The Liberty Stadium witnessed a cracking game of rugby where the individual brilliance of Ospreys quartet Kahn Fotuali’I, Eli Walker, Richard Fussell and Justin Tipuric was overshadowed by the dogged teamwork of Leicester Tigers.
Down 10-3 at the break, halfbacks Ben Youngs and Toby Flood took control of the game in the second spell after being largely anonymous in the first half. Youngs try and Flood’s conversion pulled the score level at 10-10 with 10 minutes remaining.
When winger Niall Morris plunged over three minutes later the Tigers looked to have sealed the deal but the home side hit back two minutes later with replacement wing Johnathan Spratt diving over after a scintillating run by Walker.
While the draw sees the Ospreys campaign come to a shuddering halt, the Tigers have their destiny in their own hands now as a win against Toulouse next week will see them top the group.
The abrasive contest saw Ospreys key players Ryan Jones and Richard Hibbard depart early along with Tigers dangerman Manu Tuilagi.
The first 20 minutes was a real arm wrestle with both sides exploding into tackles and rucks. Up front Adam Jones, Richard Hibbard and Ryan Bevington drew first blood in the front row showdown with their Tigers counterparts Marcos Ayerza, Tom Youngs and Dan Cole when referee John Lacey pinged Ayerza for an infringement at the set-piece.
Dan Biggar, boasting a 90% success rate in Europe, hit the woodwork with his attempt and then followed that up with two more misses inside the first 16 minutes.
The Ospreys eventually hit the lead with Biggar striking over his fourth penalty attempt after the home side patiently went through 11 phases before Cole infringed at a ruck.
Joe Bearman, who was prominent throughout in the first spell, scored the first try of the match on 34 minutes after Fotuali’ib picked up the crumbs from a high ball, danced his way passed flailing defenders before offloading to Tipuric who passed to the supporting Bevington. The prop went to ground but flipped the ball up to Bearman who waltzed his way over the try line. With Biggar’s conversion the Ospreys were in the lead 10-0.
Flood reduced the arrears just before the break with a penalty to keep his side within touching distance. With the game on a knife edge, Biggar had the chance to increase the lead but he hit the woodwork for the third time of the match in the 63rd minute.
The Tigers indomitable spirit saw them strike back when Flood unlocked the Ospreys defence to dance to within sniffing distance of the try-line. Youngs snaffled the ball and ignored Adam Jones’ attempted tackle to plunge over from close range. Flood’s conversion levelled the scores at 10-10.
Morris then looked to have won the match for the Tigers when he plunged over with inches to spare but the Ospreys weren’t giving up their unbeaten record without a fight and saw Spratt deny the Tigers top spot in the pool with a dive in the corner Tom Daley would be proud of.
The result sets up a mouth-watering clash next week between Leicester and former champions Toulouse at Welford Road in which a victory of any kind for the Tigers will make them pool winners while the defeat for the Ospreys means that no Welsh region will be involved in the Heineken Cup quarter-finals this season.
