Ospreys complete excellent second-half comeback to end their losing streak against Edinburgh

There was a roar of relief surrounding the Swansea.com Stadium on Saturday evening as the home side turned around a 14-point deficit to secure a vital victory.

Before kick-off, a real sense of positivity roamed around the ground as the fans were allowed to return and with local junior rugby teams waving the club’s flags. There was a feeling that this could be the Ospreys’ night.

With the early stages of the game being mostly played in scrums, it was difficult for both teams to get any momentum going. However, Ospreys tried to utilise what time they had in open play to test the Edinburgh defence who were matching the home side’s attack with some solid defending.

Then, things quickly turned sour for Ospreys as second-row Lloyd Ashley was sent to the sin-bin for deliberately tripping Henry Immelman. The resulting penalty was kicked into touch, and from the lineout, Edinburgh took advantage of the extra man with Boan Venter crossing over for the first points of the game.

It got worse for the Welsh side as Edinburgh’s forwards were playing elegantly like backs with their quick hands and Venter crashed through a number of black jerseys to get his second of the game. Jaco van der Walt with his second successful conversion gave the visitors a 14-point advantage.

Stephen Myler clawed three points back for Ospreys as his long-distance penalty was kicked over successfully.

With the home side trailing by 11 points, the pre-match positivity had somewhat turned into a gloomy evening for the players and supporters and Ospreys Coach Toby Booth had the half-time interval to remind his players of the importance of this match.

Straight from kick-off, the hosts were on the front foot and scored within four minutes of the restart. A great offload from Michael Collins set up Mat Protheroe to score their first try of the evening. With Myler adding the extra points, the players and crowd were fired up about the possibility of a crucial comeback.

Sam Parry made his return from injury by starting the match and some fine work between Morgan Morris and himself from a driving maul saw the hooker power through an attempted tackle to give the home side the lead. A successful conversion made it 17-14 to the hosts, a complete contrast to their first-half performance.

The cheers were short-lived as moments later, Venter used his brute force to score for the third time, completing an unbelievable hat-trick.

Despite going behind again, Ospreys players were not disheartened at all as a simple conversion for van der Walt was met with a Protheroe charge-down with Luke Morgan also eager to stop the extra points.

With the visitors only leading by two points, the charge-down got the crowd on their feet to encourage their team to go and grab that long-awaited victory.

Captain Rhys Webb was urgent in releasing the ball from the rucks and would occasionally go himself in an attempt to clinch the victory which they desperately needed.

Myler knocked over another penalty to retake the lead with 10 minutes to go as the match entered its final stages.

With just six minutes remaining, the Scottish side conceded an unnecessary penalty which Myler converted with ease to seal the victory and comeback for Ospreys.

As the referee blew the full-time whistle, a scene of jubilation occurred between fans, players and coaching staff. A much-needed win, not just for Ospreys, but for the Welsh regions as a whole in what has been quite a dismal season for the Welsh competitors in the United Rugby Championship.

After the game, Booth spoke to Premier Sports and praised his side on their remarkable comeback.

“This group, they never lay down. They always keep going. Today we won the key moments which is what we don’t do when we come second best.

“What we’ve done as a team is on the pitch to see. We’ve got to have trust in the systems and each other. Fans make a massive difference too. We didn’t give them much to cheer about in the first half but you could hear them at the end there and see what it meant to them too.”

It was clear in the faces of everyone involved after the match that this was a special moment for the club. To come from so far behind against the table-toppers shows the mentality and ability to dig deep when needed. This will be a big boost for the Welsh side along with the news of George North and Alun Wyn Jones possibly returning at the end of next month.

Despite the loss, Edinburgh can be hopeful after Venter’s one-of-a-kind performance as the South African becomes the first-ever prop to score a hat-trick in the United Rugby Championship. The loose-head was incredibly unlucky to be on the losing side as the team go back to Scotland with just a losing bonus point.

The Scots remain on top but wins for Glasgow Warriors and Ulster sees them edge closer to the league leaders. Meanwhile, Ospreys climb to sixth, overtaking Benetton who only managed a draw against the Dragons.

There will be no action now for either team for three weeks when Edinburgh travel to Munster while Ospreys are also off to Ireland to face Leinster.

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