Ospreys miss out on last-gasp bonus
THE Ospreys left Paris empty handed after going down to a second Challenge Cup defeat of the campaign on a freezing night in the French capital.
Replacement Cai Evans had the chance to steal a losing bonus point, but with the final kick of a try-less match, the youngster pushed his penalty wide.
The Ospreys would have been more than happy with that snatch and grab, having spent much of the game on the back foot with Stade Francais failing to grab a string of scoring opportunities.
But they now have it all to do to qualify for the knockout stages with a home match against Worcester and another trip to France to face Pau to come in the New Year.
Pumas fly-half Nicolas Sanchez, on debut, kicked all of Stade’s points, with the Ospreys making do with a for those who progress to the latter stages of the second tier competition, it was a gamble by Clarke. But it was one the Northern Irishman was clearly comfortable in taking on the back of a 51-20 victory at the Liberty six days earlier.
Before kick-off, both sides paid an emotional tribute to 19-year-old Nicolas Chauvin, the Stade player who had tragically lost his life in a youth team match last weekend.
Clarke would certainly have demanded far more resolve and energy from this group than what had been shown in Cork and Dublin in previous away trips and he certainly got that in a breathless first half where the Ospreys spent long periods camped in their own territory. They battled manfully throughout, but were also grateful for Stade’s profligacy in sight of the whitewash.
The French side, mid-table in the Top 14, carved open two gilt-edged try-scoring opportunities and a couple of other chances, but on each occasion lacked a killer instinct.
Fijian wing Waisea Nayacalevu fumbled a pass with the line at his mercy, then French international centre Jonathan Danty also failed to hang onto chance out wide.
The home side, who were without a win in the opening three rounds of the pool stages, dominated possession and territory, but had to make do with two penalties from the boot of new Pumas signing Sanchez.
A third Sanchez penalty early in the second period extended the home side’s advantage, but Hook cancelled that out with a well-struck kick to bring the Ospreys back into it after 52 minutes.
Sanchez landed another penalty, his fourth, to extend the advantage to 12-3, then after South African centre Johnny Kotze was yellow carded for an off-the-ball tackle, the Ospreys had one final chance after winning a ruck penalty with seconds left on the clock. However, 30 metres out, Evans pushed his attempt wide.