Ospreys upset defending champions at Scotstoun

Yesterday at 01:59 AM

MATCH REPORT: An 81st-minute penalty from Jack Walsh saw Ospreys take a dramatic late victory at Scotstoun Stadium on Saturday evening, as Glasgow Warriors slipped to a 31-32 defeat at the hands of the Welsh outfit.

[rp-mc-game id="204|942321|2025"][/rp-mc-game]

Patrick Schickerling's brace, coupled with scores from Facundo Cordero and Nathan McBeth, saw the Warriors secure a four-try bonus-point along with the losing bonus-point, as the Ospreys claimed the win to delight their travelling support.

The visitors were first to trouble the scorers under the Saturday night lights.

Repeated penalties kicked to the corner eventually allowed Morgan Morse to be driven over from close range.

Dan Edwards pulled his conversion attempt wide to leave the score at 5-0 to the Ospreys with as many minutes gone.

Glasgow's response was to ratchet up the attacking intensity, with a sublime line from Adam Hastings almost sending Ben Afshar under the posts were it not for a last-gasp tackle from Harri Deaves.

Instead, it was the Ospreys who doubled up with 14 minutes played, with Morse's inside ball sending Kieran Hardy free.

The scrumhalf had enough pace to round Hastings and touch down, and whilst Edwards was wayward from the tee once more, the visitors led 10-0.

A third try inside the opening quarter by Sam Parry going over from a rolling maul got the Ospreys' tails up, as Edwards were off target again to leave the score at 15-0 in the Welshmen's favour.

The article continues below...

This time, Franco Smith's side hit back almost immediately.

A penalty from the restart was dispatched to the corner by Duncan Weir, and whilst the initial maul was repelled, there was no stopping Mann from five metres out as the No.8 barrelled over for his first try at Scotstoun Stadium.

Duncan Weir added the extras, and the home side were up and running.

The momentum was with the Warriors, and the gap was narrowed even further with five minutes to play in the opening period.

Patrick Schickerling's powerful finish needed to be validated by the Television Match Official, but the replays proved there could be no doubting the grounding by the Namibian-born prop for his first try for the Warriors.

This time it was Weir's turn to drag the conversion wide, leaving it a three-point game.

Ospreys would strike for their bonus point score just two minutes later, as Keelan Giles showed his pace and acceleration to finish off Evardi Boshoff's break, but the final word of the half belonged to the Warriors – and to Schickerling.

This time, the prop's finish under the posts was in little doubt, and with Weir making it the full complement of seven points, the scoreline read 22-19 to the visitors as the curtain fell the opening stanza.

The article continues below...

[rp-mc-teams-defence id="204|942321|2025"][/rp-mc-teams-defence]

An increasingly physical affair continued in the same vein at the start of the second half, with both sides fighting tooth and nail for every inch of the Scotstoun field.

Remarkably, given the first-half's scoring, it took until nine minutes from time for the first score of the second period.

Crucially, it went the way of the Warriors - phase upon phase of possession in the Ospreys 22 eventually allowed Ben Afshar to sling the ball wide to Cordero, the Argentinian doing just enough to squeeze into the corner and touch down.

Weir couldn't add the extras from a tough angle, but the Warriors had the lead for the first time in the match.

It was a lead that lasted three minutes, as the Ospreys hit back for their fifth try of the night to restore their advantage.

Kieran Williams was the man to make the inroads as he exploited a mismatch in midfield, before feeding Hardy on his shoulder for the scrumhalf's second try of the night.

Jack Walsh converted, giving the Ospreys a six-point lead with six minutes to play.

Back came Glasgow once more, and with 90 seconds remaining the noise inside Scotstoun rose to fever-pitch.

Nathan McBeth was the man to eventually rise from a pile of bodies on the Ospreys line, the loosehead having grounded the ball for his second try in as many outings. Weir's conversion edged his team in front.

Then came Walsh's late intervention; a Justin Tipuric turnover penalty presented the Ospreys fullback with the match-winning chance, one which he duly grasped to signal the end of the match.

The article continues below...

Scorers:

For Glasgow Warriors:
Tries: Mann, Cordero, McBeth, Schickerling 2
Cons: Weir 3

For Ospreys:
Tries: Morse, Hardy, Parry, Giles, Hardy
Cons: Edwards, Walsh
Pen: Walsh

Teams

Glasgow Warriors: 15 Adam Hastings, 14 Sebastian Cancelliere, 13 Ollie Smith, 12 Duncan Munn, 11 Facundo Cordero, 10 Duncan Weir, 9 Ben Afshar, 8 Jack Mann, 7 Henco Venter, 6 Euan Ferrie, 5 Alex Samuel, 4 Olujare Oguntibeju, 3 Fin Richardson, 2 Grant Stewart, 1 Patrick Schickerling.
Replacements: 16 Johnny Matthews, 17 Nathan McBeth, 18 Sam Talakai, 19 JP du Preez, 20 Ally Miller, 21 Angus Fraser, 22 Sean Kennedy, 23 Kerr Johnston.

Ospreys: 15 Jack Walsh, 14 Daniel Kasende, 13 Evardi Boshoff, 12 Keiran Williams, 11 Keelan Giles, 10 Dan Edwards, 9 Kieran Hardy, 8 Morgan Morse, 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 Harri Deaves, 5 James Fender, 4 James Ratto, 3 Tom Botha, 2 Sam Perry, 1 Garyn Phillips.
Replacements: 16 Ethan Lewis, 17 Cameron Jones, 18 Ben Warren, 19 Will Spencer, 20 Morgan Morris, 21 Scott Whitlock, 22 Tom Florence, 23 Iestyn Hopkins.

Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistant referees: David Sutherland (Scotland), Rob McDowell (Scotland)
TMO: Colin Stanley (Ireland)

Image credit @Ospreys