Ospreys stay in the hunt
RAINBOW CUP REPORT: Ospreys maintained their interest in the competition with a bonus-point 42-26 win over Dragons in an entertaining game at Rodney Parade.
Dewi Cross, Reuben Morgan-Williams, Morgan Morris, Dan Evans and Max Nagy all scored tries for Ospreys, with Luke Price adding three penalties and four conversions.
Dragons’ hopes of progressing in the competition were extinguished by the loss as they were hindered by frequent scrum penalties and a general lack of discipline.
Jonah Holmes scored two tries for the hosts to take his tally to 10 in his last nine appearances, while Dan Baker and Rio Dyer also picked up tries and Sam Davies converted all three.
Dragons took a third-minute lead with a try from Holmes. A cross-field kick from Davies was collected by the wing, who brushed off a weak challenge from Evans to race away and score.
Davies converted before Price put Ospreys on the scoreboard with a straightforward penalty.
Dragons hooker Taylor Davies was then yellow carded for a tip-tackle on Justin Tipuric, with the visitors immediately capitalising with a try from Cross.
Morgan-Williams broke away from a maul to send Cross through a gap to score and Dragons’ Aaron Wainwright lost his Captain’s Challenge as he contended that the pass was forward but, after viewing replays, the officials stuck with their original decision.
With Davies still in the sin-bin, Ospreys scored a second try when Morris forced his way over from close range to reward a succession of forward drives.
Price added a second penalty before Dragons replied with a second try from Holmes after skilful passing had provided him with an overlap. Davies converted to leave the home side trailing 20-14 at the interval.
Two minutes after the restart, Price kicked his third penalty but Ospreys hooker Sam Parry was soon yellow carded and former Osprey Baker crashed over to bring the hosts back into contention.
However, Dragons immediately conceded a third try when Morgan-Williams darted away for an excellent solo effort.
Parry returned from the sin-bin in time to see his side score their bonus-point try when Evans took advantage of some weak tackling to score and Price converted for a 35-21 lead going into the final quarter.
A strong run from the impressive Holmes created a try for his fellow wing Dyer, but Ospreys had the final say with a try from Nagy.
The scorers
For the Dragons
Tries: J Holmes 2, Baker, Dyer
Cons: S Davies 3
For Ospreys
Tries: D Cross, M Morris, Morgan-Williams, D Evans, Nagy
Cons: Price 4
Pens: Price 3
Teams
Dragons: 15 Josh Lewis, 14 Jonah Holmes, 13 Jack Dixon, 12 Aneurin Owen, 11 Rio Dyer, 10 Sam Davies, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 8 Dan Baker, 7 Ollie Griffiths, 6 Aaron Wainwright (captain), 5 Ben Carter, 4 Joe Davies, 3 Leon Brown, 2 Taylor Davies, 1 Greg Bateman.
Replacements: 16 Richard Hibbard, 17 Josh Reynolds, 18 Chris Coleman, 19 Joe Maksymiw, 20 Taine Basham, 21 Huw Taylor, 22 Dan Babos, 23 Ioan Davies.
Ospreys: 15 Dan Evans, 14 Luke Morgan, 13 Owen Watkin, 12 Keiran Williams, 11 Dewi Cross, 10 Luke Price, 9 Reuben Morgan-Williams, 8 Morgan Morris, 7 Justin Tipuric (captain), 6 Ethan Roots, 5 Alun Wyn Jones, 4 Bradley Davies, 3 Tom Botha, 2 Sam Parry, 1 Gareth Thomas.
Replacements: 16 Todd Gleave, 17 Nicky Smith, 18 Rhys Henry, 19 Rhys Davies, 20 Will Griffiths, 21 Matthew Aubrey, 22 Joe Hawkins, 23 Max Nagy.
Referee: Frank Murphy (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Aled Evans, Ben Breakspear (both Wales)
TMO: Rhys Thomas (Wales)
Source: AP & RugbyPass
