Ospreys 19 Connacht 22
Connacht continue to claw their way up the URC table after a second win over Welsh opponents, joining a group of 11 teams all vying for one of the top eight spots.
Only Leinster remain unbeaten after round seven as the competition takes a break for the autumn Internationals, and Connacht’s head coach Andy Friend knows his side is far from title contenders on their present form.
“We’ll take the win most definitely, but we are very aware that we still have a lot of things to tidy up before we can seriously consider being a title contender,” Friend says.
Specifically that is down to Connacht’s failure to convert territory into points, and in Swansea they made hard work of seeing off a young Ospreys outfit shorn of their internationals.
It was always a potential banana skin, but Toby Booth’s side showed a real ball-winning appetite in both attack and defence, which resulted in a narrow victory.
Connacht’s 12 entries into the 22 resulted in just four scores, which Friend says is “not good enough”.
“There were too many times we were getting in the score zone and either knocking the ball on, turning over a maul, or getting held up – there’s far too many inaccuracies when in that zone – not just tonight, but over the seven games, and we are very aware of it.”
However, grinding out a win is a trait Connacht is developing, albeit a little slowly for Friend.
“I remember this fixture in my first year and we played up at Bridgend and we were absolutely beaten up, and at 12-0 I was sitting there thinking, ‘have we not learned anything? Can we manage to find a way out of it?
“So that just shows the resilience of the group, their strength of character, and compliments to Pete Wilkins whose messaging at half-time was clear, calm and direct. The boys got that message and delivered in the second half. It is a step forward.”
The first half was a story of missed opportunities for Connacht, but they still came out 14-12 ahead at the break, thanks to two quick-fire tries in the final five minutes.
They were much needed after a disastrous start in which Connacht gifted their hosts a brace of soft tries – the first within the opening two minutes when lock Hew Sutton opened the home side’s tally after scrumhalf Rueben Morgan Williams took advantage of a Connacht knock-on. Outhalf Jack Walsh added the extras to put Connacht on the back foot from the start.
The visitors were caught out defensively again as Ospreys scored their second try six minutes later. A clever interchange between centre Kieran Williams and Morgan Williams saw the scrumhalf dotting down to give the home side a 12-0 lead.
Connacht’s response was positive, but lacking in clinical finish. They took control for long periods, but butchered several scoring chances, which if converted, would have put them out of sight.
However, John Porch played a vital role in getting Connacht back on track before Jack Carty floated a pass over the top to Alex Wootton to score after 33 minutes, Carty nailing the sideline conversion.
Four minutes later man of the match Caolin Blade did what he does best – sniping over at the base of a ruck to put Connacht into a 14-12 half-time lead.
With another try after the break from Porch, Connacht looked on target for a bonus point, but instead they spent long periods in defence. Carty sensibly opted for a drop goal to put some distance between the sides as Ospreys delivered the game’s final try through Sam Perry. It was not enough to upset Connacht securing a valuable away win, but did earn the home side a deserved bonus point.
SCORING SEQUENCE – 2 mins: H Sutton try, J Walsh con 7-0; 8: R Morgan-Williams try 12-0; 33: Wootton try, Carty con 12-7; 38: Blade try, Carty con 12-14. HT: 12-14; 42: J Porch try 12-19; 63: Carty drop goal 12-22; 68: Perry try, Walsh con 19-22.
OSPREYS: M Nagy; L Morgan, T Thomas-Wheeler, K Williams, K Giles; J Walsh, R Morgan Williams; R Henry, S Baldwin (capt), T Botha; R Davies, H Sutton; E Roots, H Deaves, M Morris.
Replacements: S Parry for Baldwin, G Phillips for Henry, S Parry for Baldwin, B Warren for Botha (all 54 mins), T Davies for Deaves (59), J Regan for R Davies (72).
Yellow card: E Roots (14 mins).
CONNACHT: T O’Halloran; A Wootton, T Farrell, D Hawkshaw, J Porch; J Carty (capt), C Blade; D Buckley, D Tierney-Martin, J Aungier; O Dowling, G Thornbury; S Hurley-Langton, C Oliver, J Butler.
Replacements: A Byrne for O’Halloran (36 mins), G Stewart for Martin-Tierney and S Illo for Aungier (both 49), D Murray for Dowling and P Boyle for Hurley-Langton (both 59), K Marmion for Blade (63), T Daly for Wootton (70).
Referee: Sam Grove White (SRU)
