Another 5 pointer in a pool game and this time away on the road. It also helps that it is now going to be very difficult for our opponents in the next two pool games, namely Worcester and Castres, to have the motivation of playing to make the knockout stages. But with 5 pointers now being arbitrarily awarded against COVID-19 hit teams, we cannot be counting any chickens yet in terms of knock- out qualification.
In terms of analysing the game, we were very organised and dynamic for 60 minutes but managed to put together 10 minutes of sloppiness in each half that cost us 29 points. We seemed to lose our concentration on four occasions and each time it led to tries. We will find ourselves unable to recover against better sides if these defensive lapses continue.
Our driving line out is technically the best we have seen from the Ospreys. After years of fans having to suffer watching opponents destroy us in this phase, we have now turned it into a huge offensive weapon and because it is so strong we can run set moves straight from the line out, as opponents now have to respect our drive. We also defend the maul pretty well. You simply have to give credit to the coaches for getting this phase right, and despair that so many years were wasted under the direction of the likes of Humphreys Tandy and Gibbes.
Despite those defensive lapses in concentration, the team stayed calm and worked their way back into the game. George North was a threat whenever he had the ball and was rightly awarded Man of the Match. Morgan Morris gave one of the most dynamic impact substitute performances we have seen in some time.
There were four worrying injuries. Parry, Protheroe, Griffiths and Watkin are all key players and with important derbies coming up and very little depth of quality in the squad are all needed. All four seemed to walk off but there is not much time to recover with fixtures coming thick and fast.
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