Ospreys 19-36 Cardiff: Capital Punishment for Ospreys as Cardiff hit six on 'Judgement Day'

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By Etienne Turpin

Hamer-Webb scored a hattrick of tries as Cardiff outclassed the Ospreys to a 17-point win on Judgement Day to move back into the top 8. A late Ospreys try saw the score be reduced to just three points but two late tries including Hamer-Webbs third made sure the scoreline reflected the 'visitors' dominance.

There was an early sinbinning for Cardiff's Teddy Williams after a high tackle on Dan Edwards, but the determined Alex Mann put a stop to the dangerous Ospreys attack.

But they were unable to stop the next wave of attack from the Ospreys. Jac Morgan hit a brilliant line to get the Ospreys close to the line and Keiran Williams crashed over from close range to give his side the early lead.

Despite being a man down, Cardiff replied quickly to the Ospreys try, getting one of their own through Alex Mann who had started the game brilliantly.

Gabe Hamer-Webb then crossed over for two tries of his own. His first, came following another Josh Adams turnover and showed quick feet to evade the last-ditch tackle attempt from Walsh. His second was even better. Donnell found space on halfway and found the flying winger on his outside and he managed to score despite a near brilliant tap tackle from Walsh.

Cardiff's fourth was the best of the lot. The back three combined well on the left wing and Mulder was able to collect Hamer-Webb's lovely chip. The ball was shifted out wide and Callum Sheedy's cross field kick perfectly found the brilliant Mann for his second. Sheedy was struggling from the tee however, missing his last three shots at goal.

The Ospreys dismal first half got worse moments before halftime as Morgan Morse was given a yellow for repeated infringements but a croc roll from Mann and Domachowski saw a fifth Cardiff try get disallowed.

Cardiff were reduced to 14-men for the second time in the early stages of the first half as Mann hit Morgan-Williams with an unnecessary and late shoulder charge but brilliant last ditch defending from Adams and Winnett denied the flyer Keelan Giles from putting the Ospreys back in the game.

They eventually got their try through Will Spencer who made a big difference since coming on. Giles got his side on the front foot and brushing off Mulder before the big lock found a gap in the Cardiff defence and went over almost untouched.

Momentum swung in the Ospreys favour as a third yellow card for Cardiff resulted in a try for Keiran Hardy to give his side a chance at grabbing the win but they were penalised from kick off and a driving maul was collapsed resulting in a penalty try.

And there was time for another as a lovely Teddy Williams offload for the rapid Youngs who broke towards the Ospreys line. His clever kick found the winger Hamer-Webb who collected and scored his third try, ending in a big Cardiff win on Judgement Day.

Ospreys: 19

TRIES: 3 (Williams 11', Spencer 59', Hardy 76')

CONVERSIONS: 2 (Edwards 12', 77')

PENALTIES:

DROP GOALS:

YELLOW CARDS: 1 (Morse 40')

RED CARDS: 0

15. Jack Walsh, 14. Dan Kasende, 13. Evardi Boshoff, 12. Kieran Williams, 11. Keelan Giles, 10. Dan Edwards, 9. Reuben Morgan-Williams, 1. Gareth Thomas, 2. Sam Parry, 3. Tom Botha, 4. James Fender, 5. James Ratti, 6. Tristan Davies, 7. Jac Morgan, 8. Morgan Morse.

16. Dewi Lake, 17. Garyn Phillips, 18. Ben Warren, 19. Will Spencer, 20. Lewis Lloyd, 21. Kieran Hardy, 22. Owen Williams, 23. Iestyn Hopkins.

Cardiff: 36

TRIES: 6 (Mann 16', 35', Hamer-Webb 20', 29', 80', Penalty Try 79')

CONVERSIONS: 2 (Sheedy 16', Thomas 80')

PENALTIES:

DROP GOALS:

YELLOW CARDS: 3 (Williams 6', Mann 50', Millard 76')

RED CARDS: 0

15. Cam Winnett, 14. Josh Adams, 13 Harri Millard, 12. Ben Thomas, 11. Gabe Hamer-Webb, 10. Callum Sheedy, 9. Johan Mulder, 1. Corey Domachowski, 2. Liam Belcher, 3. Keiron Assiratti, 4. Ben Donnell, 5. Teddy Williams, 6. Alex Mann, 7. James Botham, 8. Taulupe Faletau

16. Evan Lloyd, 17. Danny Southworth, 18. Rhys Litterick, 19. Rory Thornton, 20. Alun Lawrence, 21. Tom Youngs, 21. Aled Davies, 23. Rory Jennings.

Ospreys Player Ratings

15. Jack Walsh: Nearly made an incredible try saving tackle on Gabe Hamer-Webb

14. Dan Kasende: 6/10 – Showed flashes of his pace and footwork but didn't get many clear attacking opportunities. Worked hard in defence.

13. Evardi Boshoff: 6.5/10 – Busy performance in midfield. Strong in contact and had a couple of good defensive reads, though a little quiet in attack.

12. Kieran Williams: 6.5/10 – Scored the opening try and brought his usual physicality in both attack and defence. A consistent threat.

11. Keelan Giles: 6.5/10 – Wasn’t as involved as usual but looked sharp when given space. A few nice moments though lacked final impact.

10. Dan Edwards: 6.5/10 – Controlled the game well in phases, with some lovely distribution – especially the long pass for the bonus point try. Slightly shaky under pressure at times.

9. Reuben Morgan-Williams: 6.5/10 – Energetic and sharp, he linked play efficiently and found gaps around the fringes. Great game management.

8. Morgan Morse: Superb steal early on but sinbinned for a late tackle before the break.

7. Jac Morgan: 7.5/10 – The heartbeat of the pack. Tireless, accurate, and played a crucial role in setting up the first try. Top-class work rate and leadership. An important turn over with the game on the balance.

6. Tristan Davies: 6.5/10 – Did the hard graft around the park. Not flashy, but effective. Good physical presence.

5. James Ratti: 6.5/10 – Solid shift from the lock. Quietly went about his business and made sure the set-piece ran smoothly. Found himself in no-mans land with a big break.

4. James Fender: 6/10 – Carried well in heavy traffic and put in a shift defensively.

3. Tom Botha: 6.5/10 – Held his own at scrum time and made a few key tackles. Quiet but dependable.

2. Sam Parry: 7/10 – Busy around the park with some hard carries and strong tackles. Lineout throwing was pretty accurate.

1. Gareth Thomas: 6/10 – Played 48 minutes. Solid performance up front. Anchored the scrum and made his presence felt in defence.

16. Dewi Lake: 5.5/10 – Made a try saving tackle, with the help of Phillips to deny Cardiff a fifth try.

17. Garyn Phillips: Made his presence felt by winning a penalty moments after coming on. Helped alongside Dewi to prevent a Cardiff try.

18. Ben Warren: 5.5/10

19. Ben Spencer: 7/10 – Scored a lovely try soon after coming on. Made a big difference off the bench.

20. Lewis Lloyd:

21. Keiran Hardy: 6.5/10 – Scored a late try resulting in an exciting finish.

22. Owen Williams: 5.5/10

23. Iestyn Hopkins:

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