A converted Hanno Dirksen try helped the second-placed Ospreys to a vital 15-14 RaboDirect PRO12 victory over Edinburgh at Murrayfield on Friday.
Due to the Six-Nations, both Edinburgh and the Ospreys were heavily depleted for this encounter.
On a chilly night at Murrayfield, Heineken Cup quarter-finalists Edinburgh began the game the better of the two sides as their enterprising style of play was causing the Ospreys many problems.
The continued pressure paid off with an early Phil Godman penalty followed by a try from Dougie Fife, a late replacement for the injured Matt Scott, taking them into an 8-0 lead.
Ospreys fly-half Dan Biggar responded by showing his class when his drop-goal from out wide reduced the score to 8-3.
The Ospreys' experience in the pack prevailed when a well worked driving line-out saw the visitors draw level as hooker Richard Hibbard dived over for the try.
Godman's second penalty gave Edinburgh the lead with half-time beckoning.
A Godman penalty 15 minutes into the second half extended the hosts' lead to 14-8.
The lead did not last long as a magnificent solo try by Ospreys winger Dirksen took the vistiors into a 15-14 lead.
The Ospreys introduced Wales lock Alun-Wyn Jones from the bench as he made his first appearance since November.
With only a point in the game, both kickers looked nervous as they missed easy chances to give their respective sides the ascendency.
The Ospreys controlled the remaining 15 minutes of play through their dominant forwards and stubborn defence to take their first hard-fought win at Murrayfield since March 2007.
The scorers:
For Edinburgh:
Try: Fifi
Pen: Godman 3
For Ospreys:
Tries: Hibbard, DirksenBR>Con: Biggar
Drop: Biggar
Edinburgh: 15 Chris Paterson, 14 Tom Brown, 13 Matt Scott, 12 John Houston, 11 Tim Visser, 10 Phil Godman, 9 Chris Leck, 8 Netani Talei, 7 Roddy Grant (capt), 6 Stuart McInally, 5 Sean Cox, 4 Grant Gilchrist, 3 Jack Gilding, 2 Alun Walker, 1 Kyle Traynor.
Replacements: 16 Andrew Kelly, 17 Robin Hislop, 18 Ulises Gamboa, 19 Esteban Lozada, 20 Alan MacDonald, 21 Alex Black, 22 Gregor Hunter, 23 Jim Thompson.
Ospreys: 15 Richard Fussell, 14 Hanno Dirksen, 13 Tom Isaacs, 12 Andrew Bishop, 11 Eli Walker, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Kahn Fotuali'i, 8 Jonathan Thomas, 7 Sam Lewis, 6 Tom Smith (capt), 5 James King, 4 Ian Gough, 3 Joe Rees, 2 Richard Hibbard, 1 Duncan Jones.
Replacements: 16 Scott Baldwin, 17 Ryan Bevington, 18 Will Taylor, 19 Alun-Wyn Jones, 20 Joe Bearman, 21 Rhys Webb, 22 Matthew Morgan, 23 Sonny Parker.
Referee: Leo Colgan (Ireland)
Comments
Joebarbarian says...
Way to go, Fifi!
Nice try.
Posted 07:30 11th February 2012