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Ospreys beat Scarlets in thrilling 13-try west Wales derby

30 Apr 2022 3 minute read
Background picture by Chris Jobling (CC BY-SA 2.0).

The Ospreys kept their Heineken Champions Cup qualification hopes alive with a thrilling 54-36 victory over the Scarlets in Swansea.

Nicky Smith, Morgan Morris, Keelan Giles, Dewi Lake (2), Michael Collins, Owen Watkin and Sam Parry touched down and Gareth Anscombe kicked 14 points, with the Ospreys piling on 40 points in the second half.

Ryan Conbeer was unfortunate to be on the losing side after running in a hat-trick for the visitors, with Gareth Davies and Kieran Hardy also going over.

The Ospreys are now five points behind the Scarlets with a game in hand, with the winners of the Welsh Shield qualifying for next season’s Champions Cup.

Toby Booth’s side drew first blood when Anscombe sent Alex Cuthbert through a hole. Cuthbert was brought down, but the ball was recycled with Smith powering over from close range for a try which Anscombe converted.

The Scarlets hit back with a well-crafted try of their own. Sam Costelow was playing so flat he sent dynamic Argentinian openside Tomas Lezana charging towards the Ospreys 22. Lezana found Davies on his shoulder, who touched down for the try.

The Scarlets were full of confidence and when the ball found its way into Conbeer’s hands he brushed aside Mat Protheroe with ease before running in unopposed from 45 metres out. Costelow converted from the touchline, but the Ospreys responded when Giles raced up the touchline.

The wing was stopped short, but the Ospreys had enough momentum to exploit the Scarlets defence, with number eight Morris showing his power to force his way over the line.

A well-timed pass from Costelow put Conbeer over for an easy finish meaning the Scarlets held a 24-14 lead at the interval.

Hat-trick

The Ospreys came out firing in the second half, with Anscombe slicing through the visiting defence. The Scarlets were at sixes and sevens in defence and Anscombe’s pass sent Giles over for a try.

This was end to end stuff, with the Scarlets temporarily reduced to 14 men when wing Corey Baldwin got sent to the sin bin for intentionally slapping the ball down as Giles attempted to offload after another electric break.

The Ospreys made the most of their numerical advantage, with Lake scoring two tries in the space of five minutes courtesy of the home side’s driving line-out.

Giles sparked the Ospreys’ next try with a sensational 75-metre break before finding Collins for the try.

Watkin was next on the scoreboard as he charged over from close range, but Hardy claimed one back for the Scarlets.

Conbeer showed his strength to brush off three defenders for his hat-trick, before Parry capped the victory for the Ospreys with their eighth try.


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Eifion
Eifion
2 years ago

Fantastic game and a great result for the Ospreys.
Still disappointing to only get 10k but if the O’s keep on playing like this they should get some of the arm chair supporters back.

Dai Rob
Dai Rob
2 years ago

10,000 for their biggest game of the season!! Pathetic…Welsh Rugby supporters feel no affiliation for these pretend regions! Scrap them!

Llewz
Llewz
2 years ago
Reply to  Dai Rob

Couldn’t agree more. They are killing professional rugby in Wales.

Kerry Davies
Kerry Davies
2 years ago

A fine example of Gatland’s “Welsh lobster” story.
There were 10,000 tickets sold which is 5,500 more thgan could be sold at St Helens and 4,000 more than the Gnoll. You guys are so miserable and negative you would deny every single schoolkid who was there access to a great game of rugby, shame on you.

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