Exiles stun Ospreys
The Ospreys' Heineken Cup hopes were halted against the odds on Sunday when London Irish scored a 24-12 win in Pool Three.
Last Updated: 16/01/11 5:10pm
The Ospreys' Heineken Cup hopes were halted against the odds on Sunday when London Irish scored a 24-12 win in their Pool Three match at the Madejski Stadium.
Irish had set themselves up as the whipping boys of the group by virtue of an appalling downturn in form of late. With the Premiership club having lost 10 matches in a row, the Welsh region would have been confident of keeping up the pressure on Munster and, particularly, Toulon.
It was not to be, though, as on a wet and windy day in Reading, Toby Booth's side finally came good, gaining confidence as the match wore on and scoring tries through Sailosi Tagicakibau and Topsy Ojo.
Self-belief initially appeared in short supply for Irish as first Richard Hibbard, then Marty Holah and Mike Phillips all went close to scoring within a few seconds of the Ospreys' kick-off.
Irish were soon gaining ground though and their first attacks came one after another starting in the seventh minute - the first resulting from turnover ball gained by Alex Corbisiero, while Chris Hala'Ufia then put Elvis Seveali'I through on an angled run before Dan Biggar eventually mopped up.
Reward
Reward duly came when Dan Bowden kicked a penalty after 16 minutes but Alun Wyn Jones burst forward straight from the re-start - the Wales lock selling a dummy before eventually being brought to ground. Presented with a three-pointer, Biggar duly found the target.
Play immediately ping-ponged back up the other end, though, as Delon Armitage and Bowden inspired a 19th-minute break in which the full-back reappeared to supply the final pass to Tagicakibau in the left-hand corner - Bowden albeit unable to convert.
Ospreys' scrum - specifically its inability to bind - was to blame for the penalty Bowden kicked in the 28th minute but after Ryan Jones had impressively not only received a big hit from Seilala Mapusua but also gathered the ball and fashioned a break, Biggar then responded in kind.
Bowden eked the gap out to eight points with another just one minute before half time and with luck also going against the Ospreys - Craig Mitchell replacing Adam Jones, who re-appeared on the bench with his left arm in a sling - they faced the most important 40 minutes of their season so far.
Bad immediately went to worse for them, however, as Irish rampaged forward to cross within two minutes of the re-start. Bowden started the move, finding Seveali'I to his left before he in turn found Ojo, who touched down emphatically. Bowden converted for 21-6.
Biggar responded with a fine penalty - booted from halfway - shortly after but faced with another in the 48th minute, he sent the ball sailing right of the posts. A boost then came with the appearance from the bench of Lee Byrne but Biggar missed again eight minutes later.
Stuck
Ospreys were searching for a forward gear but with conditions deteriorating as the rain worsened, they appeared stuck. Indeed, they started slipping backwards on the hour as Irish advanced - the drive coming to naught when Hala'Ufia knocked on.
The visitors appeared poised to pull a try back after 63 minutes when, attempting to clear his lines, Tagicakibau was instead hauled down deep inside his own territory. The Ospreys' push for five points was ended when Tommy Bowe fumbled James Hook's pass but the latter at least kicked another penalty.
Bowden missed one soon after, leaving Ospreys with 12 minutes in which to score twice. Pressure was immediately applied and the strain showed on the home defence when James Buckland was sin-binned for a professional foul under the posts.
With Brian Blainey beefing up the Irish rearguard, Ospreys continued to look for a way through but instead were penalised for not releasing. That was it as far as their challenge was concerned with Ryan Lamb, on for Bowden, kicking another penalty with two minutes left.
