williams’ conversion drifted wide, meaning it was just a five-point margin at the break. It might have been more, with the Ospreys pushing hard for a second try when the clock was red, but all to no avail.
However, that failure to capitalise at the end of the first half wouldn’t come back to haunt them, thanks to a manic couple of minutes early in the second period.
Firstly, Giles linked up nicely with Williams after an Ospreys’ maul had stalled, allowing the wing to sneak over out wide.
Then after the home side failed to gather the restart, scrum-half Morgan-Williams picked off a du Preez pass and raced away from his own half to open up a 17-point lead.
Sale wing Reed injected some jeopardy into proceedings shortly after the hour mark, rounding Walsh to score out wide.
The nerves heightened as replacement hooker Taylor forced his way over from a line-out with 10 minutes to go.
But a late penalty from Williams sealed victory on a marvellous night in Bridgend.