Ospreys book another Tigers date
Sat, 22 Mar 2008 21:40
The Ospreys ensured there will be a repeat of last season's EDF Energy Cup Final when they smashed Saracens 30-3 at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on Saturday.
Ospreys will meet defending champions Leicester Tigers in the Final at Twickenham on April 12.
While Saracens crashed out of the EDF Energy Cup by a huge margin to the star-studded Ospreys outfit, it wasn't all one-way traffic though.
Saracens provided stubborn opposition for the Welsh region in the opening 50 minutes, with the scores in single figures until Gavin Henson crossed the line in the 51st minute.
However, after that their confidence grew and Saracens were forced to play the rest of the game on the back foot.
With the Millennium Stadium still seemingly reverberating with the sounds of singing that greeted the Welsh Grand Slam only seven days earlier, it was no surprise that the Ospreys - with their 11 Wales internationals in the starting line-up - began in impressive form.
They laid siege to the Saracens line in the opening 10 minutes and only two slices of luck prevented the English side from falling behind.
Firstly, after going through the phases and working the ball out wide, Shane Williams touched down in the corner, but on the replay it was clear he had put a foot into touch.
Minutes later and another attack saw the Ospreys go close once again. This time it was Jonathan Thomas who burst clear, but he was pulled back for a forward pass and Saracens breathed again.
From then, the North London club began to get their hands on the ball and get back in the game.
The back three of Brent Russell, Richard Haughton and Dan Scarbrough were all looking dangerous and each showed a clean pair of heels to the defence on at least one occasion in the match.
But it was in midfield where Saracens were failing to click with a series of knock-ons and passing errors forcing them on the back foot at their own doing on several occasions.
Glen Jackson was also having an off day at the office with his usual pinpoint passing game not at its best and it was summed up by his penalty miss on 15 minutes – a kick that he would normally have slotted over with no problems.
As the half wore on the Ospreys began to get their hands on more ball and had Neil de Kock not thrown himself at Thomas, who burst clear once again, the Welsh side would have crossed the line. As it was, Saracens were penalised from the following ruck and James Hook slotted over the penalty.
With the clock running down in the opening 40 minutes, a Jackson error in midfield saw the ball squirm loose and wing Shane Williams got first to the ball and kicked ahead. A lucky bounce allowed him to kick on again and he beat the chasing Haughton, Russell and Scarbrough to touch down and score the opening try of the game. Hook's conversion was wide which made it 8-0 to the Ospreys at half-time.
De Kock left the field at half-time to be replaced by Moses Rauluni and Chris Jack was also to leave the pitch shortly afterwards with Tom Ryder coming on in the second row.
Jackson made amends for his earlier penalty miss on 43 minutes with a kick that dissected the uprights to reduce the arrears.
However, any hopes of a fight back were shortlived when Saracens gave up possession on their own 22 with a 'not straight' throw and when the Ospreys set up the scrum, Henson picked up the ball and stepped outside Farrell to race to the line. Hook converted to make it 15-3 in the 51st minute.
The wave of white shirts kept coming forward as Bread of Heaven could be heard ringing around the rafters of the 'neutral' venue and Hook extended the lead with an hour gone, knocking over a simple three points.
It got worse for Saracens. Within seconds of taking the field as a replacement, Filo Tiatia barged his way over the line after the Ospreys forwards had sucked in the Saracens defence. Hook converted to make it 25-3 with 62 minutes on the clock.
Williams was able to get his second try of the match with 10 minutes remaining when a the ball squirmed out the side of a ruck on halfway and the wing wizard was able to break free from a kick ahead to score in the corner.
Saracens pushed for a consolation score late on but they were unable to penetrate the Ospreys defence who were rushing out at every opportunity and giving the Men In Black no space or time.
Man of the match: They call it BTM - Big Match Temperament. And our Man of the Match Shane Williams has plenty of that - as he showed in the Six Nations and again at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday - striking the killer blow against Saracens.
Moment of the match: It simply has to be Gavin Henson's try in the 51st minute - that score was the end of Saracens' fight.
Villain of the match: Not even a yellow card and that in a game of so much passion. No award!
The Scorers:
For Ospreys:
Tries: Williams 2, Henson, Tiatia
Cons: Hook 2
Pens: Hook 2
For Saracens:
Pen: Jackson
The Teams:
Saracens: 15 Brent Russell, 14 Richard Haughton, 13 Francisco Leonelli, 12 Andy Farrell, 11 Dan Scarbrough, 10 Glen Jackson, 9 Neil de Kock (c), 8 Ben Skirving, 7 Don Barrell, 6 Kris Chesney, 5 Hugh Vyvyan, 4 Chris Jack, 3 Cencus Johnston, 2 Fabio Ongaro, 1 Nick Lloyd.
Replacements: 16 Andy Kyriacou, 17 Cobus Visagie, 18 Tom Ryder, 19 Paul Gustard, 20 Moses Rauluni, 21 Kevin Sorrell, 22 Kameli Ratuvou.
Ospreys: 15 Lee Byrne, 14 Johnny Vaughton, 13 Sonny Parker, 12 Gavin Henson, 11 Shane Williams, 10 James Hook, 9 Mike
Phillips, 8 Ryan Jones (c), 7 Marty Holah, 6 Jonathan Thomas, 5 Ian Evans, 4 Alun Wyn-Jones, 3 Adam Jones, 2 Richard Hibbard, 1 Paul James.
Replacements: 16 Huw Bennett, 17 Duncan Jones, 18 Lyndon Bateman, 19 Filo Tiatia, 20 Justin Marshall, 21 Daniel Biggar, 22 Andrew Bishop.
Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
Touch judges: Martin Fox (England), Peter Huckle (England)
TMO: Geoff Warren (England)
