The Ospreys recorded an excellent win away to Bath yesterday, making it two wins from two in the EDF Energy Cup and putting them top of Pool A.
It was a very satisfying performance from the Welsh Region who had been criticised during the week for naming a so called weakened side.
Bath opened the scoring with a Nick Walshe penalty after 5 minutes but then the Ospreys put continued pressure on the Bath line, which eventually resulted in wing Jonny Vaughton going over in the corner after Shaun Connor sent him a nicely floated miss pass. Connor missed the conversion and Walshe replied with another penalty giving Bath a 6-5 lead after 20 minutes.
Despite Bath having the lead, the Ospreys were looking by far the stronger side. Shaun Connor fired an up an under which James Hook showed excellent skill to take and make a 30 metre dart to the line, handing off two defenders on his way. Connor converted and soon added a drop goal and penalty giving the Ospreys a well deserved 18-6 lead.
The Ospreys seemed to be cruising but on 32 minutes scrum half Jason Spice was sin binned, which seemed to inspire Bath who began to dominate territory and possession. For all their pressure, Bath only managed to add a Nick Walshe penalty before half time.
Half Time: Bath 9 Ospreys 18
A couple of minutes into the second half Spice returned to the field bringing the Ospreys back to 15 men. But this was to be only temporary as Ian Evans was binned moments later for a lineout infringement. This allowed Bath to continue dominating territory and possession as they had done at the end of the first half. Walshe kicked another penalty and Bath continued to pressure the Ospreys line.
Some tough Ospreys defending prevented Bath from scoring and an amazing piece of work from prop Andrew Millward saw him steal the ball, draw in two defenders and pop the ball off to Stefan Terblanche in space who ran the length of the field to score a superbly taken try. Connor converted giving the Ospreys a 25-12 lead.
Just when you thought Bath were dead and buried they scored two tries in quick succession from Swansea born centre Tom Cheeseman bringing them right back into the game and trailing by just a point.
But the Ospreys finished the match as they started it. They took control and once again put pressure on the Bath defence. Stefan Terblanche and James Hook both added their own drop goals to secure the win.
Final Score: Bath 24 Ospreys 31