Ospreys and Leinster draw in Swansea

Editor

A late penalty from Jimmy Gopperth saw Leinster claim a share of the spoils, drawing 9-9 with the Ospreys at Liberty Stadium on Friday.

It was a quick opening from the Ospreys in front of their own supporters, as the home side looked to get on the front foot and charge towards a top four spot. 

Scott Otten led the hosts on a burst into the opposition's 22 inside the opening 20 seconds, but a kick was too long and the dream of an incredible start was stopped by the Leinster backline. 

It didn't take the Irish province long after to find their feet, and Gopperth took advantage of an early penalty to fire Leinster into a three point lead. 

Ospreys failed to get a hold of the tie, with their scrum a particular problem as Leinster dominated that aspect. They were awarded a second chance to kick at goal and Gopperth again kicked through for a six point lead. 

Ospreys broke forward well right at the end of the half, storming into the Leinster 22 as they looked to take some points into the half-time spell. But as the clock ran past 40, Leinster were penalised for an offside and Sam Davies kicked through the Ospreys' first three points of the night. 

And it took Davies just over two minutes to kick three more to level the scores, as he sent a drop-goal through the posts to bring the scores to 6-6. 

They looked like taking the lead and opening the try-scoring for the night after a tremendous jinked run from Tom Grabham, but after Leinster held them up outside the line, the hosts could only win a penalty, though Davies did send it through to put his side into the lead for the first time. 

Leinster poured forward as they searched for a way to get back in front, and exchanged a series of passes just metres from the Ospreys try line, but some mean defending eventually forced a knock on, much to the delight of the Swansea based crowd. 

Josh Matavesi managed to break through a crowd of players to take his side into Leinster's 22, as the hosts worked hard to extend their lead going into the final ten minutes. Leinster won back the ball from that particular attack, but they were able to level with just two minutes to go thanks to a penalty from Gopperth, whose kick glanced in off the post for a 90 second shoot-out in the final stages. 

Ospreys looked to get those final points that would have snatched victory in overtime, but after that pressure they were unable to record the win as the game finished all square.

The scorers:

For Ospreys:
Pen: Davies 2
Drop: Davies

For Leinster:
Pen: Gopperth 3

Ospreys: 15 Dan Evans, 14 Tom Grabham, 13 Jonathan Spratt, 12 Josh Matavesi, 11 Hanno Dirksen, 10 Sam Davies, 9 Martin Roberts, 8 Dan Baker, 7 James King, 6 Joe Bearman, 5 Tyler Ardron (c), 4 Tevita Cavubati, 3 Dmitri Arhip, 2 Scott Otten, 1 Ryan Bevington.
Replacements: 16 Matthew Dwyer, 17 Marc Thomas, 18 Daniel Suter, 19 Rhodri Hughes, 20 Olly Cracknell, 21 Morgan Allen, 22 Tom Habberfield, 23 Richard Fussell.

Leinster: 15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Fergus McFadden, 13 Ben Te'o, 12 Gordon D'Arcy, 11 Dave Kearney, 10 Jimmy Gopperth, 9 Isaac Boss, 8 Jack Conan, 7 Josh Van Der Flier, 6 Rhys Ruddock, 5 Kane Douglas, 4 Tom Denton, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Richardt Strauss, 1 Michael Bent.
Replacements: 16 Aaron Dundon, 17 Peter Dooley, 18 Royce Burke-Flynn, 19 Ben Marshall, 20 Dominic Ryan, 21 Luke McGrath, 22 Noel Reid, 23 Darragh Fanning.

Referee: John Lacey (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Craig Evans (Wales), Chris Williams (Wales)
Television match official: Derek Bevan (Wales)