It would be a plucky performance for the Ospreys, who would lack the power and the execution to trouble the high-flying South African province on the night.
The Sharks, for the best part, would be comfortable as they would score two tries apiece in each half to claim a scrappy victory, but the Ospreys will look back at missed opportunities at key moments in the contest.
Lock Jason Jenkins powered over early from close-range to set the tone of the match, before the intimidating figure of Andre Esterhuizen burst through a challenge after several phases of strong defense to put the home side in charge.
Scrum-half Kieran Hardy thought he had reduced the Ospreys arrears with a wonderful individual effort, whilst both hooker Dewi Lake and Morgan Morse couldn’t quite finish promising attacks.
TMO denying Hardy for losing control of the ball after gathering his own chipped pass on the Sharks tryline would be the hardest to take for Jones’ men, desperate for a way back into the match to carry on their fading play-off hopes.
It was not to be with the Sharks dishing more of the same physical and disciplined punishment and would score a third try with a switch of play.
Wing Ethan Hooker gathering scrum-half Jaden Henrikse’s speculative kick to score in the corner to all but wrap up the game minutes into the second half before Ospreys replacement hooker Sam Parry stepped on the bench to grab his fifth try of the season to give the travelling support hope.
That would be short-lived, though, as the game broke apart with Jones’ side chasing the game, number eight Phepsi Buthelezi latching on to an offload by veteran wing Makazole Mapimpi to seal a bonus-point victory to all but end the Ospreys URC challenge.
“I thought we got ourselves into good positions in the first half, but we didn’t execute.
“We had five lineouts, and all ended in a turnover in the first half in pretty strong field position, and we weren’t able to build pressure on the Sharks.
“What I know about quality teams who have a lot of international players, is that if you don’t take your chances, they will come back and bite you.
“The Sharks at the other end in the first half had two opportunities and struck well and that took a little bit of air out of our balloon.
“There were a few moments where we broke at the edge and threw the ball inside, and it doesn’t quite stick like in other games.
“When you come away to a place like this, you have to build confidence, and that comes from moments which build momentum.
“The scoreboard does feel painful because when we look at our defensive efforts, we made the Sharks work. They have awesome power across the board, and we were driving them backwards.
“All these moments you think you have survived, and then something of high quality happens. We knew we would have to be on it for those moments, and we didn’t quite manage that.
“It was a good performance from the Sharks, I thought we played well, and if moments had gone our way, I think we could have been in it for longer.
“We have to learn our lessons now. We can’t be that inaccurate and expect to beat a side of the Sharks’ quality.”
[Lead image: Ospreys Rugby]
