Both sides looked to play attacking rugby, but neither could maintain possession for any sustained periods. However, after a line break from Racing’s hooker Baubigny, Ospreys winger Alex Cuthbert got pinged for a high tackle and was sent to the sin-bin for ten minutes. Racing scrumhalf, Machenaud, converted the penalty into points to nudge his side into an early 0-3 lead.
Racing applied the pressure close to the line, earning a series of penalties on the bounce but solid Ospreys defence kept the Parisians out. Aggressive tackling from the hosts forced Racing into handling errors, which turned into positive Ospreys possession. Carry after carry, with a darting run from Ospreys scrumhalf, saw the ball popped up to centre Williams, who hit the ball like a freight train and over for the try! Anscombe converted and as the game entered it’s second quarter, the Ospreys took the lead, 7-3.
It didn’t take long for the visitors to throw their weight behind their pack, however, with a lineout deep inside the Ospreys’ 22 they launched a fierce attack. But an enormous turnover from flanker Jac Morgan relieved the pressure and the counterattack was on! Unfortunately, the pass from Anscombe to flyer Luke Morgan was dropped and against the grain of play, it was Racing that sighed a sigh of relief when play was brought back to the halfway line for the knock-on.
The tackling from the Ospreys was ferocious, and yielded a penalty at the breakdown which allowed Anscombe to kick his side further into the lead to make it 10-3 on the half hour mark.
Racing forced their way back into the game moments later, with winger Teddy Thomas chipping over the top and hacking the ball on for the other winger, Juan Imhoff, to pounce upon and score the try. Machenaud failed to convert, however, meaning the visitors remained two points behind with five minutes of the half remaining.
In the final seconds of the game, Ospreys worked their way into Racing’s 22 and only a scrappy turnover prevented the hosts from going over for a second try before the interval.
Half time score: 10-8