It would be a much-needed victory for the Ospreys who played to their strengths with all three tries coming from the effective weapon that is the finely tuned driving maul.
Front rowers Dewi Lake, Gareth Thomas and replacement Sam Parry all going over as Edinburgh’s discipline cost them dear, despite scrum-half Ben Vellacott’s score edging the Scottish outfit into a slender half-time lead.
It was a perfect start to the match for the Ospreys whose victory moves them off the foot of the URC table as Wales autumn international captain Lake bulldozered over early after good work in the scrum from veteran Justin Tipuric.
The inaccuracies, however, that have hurt Booth’s side in recent weeks continued to rear their ugly head. After several infringements, Vellacott’s quick thinking saw the former Wasps player take a quick tap penalty to dive under the posts.
That would be enough to edge a tight first 40 but on resumption, the Ospreys would show character and patience to take the game by the scruff of the neck.
Reuben Morgan-Williams’ early yellow would make the task that much harder, but once Edinburgh’s Ian Ritchie followed the scrum-half to the sin bin early on, the momentum would swing to the home team.
Booth’s side would rally with first Thomas powering over and then later Parry squeezing in on the blindside in a similar scenario to seal a vital victory that takes the Welsh region up to 14th place in the URC standings.
“It was a typical Ospreys performance in a lot of ways,” said a delighted Booth after the victory.
“We are challenging ourselves to be better but today we went back to basics this week to the things that got us there. It got us in the fight, and we delivered.
“We wanted to sign off and get some momentum into block two because block one has been tough.
“We under-performed to the levels we have shown previously, and we can talk about the mitigation for that but ultimately it comes down to getting yourself into the window.
“We did that much better today, started much better and gave ourselves a chance. We built into it and then it got into an arm wrestle and at Bridgend, we’re pretty good in an arm wrestle.”
Booth singled out the returning Welsh internationals and former captain Justin Tipuric’s efforts at leading the team through the week and in the game as decisive factors in the victory.
“All week those boys [returning Wales internationals] have put their hands up and been visible,” continued the Ospreys head coach.
“Any coach will want leadership on the pitch and have been there and done it. That’s easy to say because they still have to deliver.
“I thought they were all outstanding, not just today but in the week too.
“Like any group, we will now have a block review and see where we are. There’s obviously some context to that as we will be missing some guys for November.
“We also need to re-integrate some injured players coming back, so we have a lot of work to do in order to be ready for Zebre away which is the next URC game.
“We have some of the long-term boys like James Fender, Rhys Henry and Will Griff to come back. They are not just good players; they are good energizers and have a point to prove.
“On those days where it gets a bit difficult, you want boys that will bring energy to the group and that’s what it will bring you.”
[Lead image: Ospreys Rugby]
