Despite falling behind to an early Leigh Halfpenny try, James King and Jonathan Spratt both finished superbly to give the Ospreys a 20-10 half time lead.Â
Dan Biggar had kicked the rest of the points but Steve Tandy’s side failed to fire after the break as the Blues grew into the game.
Halfpenny’s boot kept the Blues in contention but although they struggled in attack, the Ospreys could always rely on their trusty set piece to tide them over.
And that was exactly what they did as a third Biggar penalty guided them to a narrow win.
Following a scintillating end to the first game of the day, the second started in a similar vein with an early score for the Blues.
Making his first appearance since being named RBS 6 Nations player of the tournament, Halfpenny carried his international form back into regional rugby with an early try to give his side the lead. It was skipper Gavin Evans who created the score, sprinting clear from inside his own half before finding Harry Robinson on his shoulder. The young Wales winger looked like he might go all the way but when he was tackled, that man Halfpenny was in support to go over.
The Wales full back converted his own score as his side made a fast start and with a number of Wales men going head-to-head all over the pitch, the game was being played at a ferocious pace. Biggar got the Ospreys back into it with a penalty but the contact area soon claimed its first victim when Ian Evans hobbled off to be replaced by Joe Bearman.
Evans’ loss didn’t seem to affect the Ospreys though as King soon replied for Tandy’s side. With Tom Isaacs outside him, King didn’t panic and showed Halfpenny a dummy to cross for his side’s first try. Biggar added the extra two points as the Ospreys went into the lead.
Halfpenny soon levelled things up with his first penalty but with the Ospreys boasting what was essentially an international pack, they soon got on top, particularly at scrum time. Adam Jones, Richard Hibbard and Ryan Bevington used their considerable grunt to shove the Blues back, earning a penalty in the process.
Biggar made no mistake before the Ospreys added a second try before half time. Justin Tipuric, who had seen little of the ball up to that point, burst clear down the right hand touch line but was brought down by a superb Halfpenny tackle. The ball was recycled though and spread left for Spratt to touch down. Biggar was again successful with the conversion and at half time, the Ospreys were ahead by 10.
There looked a danger the Ospreys might run away with things after the break but the Blues’ pack stood up manfully at the start of the second period. The introductions of Robin Copeland and Tauda’ao Filise certainly helped and one huge forward drive seemed to give them plenty of heart.
Halfpenny’s second penalty narrowed the deficit and after an hour, the match was still in the balance. Indeed the majority of the game was being played in the Ospreys’ half as Tandy’s men struggled to get going.
And when Halfpenny kicked another three points with 17 minutes remaining, the Ospreys had not registered any second half points. Biggar’s simple penalty miss seemed to confirm things were going the Blues’ way but while the Ospreys had failed to find their attacking game, their defence remained hard to breach.
After retaining some field position, they then used the scrum as their weapon to run down the clock. Their set piece dominance saw them encamped in the opposition half with the Blues, who had lost Wales scrum half Lloyd Williams to injury, unable to do much about it.
Nigel Owens then pinned them at the contact area and Biggar’s third penalty made sure of the win.
