Ospreys 18 – 20 Lyon: Player Ratings from heated match-up as Lyon reach Challenge Cup semi-finals

Yesterday at 04:18 AM

By Etienne Turpin

The French side hold off a late Ospreys surge in Swansea to secure a 20-18 victory and book their spot in the semi-finals. French international Guillard put in a huge second half shift to help his side to a big win.

Lyon opened the scoring after seven minutes with a lovely first phase try following an Ospreys error at the lineout. The backs linked up well and Rattez had a simple run-in to give the visitors the early lead. It was one of two early blows for the Ospreys, as their talisman Justin Tipuric had to go off with an injury.

It was a pointless first 20 minutes from the Ospreys but a penalty from Edwards finally got them on the board, after good work at the scrum from the front three. But a penalty minutes later saw Lyon restore their seven-point lead. The Ospreys got their first try through Jac Morgan, who powered over after some powerful work from the forwards.

Lyon regained their lead with half time approaching with a nice strike from Berdeu however, they failed to secure the ball from the kick off. The Ospreys had an opportunity to level the scores at half time but opted to go to touch and were unable to get any points.

Similarly to the first, Lyon were the first to strike in the second half. The Ospreys showed great passion in defence but eventually the power of Lyon was too much, and the French international Guillard powered over.

The boot of Dan Edwards kept the Swansea side in the game, as another penalty reduced Lyon's lead to seven. With less than ten minutes remaining, the Ospreys scored an important try to keep them in the game. A powerful lineout maul charged towards the line and Evardi Boshoff was there to finish off the move. Edwards, who had kicked well all game from the tee agonisingly hit the post.

That missed proved to be costly for the Ospreys as Lyon held off the late Ospreys charge who ended the game with 14 men after Davies was forced off with an injury, and nobody to replace him. A small tussle endured at the full-time whistle but Lyon moved on to the semi final where they would go on to face one of Connacht or Racing 92.

Ospreys: 18

TRIES: 2 (Morgan 26', Boshoff 72')

CONVERSIONS: 1 (Edwards 27')

PENALTIES: 2 (Edwards 20', 55')

DROP GOALS:

YELLOW CARDS:

RED CARDS: 0

15. Jack Walsh, 14. Dan Kasende, 13. Evardi Boshoff, 12. Kieran Williams, 11. Keelan Giles, 10. Dan Edwards, 9. Keiran Hardy, 1. Gareth Thomas, 2. Dewi Lake, 3. Tom Botha, 4. Rhys Davies, 5. Adam Beard, 6. Jac Morgan, 7. Justin Tipuric, 8. Morgan Morris.

16. George McGuigan, 17. Garyn Phillips, 18. Ben Warren, 19. James Fender, 20. Morgan Morse, 21. Reuben Morgan-Williams, 22. Owen Williams, 23. Iestyn Hopkins.

Lyon: 20

TRIES: 2 (Rattez 7', Guillard 51')

CONVERSIONS: 2 (Berdeu 8', 52')

PENALTIES: 2 (Berdeu 22', 34')

DROP GOALS:

YELLOW CARDS:

RED CARDS: 0

15. Alexandre Tchaptchet, 14. Vincent Rattez, 13. Josiah Maraku, 12. Theo Millet, 11. Ethan Dumortier, 10. Leo Berdeu, 9. Charlie Cassang, 1. Wayan de Benedittis, 2. Sam Matavesi, 3. Hamza Kaabeche, 4. Felix Lambey, 5. Alban Roussel, 6. Steeve Blanc-Mappaz, 7. Beka Saginadze, 8. Maxime Gouzou.

16. Guillaume Marchand, 17. Sebastien Taofifenua, 18. Valentin Simutoga, 19. Mickael Guillard, 20. Theo William, 21. Dylan Cretin, 22. Baptiste Couilloud, 23. Alfred Parisien.

Ospreys Player Ratings

15. Jack Walsh: 5/10 – Spilled ball early on under little pressure and was outshone by his opposite number. Failed to have an impact on the game where his usual runs tend to create problems for defences.

14. Dan Kasende: 6/10 – Threatening with the ball in hand. Dynamic and evasive. Covered ground when required to.

13. Evardi Boshoff: 5.5/10 – Had little impact with the ball. Scored late on but mainly thanks to the forwards who mauled well.

12. Kieran Williams: 6/10 – Carried hard into contact, almost set up a try with a nice break.

11. Keelan Giles: 5.5/10 -Saw little of the ball but Lyon defence hit him hard but

10. Dan Edwards: 5.5/10 – An unusual poor performance from Edwards, poor decision making at times but was reliable from the tee which kept his side in the game but missed an important conversion to level the game.

9. Keiran Hardy:  5.5/10 – The scrum half didn't have much impact on the game

8. Morgan Morris: 5/10 – Quiet game for his standards in attack, tackled well in defence.

7. Justin Tipuric: N/A – Unfortunately replaced through injury after Lyon scored their first try, less than 10 minutes into the game.

6. Jac Morgan: 7/10 Won important turnovers when his side were under pressure throughout the game. Strong over the ball. Got the first try for his team and led well during the whole 80.

5. Adam Beard: 5/10 Hobbled off after 50 minutes. Had a decent game and secured the ball at lineout time.

4. Rhys Davies: 6/10 – Good work rate with and without the ball. Late injury meant his side finished the game with just 14 men on the field.

3. Tom Botha: 6/10 -Part of the powerful front three that dominated the scrum in the first half. Forced Lyon into an early change at half time.

2. Dewi Lake: 6/10 – Scrummed well in the first half. Reliable at lineout and did his job in defence against a powerful pack. Stayed on the field for over an hour before being replaced by McGuigan.

1. Gareth Thomas: 6.5/10 – Had the edge on the scrum in the first half but penalised in second half after substitutes were made. Played just over an hour.

REPLACEMENTS

16. George McGuigan: 5/10

17. Garyn Phillips: 5.5/10

18. Ben Warren: 5/10

19. James Fender: 5.5/10 – Brought on early to replace the injured Tipuric

20. Morgan Morse: 5.5/10 – Got himself involved as soon as he came on. Came close to scoring but was unfortunately held up.

21. Reuben Morgan-Williams: 5.5/10 – Looked to insert some pace into the game from the bench.

22. Owen Williams: N/A

23. Iestyn Hopkins: 5/10 – Limited action but helped at scrum half when Reuben Morgan-Williams was far from play.

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