The boot of Dan Biggar took the Ospreys to a scrappy 15-9 victory over Perpignan to keep their quarter-final qualification hopes alive, the outside half scoring all his side’s points with five penalties.
The Welsh region were not at their best and missed countless try scoring opportunities, but dominated the later stages of the game as Perpignan’s lack of discipline cost them with three players visiting the sin bin.
Perpignan had the better of the first half despite being down to 13 men for part of the game after right wing Adrien Plante and flanker Jean-Pierre Perez were both yellow carded.
However full back Jerome Porical slotted three out of three penalties for the French side, against two for Daniel Biggar of the Ospreys.
The home side were making too many mistake behind the scrum with an injury-hit line-up which meant that Wales and Lions centre Gavin Henson was recalled from his internal two match suspension to sit on the bench as cover following James Hook failing a fitness test on his back.
Perpignan started the stronger and that early pressure was rewarded by two penalties for Porical. The Ospreys came back into the game and Biggar levelled the scores with two penalties of his own before a third place kick from Porical restored the lead.
Plante was sin-binned for a tackle on Ospreys full back while he was in the air, then Perez went for preventing the ball coming out from a ruck on the Perpignan line when the Ospreys had players queueing up on the left to score.
The Ospreys twice went close early in the second half. First lock Ian Evans made a superb break up the middle, but hooker Huw Bennett was hauled down inches short of the try line.
Then scrum half Rhys Webb appeared to have scored from a slick lineout move, only for referee Wayne Barnes to call them back to give Perpignan a penalty for blocking the tackler in the build up.
Then Shane Williams made a half break only for his kick ahead to roll into touch as the Ospreys kept battering away without reward. Filo Tiatia went over from a scrum, but was again called back by referee Barnes. The one consolation for the Ospreys was that Biggar slotted a penalty from that period of play to level the scores.
With the home side unable to cross the try line the boot of Biggar was vital as he converted concerted pressure into the lead with another penalty, then kicked his fifth to open up a cushion for the Ospreys with time running out. That followed an incident which saw Perpignan replacement lock Guillaume Villeca sin-binned – the third Perpignan player to spend time off the pitch.
