Ospreys outmuscle Warriors
MATCH REPORT: Keelan Giles scored a pair of tries as the Ospreys registered a 32-17 bonus-point victory over Glasgow Warriors in their United Rugby Championship[ Round Three match in Swansea on Saturday.
The speedy wing had another ruled out by the TMO for a knock-on but still took his try tally this season to four to give Wales head coach Wayne Pivac a nudge ahead of the year-end internationals.
Both sides were forced into making changes to their back rows in the opening 12 minutes as the Ospreys lost Ethan Roots to a head knock and the Warriors saw their own number eight, Jack Dempsey, leave with a rib problem.
The Ospreys conceded a penalty at their own scrum five metres out from the Glasgow line to squander a scoring opportunity and then had a try by Giles ruled out for a knock-on earlier in the move.
The TMO then gave the seal of approval to a great finish from Giles in the left corner after Glasgow had been guilty of conceding back-to-back penalties that forced them to defend two line-outs.
The Ospreys were held up from the first, but when the ball went wide to Giles he skipped outside one defender and dived under two others to score a try that Gareth Anscombe converted off the touchline, bringing the first points of the game in the 29th minute.
Glasgow thought they had scored seven minutes later after a brilliant burst out of defence by fullback Cole Forbes paved the way for Sam Johnson to cross at the posts. This time a knock-on by Scott Cummings earlier in the move forced the TMO to rule it out.
Glasgow then conceded a penalty which Anscombe kicked to make it 10-0. On the stroke of half-time, Tom Jordan opened the visitors’ account with his own three-pointer to reduce the arrears at the interval.
After the break, Giles chased a Webb kick into the 22 from his own 10-metre line and snatched the ball out of the last defender’s hands to score at the posts.
Jack Walsh, who moments earlier had replaced the injured Anscombe, added the extras. George North and Reuben Morgan-Williams then added two more tries before the end, one of which Walsh improved, to make it a bonus-point triumph.
Glasgow scored consolation tries in the final two minutes through Oli Kebble and Tom Gordon, both of which were converted by Domingo Miotti.
The scorers
For Ospreys
Tries: Giles 2, North, Morgan-Williams
Cons: Anscombe, Walsh 2
Pens: Anscombe, Walsh
For Glasgow Warriors
Tries: Kebble, Gordon
Cons: Kennedy, Miotti
Pens: Jordan
Teams:
Ospreys: 15 Max Nagy, 14 George North, 13 Owen Watkin, 12 Michael Collins, 11 Keelan Giles, 10 Gareth Anscombe, 9 Rhys Webb (captain), 8 Ethan Roots, 7 Jac Morgan, 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Alun Wyn Jones, 4 Adam Beard, 3 Tomas Francis, 2 Scott Baldwin, 1 Nicky Smith.
Replacements: 16 Dewi Lake, 17 Rhys Henry, 18 Tom Botha, 19 Rhys Davies, 20 Will Griffiths, 21 Reuben Morgan Williams, 22 Jack Walsh, 23 Luke Morgan.
Glasgow Warriors: 15 Cole Forbes, 14 Sebastian Cancelliere, 13 Sione Tuipulotu, 12 Sam Johnson, 11 Rufus McLean, 10 Tom Jordan, 9 Ali Price (captain), 8 Jack Dempsey, 7 Thomas Gordon, 6 Gregor Brown, 5 Richie Gray, 4 Scott Cummings, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 Fraser Brown, 1 Jamie Bhatti.
Replacements: 16 George Turner, 17 Oli Kebble, 18 Simon Berghan, 19 JP du Preez, 20 Sintu Manjezi, 21 Ryan Wilson, 22 Sean Kennedy, 23 Domingo Miotti.
Referee: Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Ben Breakspear (Wales) & Carwyn Williams (Wales)
TMO: Leo Colgan (Ireland
