By Etienne Turpin
Toby Booth’s men came out victorious in the West Wales derby by defeating the Scarlets 25 points to 11 to complete a league double. After a score-less first half, Gareth Davies opened the Scarlet’s account thanks to an interception, but the Ospreys fought back with tries from Reuben Morgan-Williams, Sam Parry, and Jack Walsh.
The Ospreys were forced into an early change once again as Morgan Morris had to pull out of their starting XV again and was replaced by Morgan Morse. Speaking to the BBC, Ospreys head coach Toby Booth confirmed it was a calf injury keeping Morse sidelined, but is hoping for his return for the clash against Cardiff, on New Year’s Day.
Both sides came into the game following disappointing European losses against the Black Lion from Georgia (Scarlets), and France’s Montpellier (Ospreys). The Ospreys had won the previous fixture against the Scarlets with a dominant 31-9 bonus point win, back in Swansea.
Tongan international Sam Lousi also made his return for the Scarlets who hadn’t played since the opening game of the season, when they travelled down to Pretoria, to face the Bulls.
An early penalty gave the Scarlets dangerous field position and made early carries towards the Ospreys line. Lousi was involved in a numerous phases before Harri Deaves saved the Ospreys with a turnover.
James Fender made his presence felt with a big hit on Ioan Nicholas who was a late replacement, as fly half Sam Costelow failed a fitness test. The Ospreys eventually forced a scrum but Sam Wainwright’s powerful drive won his side a penalty against the Ospreys put-in. The Scarlets decided to take the shot at goal from 40m but Ioan Lloyd placed it just wide of the posts.
However, Ryan Elias won a penalty almost instantly when Jack Walsh was left isolated. Ioan Lloyd stepped up to take another shot at goal but again, the ball drifted wide of the up-rights. Neither side threatened to cross the tryline in the opening 20 minutes, but the Ospreys were beginning to dominate possession and moved up field thanks to two penalties given away by the Scarlets. A couple of scrum resets eventually resulted into a Scarlets penalty.
Jack Walsh almost had a moment to forget as he failed to control Gareth Davies’ box kick and Ioan Lloyd was first to react but was pushed off the ball by Harri Deaves which resulted in a Scarlets penalty. This time, Lloyd kicked to the corner, giving the Scarlets a great attacking chance. Adam Beard came to the rescue and stole the ball at the lineout as the game remained scoreless after 30 minutes. However, the Ospreys were penalised at a lineout and Ioan Lloyd opted for the posts. Again, Lloyd was unsuccessful as his attempt hit the post.
Gareth Davies came closest to scoring a first half try, but was held up thanks to a brilliant tackle from Owen Watkin who managed to put his body under the ball to deny the Welsh international. Moments later, Lousi charged down Reuben Morgan-Williams’ box kick but was unable to regather the ball, before referee Craig Evans stopped play as Morgan-Williams was down with an injury after a heavy collision with Johnny Williams.
Another scrum penalty for the Scarlets gave them one last chance before half time to score, but Ioan Lloyd went to the corner rather than going for the three points. The Scarlets came close thanks to a powerful drive, but were stopped just short of the mark. The Ospreys were penalised again for coming in at the side, and were given a team warning by the referee. Luke Davies came on as Morgan-Williams was unable to carry on from his injury.
Scarlets wing Ryan Conbeer made a great break, but would have been devastated to have not passed to Ioan Nicholas, who was free outside of him for a run-in. The Ospreys forced a turnover and cleared the ball out of play as the first half ended scoreless. It was the second successive game where the Ospreys failed to score in the first half, and the Scarlets had now gone almost 120 minutes without scoring a point.
Osprey’s Reuben Morgan-Williams came back on at scrum-half at the beginning of the second half, yet it was his opposite man who scored the afternoon’s opening try. Gareth Davies intercepted a poor pass from Rhys Davies, and raced clear. beating the returning Mat Protheroe to score the opening points of the game 90 seconds into the second half. From a difficult angle, Lloyd pushed his conversion just wide. The Scarlets began to look dangerous with the ball but Rhys Davies made up for his pass as he won a penalty back for the Ospreys.
When the Ospreys won a penalty inside the Scarlets half, they decided to kick to the corner instead of going for what would’ve been an easy three points. The Scarlets dealt with the maul well but gave away another penalty as the Ospreys then kicked to the corner. Eventually, Morgan-Williams managed to dot the ball down after numerous carries from the Ospreys. Owen Williams had an easy conversion and gave the Ospreys the lead for the first time.
Ospreys came close to scoring after a strong carry from James Fender and Morgan Morse. The ball was floated wide to Keelan Giles as the Ospreys approached the Scarlets try line and were awarded a scrum. A powerful scrum from the Ospreys won them a penalty in front of the posts and Owen Williams easily extended their lead to five points with just over 20 minutes left to play.
When the Ospreys were awarded another penalty, they had the chance to increase the lead to eight, and make a break in the scoreline, but with confidence growing they kicked to the corner looking to finish the game. A strong carry from George North helped the Ospreys move up field. A couple of carries later and the Ospreys decided to go for a drop goal. Morgan-Williams set up Owen Williams who struck the ball beautifully to give the Ospreys an eight-point lead.
With just over 10 minutes remaining, the Opsreys were dealt a blow as Owen Watkin was sin-binned for multiple offences. From just in front of the posts, Lloyd added the three points to narrow the gap back to a single try.
Sam Parry won a huge turnover for the Ospreys, after Ioan Lloyd made a lovely break from inside his 22m. Tom Rogers was left isolated, and the replacement Ospreys hooker was quickest to respond for the visitors. Josh Macleod was then sin binned as both sides were now down to 14 for similar offences.
With just over 5 minutes to go, Parry scored the Osprey’s winner from a pick and go. The Ospreys were playing with a penalty advantage but kept on knocking on the Scarlets try-line and eventually crashed over. From a difficult angle, Owen Williams conversion went just wide.
If Conbeer was to regret his decision to not pass before half time, Rogers would too as he refused to pass as the Scarlets had a four-on-one. The Scarlets still had possession and still moved up field but Ben Williams was stopped by a last ditch tackle from Luke Morgan. James Fender who made strong tackles throughout the 80 minutes was awarded man of the match.
The Ospreys failed to clear and the Scarlets were awarded a kickable penalty with 60 seconds to play which Ioan Lloyd kicked with ease but as they looked to score a try to get a losing bonus points, a missed place pass fell to the Ospreys fullback Jack Walsh who ran in to end the game on a high.
SCARLETS: 11
TRIES: 1 (Davies 42’)
CONVERSIONS: 0
PENALTIES: 2 (Lloyd 68’ 80’)
DROP GOALS: 0
YELLOW CARDS: 1 (Macleod 72’)
RED CARDS: 0
15. Tom Rogers, 14. Ioan Nicholas, 13. Joe Roberts, 12. Johnny Williams, 11. Ryan Conbeer, 10. Ioan lloyd, 9. Gareth Davies, 1. Kemsley Thomas, 2. Ryan Elias, 3. Sam Wainwright, 4. Alex Craig, 5. Jac Price, 6. Sam Lousi, 7. Teddy Leatherbarrow, 8. Josh Macleod
16. Shaun Evans, 17. Wyn Jones, 18. Joe Jones, 19. Morgan Jones, 20. Ben Williams, 21. Kieran Hardy, 22. Jonathan Davies, 23. Charlie Titcombe.
OSPREYS: 25
TRIES: 3 (Morgan-Williams 50’, Parry 75’, Walsh 82’ Walsh)
CONVERSIONS: 2 (Williams 51’, 83’)
PENALTIES: 1 (Williams 60’)
DROP GOALS: 1 (Williams 65’)
YELLOW CARDS: 1 (Watkin 67’)
RED CARDS: 0
15. Jack Walsh, 14. Mat Protheroe, 13. George North, 12. Owen Watkin, 11. Keelan Giles, 10. Owen Williams, 9. Reuben Morgan-Williams, 1. Gareth Thomas, 2. Dewi Lake, 3. Tom Botha, 4. James Fender, 5. Adam Beard, 6. Rhys Davies, 7. Harri Deaves, 8. Morgan Morse
16. Sam Parry 17. Garyn Phillips 18. Ben Warren 19. Lewis Jones 20. Tristan Davies 21. Luke Davies 22. Dan Edwards 23. Luke Morgan
Five Talking Points: Scarlets 11 – 25 Ospreys
1. Battle of the 9s
The opening 40 minutes saw little chances for either side but an early second half try scored by Gareth Davies saw the Scarlets open the scoring. Davies came close to scoring before half time but was held up by Owen Watkins. Their lead did not for long however as Reuben Morgan-Williams replied for the visitors with a clever and quick finish.
2. Low Scoring, High Intensity
A scoreless opening 40 minutes but a proper intense derby saw both sides go head-to-head. The second half was a lot more open, but the intensity remained. A number of big hits from both sides left players bruised after a tough 80-minute match. Both sides were reduced to 14 players for numerous offences, but the Ospreys prevailed in a tough encounter.
3. Fans Turn Up for Biggest Scarlets Crowd of the Season
11,828 fans turned up for the West Wales derby – a record attendance for the Scarlets this season. A positive for Welsh rugby after a challenging few seasons where attendances dropped. The other Welsh derby today also saw a 5-figure attendance.
4. Ioan Lloyd Struggles from Tee
Following his signing from Bristol Bears, Ioan Lloyd had an excellent start to the season but struggled from the tee in the first half as he missed 3 kicks. He was unable to convert Gareth Davies’ try from a difficult angle. However, he looked threatening with the ball in hand.
5. Scarlets’ Campaign Remains one to Forget
The 2016/17 champions who were Champions Cup semi finalists in 2018 who were 14th in the URC standings on just 2 victories which both came against Cardiff failed to win again but could have moved up to 13th in the standings as Ioan Lloyd almost salvaged a losing bonus point at the end before Jack Walsh scored at the death.