Leinster 30 Ospreys 31:THE OSPREYS certainly know how to poop a party. As in the final here two seasons ago, and akin to their controversial late smash-and -grab win here in March courtesy of some dubious decisions by the officials, the Welsh outfit turned the top of the table on its head to win a record fourth league crown.
Fittingly, in his final outing for the Ospreys, Shane Williams was the match-winner for the umpteenth time in his remarkable career, wriggling over for his second try of the match in the 78th minute. As in March, Dan Biggar’s touchline conversion clinched a one-point win.
There was still more drama after the 80-minute mark, as Leinster somehow managed another turnover at the breakdown to go through several phases only for the Ospreys to do likewise. As antic-climaxes go, it certainly deflated the home crowd and team alike, albeit after a wonderful six-try feast of a game.
Alas, Romain Poite, as he is wont to, had far too big a bearing, and overbearing, influence on proceedings, particularly with regard to his typically unique scrum interpretation, permitting players to go off their feet at the breakdown and, again par for the course, showing scant application of the hindmost law where his assistants were of little use.
All of which soured what was in many ways a highly entertaining final. For all their scrummaging difficulties, and despite the Ospreys competitiveness at the breakdown where Justin Tipuric especially is a complete natural, Leinster’s breakdown work and recycling was pretty good, and they even effected most turnovers.
Leinster led most of the way and thanks to a couple of opportunist tries by the outstanding Isa Nacewa looked the likelier winners, not least when leading by nine points entering the last ten minutes.
But Poite, Williams and the Ospreys were by no means finished yet, the French official yellow-carding Nathan White, following the sinbinning of Heinke van der Meuwe toward the end of the first-half, and as in the that spell, the Ospreys scored a try.
Given those two yellow cards, the concession of seven full penalties and one indirect penalty at scrum time (in a 13-7 penalty count against Leinster) it’s clear this was the area which cost the newly crowned European champions most severely.
They weren’t helped by losing Mike Ross early on when he tweaked his hamstring, and perhaps too by not starting Brad Thorn, for the scrums are stronger when he lends his immense strength from the second-row, well though Devin Toner played.
Missed too were Cian Healy, who didn’t even make the bench, and Sean O’Brien, who was obliged to have a minor knee operation so as to be fit for the first Test against the All Blacks next Saturday week. Leinster could have done with two of their primary ball-carriers against such an aggressive and ultra physical defence which would in turn have enabled them to make better use of their bench.
Even so, in one sense though Leinster did continue as they finished last week against Ulster as Sean Cronin, who scored their fifth and final try at Twickenham, scored this game’s first here with an excellently timed, inside shoulder line off Brian O’Driscoll’s soft pass after his footwork had taken out Ryan Jones and Andrew Bishop. This had followed good spoiling at the base of an Ospreys scrum by Shane Jennings and Jamie Heaslip and several quick, well-organised phases – van der Meuwe taking up the last drive off Eoin Reddan’s long skip pass and Heaslip clearing out superbly.
Sexton’s conversion made it 10-6 and when Leinster responded to a third Dan Biggar penalty with a Sexton reverse restart which Nacewa caught in full flight above a static Hanno Dirksen to scamper in untouched for a virtuoso try, the crowd were in clover and Leinster looked well set, all the more so when surviving a pre-interval scrummaging siege lasting five minutes over the 40 minute mark.
But any notion the Ospreys were going to go away were dispelled by the nasty-looking bout of fisticuffs outside the dressing-room entrance and that was reaffirmed when Ryan Jones and Joe Bearman carried strongly up the middle and offloaded for Ashley Beck to score – although the last offload looked decidedly forward.
Cometh the hour, cometh Shane Williams, the diminutive winger ducking low to use the touchline as his friend from Richard Fussell’s pass to complete a superbly worked team score.
Biggar’s touchline conversion failed to draw the sides level, but after Nacewa rewarded a powerful rolling maul not long after Thorn’s introduction when picking up Reddan’s pop inside to swivel and score, Biggar landed a penalty before his match-winning touchline conversion after Williams’ brilliant footwork and low centre of gravity allowed him to take on Sexton and Rob Kearney to reward a sustained attack.
That was the 35-year-old’s 57th and last try for the Ospreys in his 141st and final game for the region. He’s some boyo. Afterwards, Steve Tandy spoke of “finding the next Shane”. There’ll surely never be another one.
LEINSTER: R Kearney; F McFadden, B O’Driscoll, G DArcy, I Nacewa, J Sexton, E Reddan; H van der Merwe, S Cronin, M Ross, L Cullen (capt), D Toner, K McLaughlin, S Jennings, J Heaslip. Replacements: N White for Ross (14 mins), B Thorn for Cullen (46 mins), J McGrath for McLaughlin (40+1-46 mins), R Strauss for Cronin (53-68 mins), D Ryan for Jennings (74 mins), D Kearney for Toner (79 mins). Not used: J Cooney, I Madigan. Sinbinned: Van der Meuwe (40+2-46 mins), White (72 mins).
OSPREYS: R Fussell; H Dirksen, A Bishop, A Beck, S Williams; D Biggar, R Webb; P James, R Hibbard, A Jones, A Wyn Jones (Capt), I Evans, R Jones, J Tipuric, J Bearman. Replacements: K Fotuali’i for Webb (56 mins), R Bevington for James, J King for Evans (both 66 mins), S Baldwin for Hibbard, A Jarvis for A Jones (both 74 mins). Not used: T Smith, M Morgan, T Isaacs.
Referee: Romain Poite (FFR).
