Simon Thomas
Head coach Mark Jones paid tribute to “a proper Ospreys performance” as his team celebrated their St Helen’s homecoming with a 31-14 bonus-point victory over the Dragons.
It was the Ospreys’ first game back at the newly redeveloped Swansea ground after some 20 years away and they marked the occasion in style, with Wales squad scrum-half Reuben Morgan-Williams scoring two of their five tries.
They were dominant up front and far more clinical than the Dragons, who also suffered through indiscipline, having three players yellow-carded on a wild, wet and windy night amid Storm Boelo.
“I am just really pleased with the win,” said Jones.
“There has been a lot of pressure on the boys this week, just around the whole occasion of it.
“You only get one chance to make a first impression and there’s a bit of responsibility that comes with that.
“You’re responsible for representing the badge and putting the best performance on the field that we could for our supporters because people have travelled a long way in awful conditions.
“The one thing that will always make them happy is a win, whether it’s by hook or by crook.
“But I actually thought it wasn’t just a win, it was a really good performance. There was some high-quality skill in there and some awesome defensive work, while our set piece obviously shone through and we’re proud of that.
“It was a proper Ospreys performance and it needed to be in those conditions.
“It was never going to be a multi-phase, running game. It was always going to be moments of importance and fundamentals being strong and I thought we did a really good job around all of those areas. The effort was class.”
St Helen’s was an original home venue for the Ospreys when the region was launched back in 2003.
They then moved to the Liberty Stadium in late 2005, with that ground – the home of Swansea City football club – being their base for the next two decades.
Now they are back at St Helen’s, with work having gone on around the clock over the past couple of months to get the seafront venue ready in time for the Dragons game.
In the end, a sell-out crowd of 5,592 were able to attend the landmark fixture and they had plenty of reasons to be cheerful despite the challenging weather conditions.
Click to view slideshow.‘Class’
Winger Keelan Giles, who was born and raised in the city, provided his thoughts on the whole occasion.
“I played here growing up in finals and schools and for Swansea RFC as well,” he said.
“This was very different. I have never played in front of a crowd this big down here.
“It was a great night and a great experience. It’s class to be playing down here again.
“They have done an amazing job down here. It looks amazing. The atmosphere from the crowd was top notch.”
Defeated Dragons coach Filo Tiatia said: “The Ospreys deservedly won the game.
“They dominated up front. Their set-piece, their mauling was outstanding.
“There are parts of the game we need to be better at and we know we can do that. So we’ve just got to review, reflect and then we need to learn faster.”
Edinburgh enjoying the good vibe
Edinburgh Rugby remain top of the URC table after making it four wins out of four, matching their best start to a league season in 11 years.
They ran in five tries in beating the 10Bets Lions 31-10 at the Hive Stadium, with scrum-half Hector Patterson – who has just signed a contract extension – crossing twice in a Player of the Match performance.
Head coach Sean Everitt said: “It’s great that we are able to build momentum early in the competition. Momentum is always a good thing.
“There’s a long way to go, we know that.
“I am just happy that we got the result and, in these conditions, a bonus point too.
“The guys managed the game well and the passes stuck. I just thought they showed bravery with ball in hand.
“Then, in defence, to concede one try against a dangerous Lions team shows the effort the boys put in.”
Everitt added: “There’s a good vibe at the moment and obviously winning does bring that.
“We have been on the other side where we haven’t won every week or lost three or four in a row and that’s tough.
“So we will enjoy it while it lasts.”
Glasgow Warriors have retained second spot after securing a dramatic late 24-20 victory over Benetton Rugby in Treviso.
They trailed 17-0 early in the second half and then 20-17 going into the dying embers of the game.
But, two minutes from time, replacement lock Jare Oguntibeju forced his way over to secure the victory and a four-try bonus point.
The Vodacom Bulls are in third after claiming the maximum haul in a 34-26 win against Ulster Rugby at Pretoria’s Loftus Versfeld.
It finished four tries apiece, with Bulls flanker Marcell Coetzee and Ulster winger Chay Mullins both crossing twice.
In the end, it was the place kicking of Springboks star Handre Pollard that proved the difference as he landed five successful shots at goal, while fellow fly-half Curwin Bosch added a last-minute penalty to deny the visitors a second bonus point.
The DHL Stormers are in fourth after figuring in the highest-scoring game of the weekend – a 52-40 victory over the Scarlets in Cape Town, where there were no fewer than 14 tries scored in all.
Having trailed 33-14 at the break, the Welsh visitors got it back to 40-40 with 14 minutes to go as centre Joe Roberts completed a hat-trick.
But a brace of late touchdowns from replacement fly-half Yaqeen Ahmed saw the Stormers come away with the spoils, leaving the six-try Scarlets with only a try bonus point.
The Hollywoodbets Sharks lie fifth having also come on strong in the latter stages, scoring three tries in the final quarter to secure a 36-21 bonus-point victory over Cardiff Rugby at the Arms Park.
It was a notable scalp for the visitors from Durban as Cardiff hadn’t lost at home since last December.
Leinster Rugby’s 24-18 win against Irish arch-rivals Munster Rugby at the Aviva Stadium has taken them up to sixth, while the Ospreys have leapt into seventh spot with their own derby-day triumph against Dragons RFC.
Completing the top eight are Connacht Rugby, who ran in eight tries during a 48-27 win over Zebre Parma in Galway, with hooker Dave Heffernan snapping up a double.
In all, the eight URC games over the weekend produced a total of 456 points at an average of 57 points per game, while there were 69 tries scored at an average of 8.6 per match.
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