Scarlets 38-22 Ospreys: Unbelievable Scarlets comeback shocks Swansea side
03/30/2025 06:37 AM
By Etienne Turpin
The Ospreys threw away a 17-point lead early on in the West-Wales derby as the Scarlets, inspired by a passionate crowd scored 38 points to claim a vital victory after three consecutive defeats.
The Scarlets got off to a calamitous start in the Derby as Alex Craig dropped the ball over the line inside the opening seconds and Morgan Morris was the first to react and score the opening try to the delight of the numerous away fans.
The Ospreys were keen on scoring points early and extended their lead minutes later through a penalty from Dan Edwards. The Scarlets then suffered another disastrous moment as Iestyn Hopkins pounced on a loose ball to score his sides second after Ioan Lloyd fumbled a bouncing ball near the try line.
Lloyd made up for his mistake when his long pass found Ben Mee out on the wing, who unselfishly gave it inside to Murray to go in for the Scarlets opening try.
The Ospreys the suffered a horrible 45 seconds. After multiple infringements, McGuigan was sent to the sin bin, and from the resulting penalty, the Scarlets were awarded a penalty try after their advancing maul was collapsed. To make matters worse, the offender Kieran Hardy remained on the field despite the yellow card which resulted in another penalty for the Scarlets.
With two extra men, the Scarlets went over for their third try through Vaea Fifita on the brink of half time. Lloyd was unable to convert the Scarlets showed great fight to come back from 17-points down.
The turnaround was completed on the 44th minute when Joe Roberts finished off a lovely team try involving prop Alec Hepburn., Lloyd converted, and the Scarlets found themselves with a seven-point lead. At this point, everything was favouring the Scarlets. Gareth Davies' Crossfield kick was fumbled by Conbeer, the ball bounced off Page's head and Eddie James was able to collect and score his sides fifth try.
The Scarlets punished the Ospreys once more following multiple errors as Plumtree crashed over for the sixth try despite Fifita almost butchering a certain try. Davies' clearance was charged down before Nagy and Edwards were unable to control the ball under pressure.
A yellow card was given to Josh MacLeod for unnecessary taking out Luke Davies. With minutes remaining, Edwards showed why he is so highly rated with a brilliant solo try off a scrum. Fended off Davies and showed great pace to finish in the corner. No other points scored, but a victory which saw the Scarlets leapfrog the Ospreys in the table.
Scarlets: 38
TRIES: 6 (Murray 21', Penalty Try 34', Fifita 40', Roberts 44', James 50', Plumtree 60')
CONVERSIONS: 3 (Lloyd 45', 51', 61')
PENALTIES:
DROP GOALS:
YELLOW CARDS: 1 (MacLeod 66')
RED CARDS: 0
15. Blair Murray, 14. Macs Page, 13. Joe Roberts, 12. Eddie James, 11. Ellis Mee, 10. Ioan Lloyd, 9. Gareth Davies, 1. Alec Hepburn, 2. Marnus Van Der Merwe, 3. Henry Thomas, 4. Alex Craig, 5. Sam Lousi, 6. Vaea Fifita, 7. Josh Macleod, 8. Taine Plumtree.
16. Ryan Elias, 17. Sam O'Connor, 18. Sam Wainwright, 19. Jac Price, 20. Jarrod Taylor, 21. Efan Jones, 22. Ioan Nicholas, 23. Dan Davis
Ospreys: 22
TRIES: 2 (Morris 1', Hopkins 14', Edwards 75')
CONVERSIONS: 2 (Edwards 1', 15')
PENALTIES: 1 (Edwards 7')
DROP GOALS:
YELLOW CARDS: 1 (McGuigan 33', Hardy 34')
RED CARDS: 0
15. Iestyn Hopkins, 14. Luke Morgan, 13. Evardi Boshoff, 12. Owen Williams, 11. Ryan Conbeer, 10. Dan Edwards, 9. Kieran Hardy, 1. Gareth Thomas, 2. George McGuigan, 3. Ben Warren, 4. James Ratti, 5. Adam Beard, 6. Tristan Davies, 7. Jac Morgan, 8. Morgan Morris.
16. Dewi Lake, 17. Steffan Thomas, 18. Tom Botha, 19. Rhys Davies, 20. Morgan Morse, 21. Luke Davies, 22. Phil Cokanasiga, 23. Max Nagy.
Ospreys Player Ratings
15. Iestyn Hopkins: 6/10 – Scored a fortunate try following Ioan Lloyds mistake but made some poor decisions at times and got replaced at half time.
14. Luke Morgan: 4/10 – Very quiet game with limited ball
13. Evardi Boshoff: 6/10 – Made an important try saving tackle on Henry Thomas at the start of the second half.
12. Owen Williams: 4.5/10 – Pretty quiet game, very little impact. His last season at the club before joining Stade Niçois in France.
11. Ryan Conbeer: 4.5/10 – Looked dangerous with the ball but had limited time with it. Cost his side a try by fumbling Gareth Davies' Crossfield kick
10. Dan Edwards: 6/10 – Accurate from the boot but missed touch with penalties and missed tackles. Class individual try towards the end.
9. Kieran Hardy: 4/10 – Gave away a penalty try and conceded a yellow card at the same time.
8. Morgan Morris: 6.5/10 – Scored first try after some quick thinking, tackled well during the game.
7. Jac Morgan: 6.5/10 – Typical performance from Jac Morgan. Strong with the ball and solid in defence.
6. Tristan Davies: 4.5/10 – Nothing spectacular, did his job well.
5. Adam Beard: 5/10 – Good going forward, reliable at lineouts but not much else.
4. James Ratti: 5/10 – A quiet first half and was subbed off at half time for Rhys Davies.
3. Ben Warren: 4.5/10 – An underwhelming effort from the Ospreys prop
2. George McGuigan: 4/10 – The front row was a real issue for the Ospreys, with McGuigan in the middle
1. Gareth Thomas: 5/10 – Solid first half but injured early in the second half and forced off.
REPLACEMENTS
16. Dewi Lake: 5.5/10 – Looked bright off the bench. Part of the front row that got punished at a crucial scrum, however.
17. Steffan Thomas: 4.5/10
18. Tom Botha: 4.5/10
19. Rhys Davies: 5/10
20. Morgan Morse: 5/10
21. Luke Davies: 4.5/10
22. Phil Cokanasiga: 4/10
23. Max Nagy: 4/10
Five Talking Points: Scarlets 38-22 Ospreys
1. Rapid start not good enough for Ospreys.
The Ospreys looked to be cruising early on as they punished the Scarlets sloppy mistakes to find themselves 17-points up. However, they conceded 38-points after that whilst only managing to score five themselves.
2. Ospreys drop out of play-offs spot.
Victories for the Scarlets, Edinburgh, and Ulster sees the Ospreys fall to 11th in the table. Two points behind the Stormers but essential for them to bounce back with Judgement day and the South Africa tour approaching.
3. Scarlets end run of defeats.
The Scarlets looked set for a fourth successive defeat (Munster, Ulster, and the Stormers) when Iestyn Hopkins pounced on a loose ball for the Ospreys second, but they showed great fight to get back into the game and win comfortably.
4. Sloppy Ospreys discipline.
The Ospreys looked in control for most of the first half, but multiple infringements resulted in a yellow to George McGuigan. 60 seconds later, the Ospreys were down to 13 as Kieran Hardy was sin binned for collapsing a maul. 12-points conceded in the last few minutes of the first half, a momentum swinger.
5. All to play for next week
The URC is pushed aside briefly with the return of the European Cup, however, the two sides meet again at the Liberty Stadium with the Ospreys looking to bounce back from this defeat and secure their second ever knockout win in Europe after getting their first ever last season against Sale in Bridgend.
EDITORS PICKS:
- Sale Sharks 27-24 Northampton Saints: Sale player ratings in tight victory on home turf
- Will Greenwood selects his 37-man Lions squad, nine Englishmen included
- George Ford Sees Yellow for the First Time in 11 Years – Lucky It Wasn't Red
- Five bolters who could make Andy Farrell's British & Irish Lions squad
- England flanker Henry Pollock scores insane try on Northampton Saints return
The post Scarlets 38-22 Ospreys: Unbelievable Scarlets comeback shocks Swansea side appeared first on Ruck.
