European Challenge Cup
Ospreys (5) 24
Tries: Deaves, Cokanasiga, R Smith, Hopkins Cons: Edwards (2)
Connacht (21) 21
Tries: Bealham, Jansen, Aungier Cons: Naughton (3)
It would be a most unlikely turnaround after a dominant first half by Connacht in Bridgend saw the Irish province leading 21-5 at the break.
Props Finlay Bealham and Jack Aungier went over either side of number eight Sean Jansen finish as Stuart Lancaster’s men ran hard and direct in the first quarter in Bridgend.
Wales flanker Harri Deaves gave Ospreys some hope by going over with the final play of the half as the home side went into the break second best in all departments.
But the Ospreys punished poor discipline from Connacht to turn the tie on its head with 19 unanswered points.
Second half tries from centre Phil Cokanasiga, lock Ryan Smith, Number eight Ross Moriarty and wing Iestyn Hopkins, leaving the ill-disciplined Irish, who went down to 13 men, shell-shocked.
Having been able to welcome back their Welsh international contingent from international duty, head coach Mark Jones made seven changes from the 19-17 defeat to Edinburgh last time out.
Garyn Phillips coming into the back-row, with co-captain Sam Parry and South African Tom Botha, who was making his 150th appearance for the region.
Rhys Davies returned to second-row to partner Smith, whilst Ratti and Deaves would take up the flanker roles, with Moriarty continuing at eight.
Reuban Morgan-Williams and Dan Edwards were back in the half-back roles, whilst Jack Walsh would revert to full-back.
Last season’s quarter-finalists Connacht were top seeds after qualifying from last season’s group stages, only to lose to Racing 92 in the knockout phase and showed they meant business in the first half flying out of the traps.
Ospreys had offered little in the opening 20 minutes and quickly fell to a 14-0 deficit, losing Ratti to the sin bin for a deliberate knock-on in the process.
First prop Bealham picking the ball up a yard or two from the Ospreys tryline before forcing his way over, before Jansen would feed off the base of a ruck to power through the Ospreys defence to dot down.
Things would go from bad to worse for the home side as the visitors would score a third.
A carbon copy of the previous two, with Connacht punching holes in the Ospreys defence. Replacement Aungier would be the beneficiary off the base this time, bouncing off one tackle and falling over the line with fly-half Sean Naughton continuing his perfect record off the tee, adding the extras.
The Ospreys though, would get a reprieve just short of the break with newly capped international Deaves scurrying his way over in the second phase of play after hooker Sam Parry had been denied.
Not one of the Brewery Field crowd would anticipate the turnaround after the break, however, as an unlikely comeback emerged.
First Morgan-Williams would feed Cokanasiga, whose footwork would see the centre fend off two challenges before going over under the posts.
With momentum shifting the home side struck again, and after the Ospreys scrum overturned their Irish rivals, a gleeful Moriarty would dive over to put Jones’ side within touching distance, with prop Denis Buckley departing the sin bin for an infringement in the process.
With an uncontested scrum, Moriarty then fed Smith to hammer home the advantage from close range, with Edwards converting to leave the deficit at two points.
It would be the Ospreys who would deal with the rainy, windy conditions the better in the final period to go on and strike once more to earn an improbable bonus point.
Almost the entire backline would be involved before the impressive Moriarty found wing Hopkins, who would fly down the outside to touch down to seal an impressive bonus point victory for his side.
Ospreys XV:
Walsh (co-captain), Kasende, Boshoff, Cokanasiga, Hopkins; Edwards, Morgan-Williams, G Phillips, Parry (co-captain), Botha, R Davies, R Smith, Ratti, Deaves, Moriarty
Connacht: Naughton; Jennings, Gilbert, Aki (captain), Treacy; Carty, Murphy; Buckley, Heffernan, Bealham, Joyce, D O’Connor, J Murphy, S O’Brien, Jansen
[Lead image: Ospreys Rugby]
