Ospreys keep play-off hopes alive with statement nine-try derby win
The Ospreys kept up their hopes of a United Rugby Championship play-off place with a nine-try 57-24 win over the Dragons in Swansea.
Tries from Will Spencer, Dewi Lake, Ben Warren, Kieran Hardy, Reuben Morgan-Williams and braces from Dan Edwards and Keelan Giles signed off the club's final season at the Swansea.com Stadium in style, as it kept their chances of a top eight finish alive.
In recent weeks, the Ospreys' resurgence under Mark Jones had stuttered a little. Back-to-back derby defeats to the Scarlets and Cardiff in the league sandwiched their European knockout exit in the Challenge Cup quarter-final.
Defeat to the Dragons would not only seen them lose three in a row for the first time since October, but it would have effectively marked the end of their hopes of reaching the play-offs, with away games against Sharks and Lions to come.
For weeks, this game had been billed as Justin Tipuric's farewell match on home soil. In the end, a pectoral injury suffered in their European exit two weeks ago ruled him out of a occasion that, in all honesty, the humble man from Trebanos wouldn't exactly enjoy.
Whether there is to be another outing for the man in the blue scrum cap before his switch to coaching, with two games to come in South Africa, remains to be seen. However, Wales second-row Adam Beard did at least recover from injury to saviour his own Swansea farewell ahead of a move abroad.
For the Dragons, it was also the last time around for Dan Lydiate on Welsh soil ahead of his own retirement. The man who made a career from chop tackling showed the other side of his skillset with an early breakdown penalty that moved the Dragons up field.
From there, some patient attack earned a penalty that allowed Angus O'Brien to open the scoring after 18 minutes.
A few minutes later, the fly-half turned provider, with a delightfully delayed pass putting Wales U20s wing Harry Rees-Weldon through a gap to score on his senior debut.
With an early 10-0 lead, the more optimistic Dragons fans might have been dreaming of a first league win since the opening day of the season against the Ospreys. As for the home support, after two blunt performances against Lyon and Cardiff, they might have been fearing the worst about their stuttering attack.
However, the response of Mark Jones' side was instant. Wing Daniel Kasende regathered their kick-off, with a snipe from Hardy setting up the position for lock Spencer to cross for his second try in as many weekends.
Shortly before half-time, the Ospreys provided Beard with a fitting leaving present. Even if the Wales second-row didn't end up on the scoresheet, watching him steer a maul filled with not just the Ospreys pack, but most of their backline as well, over the tryline - with Wales hooker Lake scoring.
The second-half saw the fundamentals of the Ospreys' attack - a suffocating set-piece and a dominant aerial presence - continue to loosen up.
Having not made the most of it in recent weeks, the lineout worked again - with prop Warren burrowing his way over for the Ospreys shortly after half-time when the maul was stopped short.
A searing break from No. 8 Morgan Morse, with the Wales U20s stepping two on his way from 22 to 22, deserved a score. However, the nonchalant offload to Giles didn't stick.
It didn't matter, as moments later the uncapped wing stepped his way through a tired Dragons defence for the bonus point try after the Ospreys had pinched their lineout.
To the Dragons' credit, they responded well, with scrum-half Rhodri Williams stepping his way over to reduce the deficit.
Once again though, the aerial work of Kasende got the Ospreys back on the scoresheet immediately. Taking another high ball, slick hands from Beard and Keiran Williams put Edwards over for a score.
Minutes later, the fly-half would cross again after centre Evardi Boshoff stepped through the Dragons defence.
The Dragons kept coming, with wing Jared Rosser crashing over the line off a beautiful line to score their third.
However, moments after Lydiate had departed to a standing ovation from the Swansea crowd, the Ospreys went over for their seventh. Wales scrum-half Hardy broke down the blindside, with his grubber ricocheting back into his hands for a simple run-in.
With the Dragons out on their feet in the dying minutes, quickfire scores from Giles and Morgan-Williams at the end ensured the Ospreys will head to South Africa with some confidence as they look to sneak into the play-offs once again.
Ospreys: Jack Walsh; Daniel Kasende, Evardi Boshoff, Keiran Williams, Keelan Giles; Dan Edwards, Kieran Hardy; Gareth Thomas, Dewi Lake, Ben Warren, Will Spencer, Adam Beard, James Ratti, Jac Morgan (capt), Morgan Morse.
Replacements: Sam Parry, Steffan Thomas, Tom Botha, Will Griffiths, Harri Deaves, Reuben Morgan-Williams, Owen Williams, Iestyn Hopkins.
Dragons: Ewan Rosser; Harry Rees-Weldon, Joe Westwood, Aneurin Owen (capt), Jared Rosser; Angus O'Brien, Rhodri Williams; Rhodri Jones, Brodie Coghlan, Chris Coleman, Joe Davies, Ryan Woodman, Shane Lewis-Hughes, Dan Lydiate, Aaron Wainwright.
Replacements: James Benjamin, Dylan Kelleher-Griffiths, Nathan Evans, Barny Langton-Cryer, George Young, Che Hope, Will Reed, Huw Anderson.
Referee: Ben Breakspear (SRU)
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