Leinster leave it late to hold Ospreys
Jimmy Gopperth kicked a last-gasp penalty as Leinster scrapped their second Pro12 draw of the season.
In a war of attrition, Ospreys looked to be on course for a tenth straight win at the Liberty Stadium to leapfrog reigning champions Leinster in the table.
But replacement No.8 Morgan Allen was penalised late on and Gopperth held his nerve for a 9-all draw.
Leinster had suffered a setback before the contest had even got started. Jack Conan rolled his ankle in the warm up, so Dominic Ryan came in at No.8 with Dan Dreally added among the replacements.
Due to the early disruption it was perhaps no surprise to see Ospreys on the front foot from the first kick, but Scott Otten was stopped in his tracks by Tadhg Furlong inside the Leinster 22.
The visitors had the first opportunity to break the deadlock through Gopperth and the No.10, despite a hit and miss season off the tee, duly obliged.
The New Zealander added three more points midway through the first half, as the penalty count continued to creep up.
As Ospreys looked to pile forwards for a way back in to the contest, they were again penalised on the Leinster 22, Richardt Strauss standing firm.
But on the stroke of half-time the majority of the 7,000 crowd inside the Liberty Stadium finally had something to cheer, Sam Davies making no mistake with a penalty to send his side in at the interval trailing 6-3.
And within three minutes of the restart they were back level. Sam Davies nailed a drop goal from 20m.
Ospreys, looking to avoid a third straight defeat for the first time since September 2012, moved in front on 55 minutes with Davies sailing a penalty through the posts.
But Leinster are made of stern stuff and applied extreme pressure on the Ospreys defence, looking to regain the lead. The pack pushed to within a metre of the line, before a strong hit by James King forced a knock-on.
But with Ospreys looking all set to hold for the victory, Allen was penalised for not releasing and Gopperth saw his kick hit the post and sneak over to seal a draw.
The scorers:
For Ospreys:
Pens: Davies 2
DG: Davies
For Leinster:
Pens: Gopperth 3
Teams:
Ospreys: 15 Dan Evans, 14 Tom Grabham, 13 Jonathan Spratt, 12 Josh Matavesi, 11 Hanno Dirksen, 10 Sam Davies, 9 Martin Roberts, 8 Dan Baker, 7 James King, 6 Joe Bearman, 5 Tyler Ardron (captain), 4 Tevita Cavubati, 3 Dmitri Arhip, 2 Scott Otten, 1 Ryan Bevington.
Replacements: 16 Matthew Dwyer, 17 Marc Thomas, 18 Daniel Suter, 19 Rhodri Hughes, 20 Olly Cracknell, 21 Morgan Allen, 22 Tom Habberfield, 23 Richard Fussell.
Leinster: 15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Fergus McFadden, 13 Ben Te'o, 12 Gordon D'Arcy, 11 Dave Kearney, 10 Jimmy Gopperth, 9 Isaac Boss, 8 Jack Conan, 7 Josh Van Der Flier, 6 Rhys Ruddock, 5 Kane Douglas, 4 Tom Denton, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Richardt Strauss, 1 Michael Bent .
Replacements: 16 Aaron Dundon, 17 Peter Dooley, 18 Royce Burke-Flynn, 19 Ben Marshall, 20 Dominic Ryan, 21 Luke McGrath, 22 Noel Reid, 23 Darragh Fanning.
Referee: John Lacey (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Craig Evans (Wales), Chris Williams (Wales)
TMO: Derek Bevan (Wales)
