A Keelan Giles brace as well as a try apiece from George North and Reuben Morgan Williams ensured Ospreys secured their first league win of the season, defeating Glasgow Warriors 32-17 at the Swansea.com Stadium.
In the opening stages of the match the hosts lost back rower Ethan Roots to a serious injury as he was carried off on a stretcher in his first start of the season.
Owen Watkin kicked a well-placed grubber down field, Glasgow carried the ball over their own line, giving the Ospreys a scrum five metres out. However, Nicky Smith was penalised, and the visitors cleared.
The hosts nearly opened the scoring after 25 minutes through a moment of brilliance from Max Nagy inside his 22, he broke past the Glasgow defence before kicking through. Rhys Webb tried to gather the ball while under pressure from a Glasgow defender before Giles pounced on the ball over the line, however, the try was ruled out for a knock on by Webb.
It took half an hour for the first points of the game; the hosts were on the front foot with their driving maul inside the Warriors’ 22. After deciding to spread the ball wide Giles picked up a loose pass before beating a defender and finished superbly in the corner under pressure. Gareth Anscombe converted.
Glasgow thought they had responded with a length of the field try finished by Sam Johnson after Ospreys lost possession inside the Warriors 22. But the score was ruled out for a knock on by Scott Cummings earlier on in the play.
From the resulting scrum the hosts were awarded a penalty which Anscombe slotted over to extend their lead.
On the verge of half time Glasgow kicked a three-pointer of their own through fly half Tom Jordan to get them on the scoreboard.
Half time: Ospreys 10 – 3 Glasgow Warriors
The hosts extended their lead, Webb showed great awareness to kick down field after Watkin had stripped the ball in a tackle superbly inside the Ospreys half, Giles used his pace to beat the covering defender to the ball to score under the sticks. Jack Walsh added the extras.
The Warriors came back at the Ospreys putting pressure on them in their own 22. Having looked to have been in a good attacking position they were penalised for an accidental offside and the hosts cleared.
Walsh extended the Ospreys lead to three scores, kicking a penalty over the posts after Glasgow were penalised for offside.
The visitors swiftly worked their way down field, going to their driving maul on several occasions. Dan Lydiate was shown a yellow card after the Ospreys had conceded a number of penalties inside their own 22. Glasgow did eventually find their way over the try line, only to be held up by the home defence.
The hosts secured the win with their third try of the match. Michael Collins chipped over the Glasgow defence and gathered the ball himself before offloading to Walsh who then threw the ball wide to George North to finish the move. Walsh missed the conversion.
Reuben Morgan Williams scored the bonus try after the home scrum was on the front foot five metres out, he picked up and darted over. Walsh added the extras.
The visitors scored two consolation tries in the last minute of the match, through Oli Kebble and Thomas Gordon. Domingo Miotti converted both.
Full time: Ospreys 32 – 17 Glasgow Warriors
Head coach Toby Booth commented on Giles’ performance, “We spent a lot of time putting him back together, we’ve built him up playing 50 and 60 minutes. Now he’s producing 80-minute performances with such impactful moments, he’s always been talented and now he’s fully fit again it’s great for us, he’s always got an eye for an opportunity that’s for sure.”
"We spoke last week about not winning a few key moments and how those moments decide matches. Today we improved our attacking display, but defensively we were impressive holding a team out who put 50 points on Cardiff last week till the injury time, it speaks volumes for the coaches and how they prepared the team.”