Ospreys show their pedigree to smother young Falcons

OSPREYS captain Alun Wyn Jones wants to make the most of this season’s opportunity in Europe after a seven-try thrashing of Newcastle.

Dan Biggar became the first Osprey to pass 500 European points as he kicked off the scoring in a 45-0 Pool 2 triumph.

Rhys Webb and Ashley Beck added tries in the first half before Scott Baldwin wrapped up the bonus-point before Justin Tipuric’s stunning solo score and a quick fire double from Keelan Giles.

But Jones is not getting carried away with the dominant display.

He said: “We have a long way to go and a few stages before we even think about winning it.

“We had to put the hard work in because Newcastle were in the ascendancy in the first-half. They really came at us but we weathered the storm at the start of both halves and did really well off the back of it.

“It’s a chance to expose guys to European rugby and we want to make the most of our opportunity.”

The Falcons failed to turn early pressure into points and the Ospreys showed them how it was done on the 20 minute mark after some magic from scrum-half Webb.

The Wales star pulled off a trademark snipe to go past David Wilson, before delivering an accurate pass to Biggar, who ran in unopposed to take his European points tally past 500.

Webb turned on the style five minutes later to grab a try of his own when he collected his own delicate chip over the Newcastle defence to dive over.

Biggar converted to make it 14-0 and it was not long before Beck darted down the left wing to make it 19-0 at half-time.

The bonus-point was wrapped up 14 minutes after half-time when Baldwin was shunted over from close-range lineout, before Tipuric showed all his class to score a stunning try.

The Wales flanker burst clear in his own half before kicking ahead and racing past the Newcastle defence to collect and score.

And there was still time for 18-year-old European debutant Giles to chip over the top and score before being given an easy run-in to round off the 45-0 rout.

Newcastle director of rugby Dean Richards said: “We could sit down and have a go at the youngsters who went out there, or you can say it’s a great experience, you can learn from it and right the wrongs next week.”