The Lions and Ospreys battled out a thrilling URC draw that saw both teams take three points from the match, despite desperately going for the full house.
For the second weekend in a row the Lions were left wondering what could have been, after a brave effort in difficult conditions ended with them drawing 24-all with Ospreys in their United Rugby Championship (URC) match at the Brewery Field in Bridgend, Wales on Friday night.
After drawing 20-all with Perpignan in the Challenge Cup in France in poor weather conditions a week previously, the Lions were again met by wet and windy conditions in the URC this time, and again did well but in the end came up short.
They struggled in the first half playing against the wind, but improved with it at their backs in the second half, and after a frenetic finish to the match had to settle for a share of the spoils after wing Angelo Davids was unable to grab the ball and dot down from a kick ahead from flyhalf Chris Smith after the fulltime hooter.
Despite the disappointment of not getting a full house of points, the Lions still managed to pick up three thanks to the draw and a try scoring bonus point.
Strong start
In the match the Lions got off to a strong start and deservedly took an eighth minute lead after attacking off a lineout, the ball spread one way and then back the other for captain Francke Horn to power through two tackle attempts to go over in the corner for an unconverted score.
But that seemed to wake Ospreys up and slowly began to work their way back into the game, although the Lions initially repelled them well with some strong defence.
However it was only a matter of time and in the 23rd minute the hosts took the lead as they kicked a penalty to the corner, saw the maul stopped short before flank James Ratti picked up and forced his way over, with flyhalf Dan Edwards adding the extras for a 7-5 lead.
Ospreys captain Dewi Lake then received a yellow card for a dangerous high tackle on Asenathi Ntlabakanye in the 25th minute, and was perhaps lucky not to see it upgraded to a red by the bunker, despite there not being much mitigation.
Poor 10 minutes
The Lions will be desperately disappointed with their 10-minute period with a man more, as the hosts completely dominated it, as fullback Iestyn Hopkins scored in the corner after good pressure in the Lions 22m, with Edwards conversion putting them 14-5 up after 33 minutes.
It was then the Lions turn to be punished, as repeated infringements led to a 37th minute yellow card to prop SJ Kotze, with Ospreys kicking the resultant penalty to the corner.
Lake returned to the field just in time to throw in the 5m lineout, the maul was set and powered over for replacement loose forward Morgan Morse to dot down.
The Lions then crucially hit back after the fulltime hooter, earning a late scrum from which they attacked, went through a number of phases, before Horn smashed through to score, with Smith slotting the conversion to make it 19-12 at the break.
Wind at backs
Playing with the wind at their backs in the second half the Lions started well and cut the deficit to two points in the 48th minute, as they setup a 5m lineout, set the maul and rumbled over for hooker PJ Botha to score.
A yellow card to Ospreys lock Rhys Davies for a dangerous cleanout in the 51st minute gave the Lions a man advantage again, but it was the hosts who were again on the front foot despite being a man down.
But the advantage of playing with the wind at their backs was show as the Lions turned the ball over and sent a massive clearance down field, before a good chip from wing Richard Kriel allowed fullback Quan Horn to catch and run over for the converted score to give them a 24-19 lead after 58 minutes.
Ospreys hit back
Ospreys however hit back almost straight away, four minutes later, and still with a man down, capitalising on Lions penalties to get into the 22m, where they attacked off a lineout and the skip pass found wing Daniel Kasende to score in the corner and level the scores.
The Lions discipline was letting them down and they went down to 14-men again in the 66th minute when replacement lock Etienne Oosthuizen was yellow carded for cynical play at the ruck in the red zone, but Ospreys couldn’t take advantage of the penalty in the 22m after they were held up over the line from the tap and go.
A frenetic back and forth final 10 minutes then took centre stage, with both teams having chances to win, and as the clock went red both teams kept the ball alive, Ospreys first coming close to scoring, before the Lions counterattacked and after Smith broke the line he grubbered ahead but Davids couldn’t hold onto the slippery ball.
Scorers
Ospreys: Tries – James Ratti, Iestyn Hopkins, Morgan Morse, Daniel Kasende; Conversions – Dan Edwards (2)
Lions: Tries – Francke Horn (2), PJ Botha, Quan Horn; Conversions – Chris Smith (2)
