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Ospreys enjoy London visit with comfortable win over Sharks
By PA
Ospreys celebrated their first United Rugby Championship excursion to London with a 19-5 win over Sharks at the Stoop.
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A crowd of 7,183 at Twickenham Stoop saw Ospreys record a deserved victory as Sharks fell to their third consecutive defeat as a result of a number of unforced errors.
Jack Walsh, Max Nagy and Keiran Williams scored Ospreys’ tries with Walsh adding two conversions.
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A try from Phepsi Buthelezi gave Sharks a third-minute lead after the home defence was exploited in the wide channels, but that was as good as it got for the Durban side.
Ospreys’ response was impressive as they built up a sustained period of pressure but it was not immediately rewarded, with TMO replays ruling out a try for Ethan Lewis as the hooker lost possession before grounding.
It mattered little as the Welsh region continued to pen Sharks in their own 22 and they drew level when Walsh darted through a gap to race over.
Ospreys suffered an injury blow when fly-half Owen Williams was forced to leave the field to be replaced by Max Nagy but they overcame this setback to take the lead.
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Sharks centre Rohan Janse van Rensburg ripped the defence apart with a clean break but instead of passing, he kicked and it was charged down by Nagy, who raced an unopposed 55 metres.
Van Rensburg’s night became worse when he was yellow-carded for leading with his forearm to catch Harri Deaves in the face.
He was immediately punished when, with Sharks at 14 men, Aphiwe Dyantyi failed to deal with a ball in goal and Keiran Williams was on hand to touch down and give his side a 19-5 interval lead.
Eight minutes after the restart, Van Rensburg returned but despite having the better of possession and territory, his side could not make it count as the second half remained scoreless.
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Walsh was off target with a 30-metre penalty but it made no difference as Sharks never looked like clawing back the deficit.
