Ospreys Premiership
Select produced a second half comeback to beat London Irish 26-24 in the
British & Irish Cup, inflicting their first defeat of the season in all
competitions. Irish looked in control of the game but Ospreys fought back from
24-7 down to score 19 unanswered points on a cold, clear day at the Madjeski.
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| Ospreys Premiership Select attack causing problems for Irish at the Madjeski Stadium |
Coming in to Saturday’s game,
London Irish had won 21 of their 21 fixtures in the 2016-17 season, including
being 5 from 5 in the British and Irish Cup. This left Irish top of their pool
and having already secured a home quarter-final in the competition later in
March. Irish continued their policy of playing some of their young talent, such
as Johnny Williams, Harry Elrington & Matt Williams for the fixture with a
handful of more experienced players.
Ospreys Premiership Select, a
second side of Guinness Pro 12 table toppers Ospreys, were looking to avenge
the 25-14 defeat suffered to London Irish in the first pool game of the
competition. Since the first game of the competition the side had no doubt
improved with two impressive victories over Connacht. With no chance of
qualifying for the quarter finals in this year’s competition, the players would
have been hoping to put in standout performances to impress Ospreys’ selectors.
Despite
the freezing temperatures at the Madjeski, it was a clear dry day with real
opportunities for attacking rugby. It was Ospreys who made the most of the
conditions after turning the ball over immediately from the kick-off. With
quick ball Ospreys created a simple overlap and it left an easy run in for Phil
Jones to score a try within the first minute. The conversion gave Ospreys the
perfect start at 0-7.
Irish
sought to immediately strike back and were on to the front foot with possession
inside the Ospreys 22m. But the Ospreys defended the try line well, holding
London Irish up over the line on three different occasions. With Irish unable
to finish off their chances, they earned a centre field penalty which Tonks
opted to kick and put the score at 3-7.
Shortly
from the kick-off the assistant referee spotted foul play which resulted in a
yellow card for Ospreys prop Jenkins and allowed Irish a chance to continue
applying pressure to the Ospreys defence. With smart play from Scott Steele at
the base of a scrum it allowed captain Gilsenan the chance to break into the
22m. With a clever offload to Johnny Williams, it allowed him to break through
and be dragged down over the line, this time with clear grounding Irish finally
score their first try. The conversion brought the score to 10-7.
Irish
continued to dominate possession and territory in a disjointed first half with
several early injuries to Ospreys’ forwards. On the half hour mark Irish again
made the most of the territory they were enjoying with a driving maul from a
lineout hauled down just short of the Ospreys’ try line. With the ball spread
out wide it was Ojo who was stopped just short, but Ciaran Hearn’s pick and
drive was enough to see him over the line for the team’s second try. The
conversion meant the score at the half was 17-7 to London Irish.
The
second half started much the same as the first ended with the Irish forwards
testing the Ospreys’ defence. This time three quick penalties in succession put
Ospreys on the wrong side of the referee, with their second sin bin, this time
for replacement Lee Purnell. Irish made the man advantage tell straight away.
The resulting maul was again defended well by Ospreys and stopped just short,
but Ollie Hoskins drove straight through the resulting ruck and bundled over
the try line for a try 5 minutes into the second half. Another conversion from
Tonks put Irish 24-7 to the good.
With
replacements being made by both sides the game became more open with both sides
seeking to gain territory but poor kicks gave the opportunity for counter
attack. And it was that which proved crucial for Ospreys. A poor kick down
field gave Ospreys the chance to attack, and after breaking into the Irish half
a high tackle from Irish no8 Nayolo resulted in a penalty in a promising
position and a yellow card. Ospreys made the most of the position and the
resulting driving maul, which Ospreys had defended so well in the first half,
turned into their own weapon and was driven over the line by Kieran Williams
for Osprey’s second try, bringing the score to 24-14.
Ospreys
begin to gain momentum with the man advantage, with a number of phases inside
the Irish 22m, but the Irish defence held firm. However, it was a mistake from
Irish which Ospreys capitalised on. A ball spilt out from an Irish breakdown
was quickly collected by Ospreys. As the ball was spread wide Irish did not
have enough time to readjust and it was a simple overlap that was finished by
centre Joe Thomas. A difficult touchline conversion brought Ospreys within
three points at 24-21.
Irish
then finally found themselves an opportunity from a penalty 45m out in front of
the posts. After some discussion Tonks pointed to the posts and hoped to extend
Irish’s advantage with the long range penalty. The penalty is pushed wide and
the score remains at 24-21 with just over 5 minutes remaining. Ospreys,
regaining possession, continue to look dangerous in the closing minutes. This
time with possession in the midfield they spread the ball wide. With the Irish
defence pushing up it created a large gap for Thomas to exploit. A strong
hand-off from Thomas gave him a run in for the line and he scored in the
corner. The conversion missed but Ospreys had taken the lead at 24-26 with just
minutes remaining.
Irish had opportunities to attack
in the Ospreys half and continued to threaten to break through but strong
Ospreys’ defence repelled them and managed to isolate Irish runners and win a
penalty as the clock went red. Ospreys cleared the ball into the stands and
record a famous win over Irish.
While the win did not affect the
positioning in the table for the British & Irish Cup, it was Irish’s first
defeat in all competitions and very unexpected, especially from a 24-7 score
line early in the second half. Ospreys will be delighted with the way they
responded in the second half and managed to dominate possession after a lot of
hard defending in the first. With a strong performance up front to repel the
Irish driving maul, which has been a powerful force so far this season, and
clinical finishing from Thomas & Williams, there will be plenty of players
hoping to push on into contention for the senior Ospreys squad for the rest of
the season as the international period comes around.
For Irish however, the defeat
will ask questions about their mental toughness going forward. Although the
squad is likely to look incredibly different next weekend, a number of senior
players failed to perform as well as hoped in this fixture. There were however
strong performances from Irish despite the loss. Gilsenan had a very good game
with some good defending but also powerful running and subtle handling. Some of
the younger players in the squad also put in a good shift, with Elrington not
looking out of place in the Irish front row. Irish will travel to Ealing next
weekend, as their focus turns back to remaining top of the Championship table.
Brendan Venter, London Irish technical director, who was present at the game,
will be looking for a good response across the squad as he noted after the game
‘Life is not about success, it’s about the way we deal with success and
failure.’
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