BRITISH & IRISH CUP

CARDIFF BLUES ............ 16 OSPREYS ......................... 26

THE Ospreys claimed the spoils in this derby clash at the Arms Park to secure their first Anglo-Welsh Cup victory of the season.

After a scoreless first half, they broke the deadlock with a try from scrum-half Reuben Morgan-Williams and sealed their win when replacement centre Rhys Williams went over.

There was a late touchdown from home winger Harri Millard to add to four successful kicks from Steve Shingler.

But it was to prove a mere consolation and the Blues’ hopes of progressing to the knock-out stages of the competition are now over on the back of their 57-0 hammering at Newcastle last week.

There was some positive news for them though as fly-half Gareth Anscombe made his comeback from a persistent groin injury, playing the first 40 minutes.

As for the Ospreys, they remain alive in the cross-border competition, having bounced back from a home defeat to Wasps.

It was that rarest of things in the first 40 minutes, a scoreless half of rugby.

The Blues dominated the period in terms of possession and territory, but just couldn’t turn their superiority into points despite incessant pressure, with the Ospreys showing bravery and resilience in defence.

We didn’t have to wait long after the interval for the first points of the night, just the four minutes in fact, but it wasn’t the hosts who scored them.

It was a well taken try, with Morgan-Williams producing a couple of lovely sidesteps to touch down after a James Hook chip over the top had been collected by Luke Price.

Skipper Price added the conversion, with the Blues swiftly opening their own account with a penalty from Shingler, who had switched to fly-half with Anscombe’s comeback having been curtailed to 40 minutes in a preplanned move.

Shingler and replacement flyhalf Sam Davies then exchanged a couple of penalties apiece, making it 13-9 to the visitors going into the final quarter.

Despite being down to 14 men following the sin-binning of Rob McCusker, the Ospreys claimed their second try of the night and the game’s decisive score on 70 minutes when replacement centre Williams slithered over after an attack down the left. Blues: Try - H Millard; con S Shingler; pens - S Shingler (3) Ospreys: Try - R Morgan Williams, R Williams; cons - L Price, S Davies; pens - S Davies (4)