Leicester Tigers 12 Ospreys 6
The Tigers extended their unbeaten winning run over Welsh teams in the Heineken Cup at Welford Road to 11 games as they held on to beat the Ospreys.
Having battered the Welshmen in the first half and totally dominated the game, the home side would have been unhappy to lead by only four penalties to a drop goal. At least three tries went begging and the scoreline didn’t do them justice.
But the Ospreys deserved credit for soaking up the physical onslaught and they slowly edged their way into the contest in the second half and had a scrum at the foot of the home posts with three minutes to go to strike for a massive win.
It was the crucial point in the game, but somehow the Tigers back row came up with the ball and replacement outside half Derick Hougaard kicked the ball 40 metres up field to end the Ospreys’ dreams of completing the ultimate smash and grab raid.
So dominant in the first-half were the home forwards that it took 40 minutes before the Ospreys completed a turn-over in the close contact area. They also had their scrum marched backwards at a succession of set-pieces and fell foul of the Tigers line-out jumpers.
It meant it was the home back division that had the chance to shine and new outside half recruit Toby Flood relished having the ball in his hands so often. As well as kicking four penalties, he also opened up his midfield runners to good effect.
On at least two occasions the wing Johne Murphy had a pass to send a player in for an overlap try, but the ball went to ground. Had that not happened, the Tigers would surely have been out of sight by the interval.
As it as, the Ospreys stuck to their task and a 38th minute drop goal from wing Shane Williams on the first real foray into the Tigers’ 22 gave the visitors something to cling to during the half-time break.
And as the Ospreys coaches rung the changes in their pack, so the physical contest up front became more equal and a James Hook penalty brought the visitors right back into contention.
A kick and chase from centre Tommy Bowe led to a thrilling dive for the line between the Ospreys centre and his Irish international teammate Geordan Murphy, but the decision went to the Tigers in the shape of a scrum.
With the clock showing only four minutes left to play, and the scoreboard 12-6 in the Tigers‘ favour, the result came down to two scrums. The Ospreys won the battle a the first, turning the home pack and winning the put in.
Then they attacked off the back of their own scrum and won a penalty at the foot of the posts. The visitors opted for the scrum, but this time lost control – and with it any chance of an historic first Welsh European win at Welford Road.
