BKT URC Round 12 Review: St David’s Day delight for the Ospreys

Simon Thomas 

There was St David’s Day delight for the Ospreys as they beat Glasgow Warriors 32-31 at Scotstoun with “a rollercoaster ride” of a match taking a dramatic twist at the final turn.

It looked as though league champions Glasgow had snatched the spoils when Duncan Weir converted Nathan McBeth’s try with just 30 seconds to play.

But from the restart, with the clock having turned red, Ospreys skipper Justin Tipuric won a jackal penalty and full-back Jack Walsh kept his nerve to slot the match-winning kick from wide out on the right.

Ecstatic

It was the Welsh side’s first win in Glasgow since 2016 and the scenes of celebration were suitably ecstatic as Walsh was mobbed by his team-mates.

Giving his thoughts, head coach Mark Jones said: “The whole game was like a rollercoaster ride.

“It was a stressful few minutes at the end, I won’t lie to you.

“For Jack to step up in that moment, under that sort of fatigue as a goal-kicker, all credit to him.

“That wasn’t a gimme there. That’s why he spends all the time he does after training. When we are all going back in for a cup of tea, he’s out there whacking them between the posts.

“I am chuffed for him and the team for the commitment they showed and that they do get a reward at the end of it.”

The visitors had raced into a 15-0 lead with three tries inside the opening quarter, only for Glasgow to peg them back as the pendulum swung back and fore.

There were ten tries in all, five apiece, with Ospreys scrum-half Kieran Hardy and home prop Patrick Schickerling both crossing twice ahead of the grandstand finish.

Jones added: “Glasgow are the champions, they are the best side in the competition until the final happens again.

“So we knew we would have to be at our best and we weren’t far off it, especially in the first half. We were pretty good.

“Against the best teams, there are always going to be ebbs and flows. It’s how you deal with them and I thought emotionally we were very good. We stuck in it and we managed the momentum tides.”

Reflecting on his match-winning penalty with the final kick of the game, Walsh said: “The boys put in a shift, so I just didn’t want to let them down really. As a 10/15, that’s my job.

“Glasgow are a class outfit. I can’t remember how long it is since they lost at home. So we said we had to be in it for every minute.

“It was about having the confidence to go out and express ourselves. There was no point going out there with fear. That’s what we spoke about all week.”

Player of the Match

The Player of the Match award went to Ospreys centre Keiran Williams who set up a couple of tries and was the joint top carrier along with No 8 Morgan Morse (both on 14).

“As a neutral, what a fantastic game that was to watch and, from my point of view, what a fantastic game to be a part of, especially going down to the wire,” said Williams.

“I thought we had given it away at the end and that the game had gone.

“It was one of those where we had to do anything we could to get the ball back.

“Obviously Tips – what a man – did it and credit to Jack for stepping up and getting us the win.

“It doesn’t get much better than that, does it, especially in the last minute.

“Credit to us for scoring five tries at the home of the champions. I thought we did very well in our attack.

“Hopefully, we can kick on now and finish the season well.”

It was only Glasgow’s second home defeat in the league since 2021, but their coach Franco Smith wasn’t too downbeat.

“I am proud of the boys with the character they showed to claw their way back from behind,” he said.

“A win would have been even better, but there are enough positives for us to take from this that will serve this squad well.”

He added: “Well done to the Ospreys. It’s tough to come and beat us here.”

The defeat for second-placed Glasgow leaves Leinster Rugby a whopping 13 points clear at the top of the BKT URC following their six-try 42-24 victory over Cardiff Rugby at the Aviva Stadium.

As for the battle for play-off spots, it’s now more congested than ever with just nine points separating fourth and 15th in the table.

Lightning strike from the DHL Stormers

Amid some extraordinary weather conditions in Pretoria, the DHL Stormers ended a three-match losing run in the league by beating the Vodacom Bulls 19-16 in their own back yard.

The kick-off had to be delayed for more than an hour due to thunder, lightning and torrential rain which left the Loftus Versfeld pitch flooded.

But ground staff and fans worked wonders as they joined forces to sweep away the standing water, enabling the game to go ahead.

It proved to be a tight old affair with a converted try from centre Wandisile Simelane 13 minutes from time proving the decisive score.

DHL Stormers skipper Salmaan Moerat said: “That was a classic North-South derby. It could have gone either way.

“It was a tussle and we knew it was going to be that way. I’m really proud of the guts shown by my boys.”

Moerat’s pack pal Evan Roos added: “It was a long day, with the rain and all that.

“Our whole focus was to start fast and just be in their faces for the full 80 minutes. I felt we did that very well.

“I’m super proud of the coaches, the team and all the back-room staff and everyone at home who made this week special and possible.”

Vodacom Bulls captain Reinhardt Ludwig said: “It’s a disappointing loss. I think we lost against ourselves. But well done to the Stormers on a good win.”

In the weekend’s other South African derby, the Emirates Lions thumped the Hollywoodbets Sharks 38-14 in Johannesburg.

Captain Francke Horn, who scored one of their six tries, said: “We played in the right areas and then capitalised and came away with points. We scored some unbelievable tries. You could see the guys were enjoying themselves.”

The two sides will now meet again next Saturday in Durban in a rescheduled Round 1 fixture.

“We are under no illusions,” said No 8 Horn.

“That’s going to be a tough one. They are going to up and ready for it at their home ground.

“We will celebrate the win, but there’s a lot of hard work that has to go in next week to play in the conditions in Durban.”

Hollywoodbets Sharks skipper Lukhanyo Am commented: “Credit to the Lions. They isolated us, played in the right areas and we just couldn’t get out of it.

“They were just too good, they were clinical. We just weren’t too sharp. Playing the Lions at their home ground, we knew it was going to be tough and we just made it tougher for ourselves. We just couldn’t get going.”

Looking ahead to next weekend’s rematch, Springboks centre Am said: “It should be an easier fix. We know what happened and will just go back to the drawing board and try and correct it.”

Hurt Edinburgh bounce back in style

Edinburgh Rugby used the hurt from their home defeat to Zebre Parma to bounce back in emphatic fashion as they beat Munster Rugby 34-28 in Cork.

Coach Sean Everitt had been looking for a brave response from his players after the 22-17 loss to the Italians in the last round and they certainly delivered.

They dominated at scrum time, winning a series of penalties, and ran in five tries with winger Matt Currie claiming a hat-trick.

Player of the Match Currie admitted: “We were hurting after that Zebre game.

“We definitely felt that wasn’t any performance you ever want to put on a pitch. It definitely gave us that kind of shock that we needed.

“The focus for us now going on is just keeping that consistency. We don’t want to have those games to perform afterwards.”

On a personal note, Currie added: “My granddad Frank used to play hurling for Kilkenny and I’ve still got a lot of family here.

“They were all out watching, so I’m sure it’s probably a bittersweet one for them!”

Coach Everitt commented: “We were obviously disappointed with the result against Zebre. Sometimes you learn hard lessons and we did in that game.

“You have to go back to the drawing board when you lose at home. We were looking to bounce back in a big challenging game.

“I spoke to the players about being brave and taking the opportunities presented to them.

“I thought our set-piece functioned really well. That enabled us to put pressure on from a field position point of view and I thought we were outstanding defensively.

“We had to pick up the win after the loss to Zebre. We don’t often win away from home and this is a really good confidence builder for the team. I am very pleased.”

Munster coach Ian Costello didn’t mince his words, saying:

“I am really disappointed. It was a really poor performance, our poorest for a long time. That’s not good enough for us. Our whole game was off, not at a standard that’s acceptable.

“It was a very disappointed dressing room and rightly so, especially when we got ourselves in such a good position over the last couple of months.

“We have got to sit with that over the next two weeks now. That’s got to hurt. It was way below what we have produced over the last period of time. There were very few positives to take out of it.”

In Friday night’s other game, Zebre made it three league wins in a row for the first time since 2018 as they came from 21-7 down to beat Dragons RFC 31-21 at Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi.

Fellow Italians Benetton Rugby looked on course to join them in victory when they led Connacht Rugby 27-19 at half-time in Galway the following day.

But the home side roared back with three second half tries to win 38-30 and move into the top eight.

Meanwhile, Ulster Rugby beat the Scarlets 30-28 thanks to a converted try from lock Alan O’Connor two minutes from the end of what was a real see-saw battle.

Match of the weekend

Glasgow 31, Ospreys 32

There were a number of tight contests and thrilling finales, but this ten-try cracker stands apart. It wasn’t just the game of the weekend, but one of the games of the season.

Player of the weekend

James McNabney (Ulster)

Edinburgh hat-trick hero Matt Currie was a strong contender, but our vote goes to the young Ulster No 8.

The day after turning 22, McNabney celebrated by putting in a huge shift in the dramatic 30-28 victory over the Scarlets at Belfast’s Kingspan Stadium.

He was the game’s leading carrier, trucking the ball up 16 times, while he also put in 11 tackles and even added a clearing kick for good measure.

The Ballymena boy looks to have a bright future.

Speaking after a game which was decided by Alan O’Connor’s 78th minute converted try, McNabney outlined just how important a win it was following defeats to Zebre and Benetton.

“We needed that result, we needed to salvage our season,” he said.

“It was very tough out there. The Scarlets pushed us right to the end. But we dug deep, stuck in and ground it out. I couldn’t be prouder of the lads.”

Quote of the weekend

The Soroka brothers – Ivan and Alex – after they played together for Leinster for the first time in the victory over Cardiff at the Aviva Stadium.

“It’s a bit surreal really. It’s a nice moment and one I will always cherish. It’s unbelievable,” said prop Ivan, who came off the bench to make his debut for the province at the age of 30.

It was some eight years since his previous professional stint with Connacht. He now works as a financial advisor and plays club rugby for Clontarf RFC, but received a SOS call from Leinster who were depleted on the loosehead due to injuries and international calls.

That saw him link up with his younger brother Alex, who was clearly moved by the family occasion.

“It’s just emotional,” said the 24-year-old flanker.

“One of my big reasons for playing rugby is to make my parents happy and I know they are so happy to see this. It’s special.”

What’s coming next?

While the Six Nations now returns to centre stage for the final two rounds of the Championship, there is one BKT URC fixture next weekend.

That’s the rematch between the Sharks and the Lions who will meet in Durban in a Round 1 fixture which was postponed from September.

Then, on the weekend of March 21-22, we head into Round 13.

That sees runaway league leaders Leinster heading out to Pretoria to take on the third-placed Bulls, while Glasgow, in second spot, entertain Munster.

There are four games in Wales, with Cardiff, Scarlets, Dragons and Ospreys hosting the Lions, Stormers, Ulster and Connacht respectively.

Elsewhere, it’s Sharks v Zebre and Benetton v Edinburgh.