Ospreys qualify despite late Zebre sting

SUNDAY WRAP: Ospreys booked their place in the Challenge Cup last 16 the hard way, clinching qualification despite slipping to a narrow 19-23 defeat against Zebre in Parma.

The Ospreys did just enough to secure a vital losing bonus point, which confirmed their progress after earlier bonus-point wins over Connacht and Montauban, but a third European victory this season proved just out of reach.

Zebre, powered by a composed kicking display from Giacomo da Re and a late match-winning try from flanker Samuele Locatelli, edged the contest after leading 13-0 at the break.

Scrumhalf Alessandro Fusco crossed in the first half as the hosts capitalised on early control, while Ospreys were left frustrated when a Morgan Morse try was ruled out for obstruction.

The Welsh side responded strongly after the interval, with Morse crashing over before Keiran Williams sliced through the defence to put Ospreys briefly in front. Dan Edwards added the extras and later scored himself to reclaim the lead following another penalty from da Re.

However, Ospreys were unable to close out the contest, and Locatelli’s late score sealed victory for the Italians.

Attention now turns to the final pool clash, where Ospreys will host Montpellier in Bridgend on Saturday, January 17, with top spot on the line after the French side’s dramatic win over Connacht.

Montpellier 33-31 Connacht

The scorers:

For Montpellier:
Tries: Darmon, Akrab, Rates, Bernadet, Welsch
Cons: Coly 2, Hogg 2

For Connacht:
Tries: Murphy, Tierney-Martin, Treacy, Gilbert
Cons: Gilbert 4
Pens: Gilbert

Teams

Montpellier: 15 Thomas Vincent, 14 Donovan Taofifenua, 13 Thomas Darmon, 12 Justo Piccardo, 11 Melvyn Rates, 10 Stuart Hogg, 9 Leo Coly, 8 Alex Masibaka, 7 Alex Becognee (captain), 6 Marco Tauleigne, 5 Bastien Chalureau, 4 Florian Verhaeghe, 3 Luka Japaridze, 2 Lyam Akrab, 1 Baptiste Erdocio
Replacements: 16 Ricky Riccitelli, 17 Nika Abuladze, 18 Valentin Welsch, 19 Matthieu Uhila, 20. Langi Gleeson, 21 Alexis Bernadet, 22 Arthur Vincent, 23 Jules Ducros

Connacht: 15 Sam Gilbert, 14 Shane Jennings, 13 Harry West, 12 Cathal Forde, 11 Finn Treacy, 10 Josh Ioane, 9 Ben Murphy, 8 Sean Jansen, 7 Paul Boyle, 6 Cian Prendergast (captain), 5 Josh Murphy, 4 Darragh Murray, 3 Sam Illo, 2 Dylan Tierney-Martin, 1 Billy Bohan
Replacements: 16 Matthew Victory, 17 Peter Dooley, 18 Fiachna Barrett, 19 Niall Murray, 20 Sean O’Brien, 21 Albert Lindner, 22 Sean Walsh, 23 John Devine

Referee: Morne Ferreira (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Christopher Allison (South Africa) & Alex Thomas (England)
TMO: David Rose (England)

Zebre 23-19 Ospreys

The scorers:

For Zebre:
Tries: Fusco, Locatelli
Cons: Da Re 2
Pens: Da Re 3

For Ospreys:
Tries: Morse, Williams, D Edwards
Cons: D Edwards 2

Teams

Zebre: 15 Giovanni Montemauri, 14 Mirko Belloni, 13 Giulio Bertaccini, 12 Damiano Mazza, 11 Simone Gesi, 10 Giacomo da Re, 9 Alessandro Fusco, 8 Giacomo Ferrari, 7 Samuele Locatelli, 6 Jacopo Bianchi, 5 Leonardo Krumov (captain), 4 Matteo Canali, 3 Matteo Nocera, 2 Tommaso di Bartolomeo, 1 Muhamed Hasa
Replacements: 16 Giovanni Quattrini, 17 Paolo Buonfiglio, 18 Enrique Pieretto, 19 Alessandro Ortombina, 20 Davide Odiase, 21 Thomas Dominguez, 22 Marco Zanon, 23 Bautista Stavile

Ospreys: 15 Jack Walsh, 14 Iestyn Hopkins, 13 Evradi Boshoff, 12 Keiran Williams, 11 Keelan Giles, 10 Dan Edwards, 9 Kieran Hardy, 8 Morgan Morse, 7 Harri Deaves, 6 James Ratti, 5 James Fender, 4 Ryan Smith, 3 Tom Botha, 2 Dewi Lake (captain), 1 Garyn Phillips
Replacements: 16 Lewis Lloyd, 17 Steff Thomas, 18 Kian Hire, 19 Lewis Jones, 20 Gwilym Evans, 21 Reuben Morgan-Williams, 22 Owen Watkin, 23 Daniel Kasende

Referee: Griffin Colby (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Rob McDowell (Scotland) & Jack MacNiece (Ireland)
TMO: Marius Jonker (South Africa)