Ospreys 43 Ulster 0:Ulster remain bottom of the Magners League and the Ospreys return to the top after a comprehensive six-try win for the Welsh side at the Liberty Stadium in Swansea. Three points from four games is not the start the Ravenhill faithful were looking for but the turnaround they crave was always unlikely to come at the expense of an Ospreys side that has clicked seamlessly into gear.
That former Ulster wing Tommy Bowe sealed the bonus point for his new side when he controlled and grounded James Hook's perfectly weighted kick with half an hour to go, will only serve to add to the misery in Matt Williams' camp.
The result leaves them two points adrift of Connacht who, like Williams' side, failed to even register a point against Welsh opposition this weekend when they were crushed 58-0 by Cardiff last night.
Tonight's whitewash wasn't quite as emphatic but it painted a bleak picture as to how much work Williams and co have to do if they are to avoid missing out on European Cup action next season.
The Ospreys could and should have had a bonus point in the bag by half-time but had to settle for a 19-0 interval lead.
Despite being continuously penalised at the ruck area, the home side enjoyed a wealth of possession which they finished off with first-half tries from scrumhalf Rhodri Wells, Hook and Shane Williams, who was celebrating his nomination for the IRB's world player of the year award.
Wells opened the scoring after nine minutes down the left having been put over by Williams after Lee Byrne collected an up-and-under.
Full back Byrne, in sparkling form, turned provider for Hook, who he put over under the posts for a converted try to give the Ospreys a 12-0 lead on 15 minutes.
And it was Williams who completed the Ospreys' first-half scoring when he breezed in down the right, taking advantage of Bryn Cunningham slipping over.
Though Hook missed eight points in the first half, Ulster wing Clinton Schifoske was wayward with all three of his penalty attempts.
The match did not get much better for Ulster, who lost flanker Matt McCullough to the sin-bin for a professional foul. Hook kicked the resulting penalty.
And seven minutes later Ospreys claimed the bonus point their performance deserved when Bowe latched onto Hook's kick ahead.
There was more bad news for Ulster. First the Ospreys put on four internationals from the replacements' bench — Henson, Ryan Jones, Huw Bennett and Duncan Jones — before Brendon Botha was yellow-carded for a punch.
Two minutes from time Byrne scored his side's fifth try, going over from a scrum.
Before the end Ulster's evening was summed up when Stephen Ferris became his side's third player to be yellow-carded.
But the Ospreys had the final say with a try for Ryan Jones in the eighth minute of injury-time, converted by Hook, who finished the match with 18 points.
