After an early score from full-back Louis Brown, the Ospreys took the game by the scruff of the neck to form a commanding 21-10 half-time lead with a try from birthday boy Jack Walsh and further scores from hooker Sam Parry and wing Daniel Kasende.
Despite losing second-row Will Spencer to the sin bin minutes before the interval, Jones’ side would stay resilient defensively. It would be a match-winning spell as the Ospreys would see out a period of Newcastle pressure before Walsh would dive over to pick up his second of the match to seal what could be a crucial bonus point in the Pool.
Replacement scrum-half Kieran Hardy added gloss to the performance finishing a flowing move for his side’s fifth of the evening to seal the win before wing Max Pepper would give the visitors some consolation with a late try.
Despite being not at their best, it would be job done for the Ospreys who would move to second place in the Pool standings overnight.
“It was a very physical game. Newcastle asked a lot of questions of us mentally,” said Jones after the match.
“If we hadn’t been up for that game and had just looked at the [lack of names] team sheet, we would have been caught out.
“We were disciplined and very professional. You always want to score more, but I thought it was good growth for us.
“European nights are about winning your home games and getting as many points out of them as you can.
“Because of the performance in Montpellier, the result was really important tonight as it is our last home match in the round-robin stage.
“It was definitely job done!
“When you enter this competition, you want to have your destiny in your own hands with a round to go.
“It’s going to be a tough place to go. They [Section Paloise] have a big game tomorrow against the Dragons, and we know that [Pau] is a tough place to go to.
“It will be interesting to see what we have to do in the last round but we are excited to have an opportunity to get to the pot of gold at the end of it.
“The challenge there will be very similar to in Montpellier, can we stop them from getting up the field with the set piece, and defensively, can we make sure they gain no momentum through their carry game.
“If we do those two things then we can focus on what we do ourselves with the ball.”
[Lead image: Ospreys Rugby]
