Ospreys beat Newcastle to keep Europe dream alive

The Ospreys boosted their hopes of reaching the last 16 of the Challenge Cup with a bonus-point victory over Newcastle at Swansea. A double from Jack Walsh on his birthday, plus scores from Sam Parry, Daniel Kasende and Kieran Hardy, sealed the win in front of a crowd of just 3,198. Dan Edwards delivered an outstanding performance, contributing 10 points and earning the man-of-the-match award in front of the Wales coaching staff, with Warren Gatland due to name his Six Nations squad on Monday.

Newcastle, fielding a youthful side, saw tries from full-back Louis Brown and winger Max Pepper, but Steve Diamond’s team are now unable to progress to the knockout stages after suffering their third defeat in the Challenge Cup. The Ospreys finished second in Pool Two behind leaders Montpellier, with the top four teams advancing to the last 16.

Head coach Mark Jones will reflect on the Ospreys’ performance against a second-string Newcastle side. His team then travel to France to face Pau on Saturday, January 18th. Newcastle fielded an inexperienced side, with centre Connor Doherty the only player who started against Harlequins. Consultant director of rugby Steve Diamond said he would rotate his team, who currently sit bottom of the Gallagher Premiership and have already lost in Europe to Pau and the Dragons.

The Ospreys’ Challenge Cup campaign began with a 31-14 home win over the Lions before they suffered a record 59-15 European defeat at Montpellier, which preceded Jones replacing Toby Booth as head coach. There was a minute's silence before the match in memory of former Swansea and Wales lock Geoff Wheel. Newcastle took the lead, with Brown going over the line after a clever kick from Kieran Wilkinson. The Ospreys responded in similar fashion, with Kieran Giles providing a gift for Walsh’s 25th birthday with a deft kick that allowed the full-back to gather.

Wilkinson restored Newcastle's lead with a penalty before the Ospreys took the lead for the first time when Wales hooker Parry drove over from close range. A well-worked move, including strong carries from flankers Jac Morgan and Justin Tipuric, resulted in winger Kasende scoring, with Edwards adding the conversion from out wide. Ospreys lock Will Spencer was shown a yellow card for a high tackle, involving head contact with Newcastle number eight Ollie Leatherbarrow, with the home side leading 21-10 at the time.

Newcastle failed to capitalize on their numerical advantage but stayed in contention thanks to some excellent kicking from scrum-half James Elliott. The Ospreys awoke from their second-half slumber, with Walsh diving over for his second try, securing the vital bonus point. The home side then scored their fifth try, this time through Wales scrum-half Hardy, who finished off a flowing move. Hardy was denied a second score after being ruled offside, before a spirited Newcastle side grabbed some consolation when winger Pepper went over for a late try.

Ospreys head coach Mark Jones said: “We knew it was a very important game for our goals, especially being at home. The team selection shows that we wanted to make sure there were no slip-ups. It was a tough game. I thought Newcastle played well, they put us under pressure, but ultimately our strength saw us through.” Newcastle consultant director of rugby Steve Diamond said: “The Ospreys were probably about 15 or 20 points better than us on the night, I’ve got no complaints about that, but I was pleased with the effort we showed. The Ospreys knew they had a game on their hands, they might have thought we were cannon fodder but we proved that wasn’t the case. We had five players making their debuts and they all did well. It helps me with decisions for next year’s retention. I asked the players to put their hands up and a lot of them did.”

Ospreys: Walsh; Kasende, Watkin, K Williams, Giles; Edwards, Morgan-Williams; G Thomas, Parry, Botha, Spencer, Griffiths, Morgan (capt), Tipuric, Morris. Replacements: L Lloyd, Phillips, Warren, Latt, Morse, Hardy, Boshof, Houston. Sin-bin: Spencer 38. Newcastle Falcons: Brown; Pepper, Spencer, Doherty, Greenwood; Wilkinson, Elliott; Rencastle, Fletcher, Hancock, Hawkins, Scott, van der Walt (capt), Bambry, Leatherbarrow. Replacements: Byrne, Hancock, McCallum, Baker, Parsons, O’Sullivan, Metcalfe, Beckmann. Referee: Kevin Bralley (FFR). Assistant referees: Flavien Hourquet (FFR) & Benoit Albert (FFR). TMO: Denis Grenouillet (FFR).