Effigies, banners and giant forks... when Ospreys faced up to fury on French visit

GAVIN Henson starts for the Dragons as they bid for a place in the quarter-finals of the European Challenge Cup when they clash with Bordeaux-Begles in Newport today (3pm).

It’s not quite mission impossible for Henson and company but they need to win by nine or more points and secure a bonus point victory with the French outfit not picking up anything from their visit to Rodney Parade.

That would result in the Gwent region finishing ahead of them in Pool One and being runners-up to Aviva Premiership club Newcastle Falcons at the end of the group stage.

It would give the Dragons a chance, albeit dependent on results elsewhere, of reaching the knock-out stage for the third time in four seasons.

For the Dragons to qualify, they need to pull off their side of the bargain and three of the following to happen:

Pool Four winners Edinburgh to be victors at Stade Francais;

London Irish to fail to get a bonus point win at Russian side Krasny Var and overturn an inferior points difference;

Sale Sharks not to get a bonus point win at Toulouse in Pool One;

Brive to keep Worcester Warriors pointless in Pool Five but fail to get a bonus point win and overturn an inferior points difference.

Coach Bernard Jackman has made four changes to the starting line-up beaten in Bordeaux with Carl Meyer returning at full-back, Henson at outsidehalf, Sam Hobbs back at prop and James Sheekey in the backrow.

“If we make sure we tick the boxes we need to and if, by hook or by crook, the other results go our way, then it will be excellent,” said Dragons coach Hendre Marnitz. YOU don’t need to hitch a lift in a time machine and head back to 2009 and the Ospreys’ game with Perpignan at Stade Aime Giral to conclude that a steely nerve is sometimes required for a European rugby trip to France.

But, still, what happened nine years ago has stuck in the minds of those who witnessed the match in the shadows of the Pyrenees.

The scene had been set when the Ospreys hosted Perpignan at the Liberty three months earlier and Paul James had sent visiting hooker Marius Tincu crashing to the floor with a punch. An open-and-shut case for a ban for the Welshman, then?

Not quite. Instead it was the Romanian who copped a lengthy suspension, with disciplinary chiefs placing him off limits for 18 weeks for making contact with the eye area of the Wales international.

James himself was banned for a week, but, with the Ospreys having imposed their own suspension on him, he was deemed free to play.

French fury knew no bounds and a hot reception was promised for the Welsh team when they played the return leg – and a hot reception Sean Holley’s side duly received, with supporters not only jeering visiting players as they got off their team bus but also holding up effigies decked out in Ospreys kits and brandishing accusatory banners and giant cardboard forks wrapped in tin foil.

And their mood was hardly calmed when Filo Tiatia committed a professional foul on Chris Cusiter after just three minutes.

Such are the joys of playing an important European game in France.

Ahead of the Ospreys’ Champions Cup date with Clermont Auvergne on Saturday, a match they need to win to give themselves a chance of qualifying for the quarter-finals – a 4-0 match-points success would do the trick – MARK ORDERS recalls arguably the most menacing challenge the Ospreys have ever faced on their European travels...