In treacherous conditions at Bridgend’s Brewery Field, Ospreys wing Keelan Giles picked up two of the four tries as Booth’s side came back from 18-5 down at the break to overturn the deficit and claim try bonus point victory.
Giles would open the scoring early in the first-half running into the corner for the first of his brace, before Cardiff would take control of proceedings. Scores from Owen Lane, Wales centre Mason Grady and eight points from South African fly-half Tinus de Beer put Matt Sherratt’s side in the ascendancy at the break.
The Ospreys would come back a different side in the second period and inspired by make-shift back row replacement Dewi Lake they formed a fightback.
A decisive moment in the game seeing Cardiff reduced to 14 men for the second game in a row, with the physicality of the Ospreys proving too much for their opposition who would be punished with Booth’s side awarded a penalty try for an infringement following a lineout drive.
With the extra man, spaces would start to appear allowing for the moment of the match. A breathtaking solo run and try from number eight Morgan Morse. After picking up a loose ball just inside the opponent’s half, the Wales under-20 star would dance his way passed no less than four tackles before crossing the try line to the jubilation of the near 9000-strong crowd in attendance.
The Ospreys would manage the conditions of the closing stages smarter than their East Walian rivals who would become sloppy in possession.
Impressive youngster Dan Edwards scored a crucial penalty to form a lead before chipping through a delightful kick for Giles to seal the bonus point victory.
It would be the spirited second-half performance of the youngsters and the mature game management that would impress Booth the most though as the Ospreys would move into the top eight of the URC standings.
“I’m absolutely delighted. I have to give credit to the lads; they were all awesome, said Booth.
“I thought we probably felt our way into the game a bit. To give them credit I thought they were smart and capitalised off that. We needed to learn from them and then our set-piece became a massive part of the game.
“No one kicks the ball more than them in the whole league. We knew that they don’t play in their own half and issues like that become more exaggerated. What is difficult to deal with is the range of kicks.
“I thought we were perhaps a bit naive at times with our own kicking which gave them an opportunity to bring their game to us.
“Kicking long and incontestable is inviting pressure. Credit to the lads though, we spoke about it, actioned it and cleaned it up and made the game completely different.
“We scored when the conditions and pitch were just about able for it. It was lovely from Jack [Walsh] to put Keelan [Giles] away. To get that was nice, after that the pitch and the conditions took over.
“The impressive thing was with the game managers; they kept the ball well. It’s about keeping the ball in front of your forwards and then keep territory because that’s massively important.
“We wanted to be positive, to get a four-try bonus point in those conditions is something we should be really pleased about.
“Cardiff are a good team. There is no surprise they are doing what they are doing. They have played exceptionally well in Europe in the last couple of weeks.
“We knew they were going to be very difficult and come Judgement Day it will be another tough outing, but we will enjoy these two wins for sure.
“We have now played two and won two [over the festive period] and it builds momentum. It is important for the fans who gave us a great turnout today. We want to entertain people, especially over Christmas, and I felt we gave them something to cheer about.”
Booth also had special praise for man of the match Morse who once again impressed, taking his chance in the side whilst his more experienced teammates remain on the sidelines.
“We know that he [Morgan Morse] is a talent, like Dan [Edwards] and some of the others pushing through now, continued Booth.
“The boys bring loads of energy with them and it’s great to work with them because they want to learn and get better.
“Morgan Morse for example has great physical capability. Everyone has seen that, and we’ve seen it when he played for the [Wales] under-20s. He’s quick and can beat people.
“He’s watched Morgan Morris in front of him, Justin Tipuric and Jac Morgan. There are some good people around him to learn from and he’ll be the first to say he’s not the finished product.
“He’s got some rough edges, especially on the attacking side of the ball which we are working on. If you get that right, you can get a more complete player who ultimately, has even more influence on the game.”
[Lead image: Ospreys Rugby]
