Northern Edition

Select Edition

Northern Northern
Southern Southern
Global Global
New Zealand New Zealand
France France

Ospreys knocked out of Rainbow Cup contention following defeat at Connacht

By PA
Bundee Aki /PA

Connacht knocked Ospreys out of the running for the Guinness PRO14 Rainbow Cup with a season-closing 26-19 bonus-point win at the Sportsground.

ADVERTISEMENT

A free-scoring 48-minute first half ended with Connacht seven points clear, thanks to tries from Shane Delahunt, Bundee Aki, Ultan Dillane and Peter Sullivan.

Ospreys recovered from captain Rhys Webb’s sin-binning to cross three times – twice through hooker Sam Parry – and their impressive scrum also landed Connacht prop Dominic Robertson-McCoy in the bin.

Video Spacer

How do players from 4 rival countries become teammates | Spirit of Rugby | EP 4 | RugbyPass

Video Spacer

How do players from 4 rival countries become teammates | Spirit of Rugby | EP 4 | RugbyPass

However, there were no further scores after the break as Ospreys fell out of title contention and Connacht, so disappointed by last week’s error-strewn display at Benetton, ended their campaign on a positive note.

It was also a satisfying night’s work from Ireland centre Aki who, in advance of the British & Irish Lions tour, caught the eye with his try, strong carrying and a turnover penalty.

Ben O’Donnell’s surge from deep almost led to a stunning early try from Connacht, player-of-the-match Caolin Blade going close before Webb saw yellow for a deliberate knock-on.

The westerners immediately took advantage, hooker Delahunt piling over from an eighth-minute lineout maul. Jack Carty converted for good measure.

ADVERTISEMENT

Ospreys snapped back with a strong forwards drive setting up flanker Morgan Morris to score, but a sliding Aki soon grounded Blade’s brilliantly-weighted kick to make it 14-5.

Thriving from quick ball, Cian Prendergast was next to break the line and Connacht duly capitalised, Delahunt driving hard before Dillane muscled in under the posts.

The maul paid dividends again for Ospreys in the 24th minute, as hooker Parry crashed over. Stephen Myler’s conversion left it 21-12.

Connacht replied with their bonus-point effort, a long bouncing pass from Carty putting winger Sullivan diving past Webb in the right corner.

ADVERTISEMENT

However, Ospreys got on top as the interval approached. They forced penalties at scrum time, eventually scoring through the powerful Parry after Robertson-McCoy’s departure.

During a much tighter third quarter, the best chance saw Ospreys’ teenage centre Joe Hawkins miss out on an excellent individual try due to a double movement.

Carty pushed a kickable 56th-minute penalty wide – with winger O’Donnell starring in the build-up – but then came to his side’s rescue to thwart Luke Morgan from a hacked kick downfield.

Connacht’s dogged defence maintained their lead late on, replacement Kieran Marmion earning a turnover penalty after his earlier high tackle had almost put him in the bin.

ADVERTISEMENT

LIVE

{{item.title}}

Trending on RugbyPass

Comments

0 Comments
Be the first to comment...

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Features

Comments on RugbyPass

T
TI 2 hours ago
All Blacks player ratings vs Italy | Autumn Nations Series

Rieko took literally years to turn from a defensive liability at 13 into a guy, who’s defensively sound as it befits the position. And it all came at the cost of him being much less of an offensive threat, than what he used to be. Proctor is a natural 13, he handles, passes, and kicks way better than Rieko ever will, he just isn’t as fast.


It’s unfair to judge Tupaea on the handful of games he’s had in 2022 before he got nearly crippled by a Wallaby lock. What could Tupaea/Proctor pairing be, if they got the same amount of chances as Jordie/Rieko?


Because no matter how you spin it, playing a player outside of his natural position is a poor asset management. No matter how talented he is, he still competes against players who had years and years of practice at the position. And if said guy is so talented that he actually CAN compete against specialists, imagine how much better still he could have been, if he had all those years to iron the toothing issues at the position. It just drives me mad.


Two things I hate in rugby union beyond description: aping after league, and playing players outside of their natural position. Especially considering, that they all admit they hate it, when they’re allowed to speak freely. Owen Farrell spent 80% of his international career at 12, saying every time when asked, that he is a 10 and prefers to play at 10. Those players are literally held at a gunpoint: play out of position, or no national jersey for you.

47 Go to comments
LONG READ
LONG READ Kazuki Himeno: ‘Eddie gave me a task - to be the world's best back-rower’ Kazuki Himeno: ‘Eddie gave me a task - to be the world's best back-rower’
Search