It was an emotional run out for the Ospreys on Sunday, as they sported Phillips 2 on the back of their warm-up jersey to stand in solidarity and support of teammate Ifan Phillips, who suffered a career ending injury the weekend previous.
💪To show our support & help raise funds, today’s squad will be warming up in exclusive replicas for Ifan Phillips
— Ospreys (@ospreys) December 12, 2021
Each jersey will be signed by the squad & raffled off with all donations going towards the Crowdfunding page setup for Ifan. Donate here👇
The Ospreys would have to channel their frustrations productively to take on an enormous Sale Sharks team who will be looking to spoil the Ospreys’ day in round one of the Heineken Champions Cup.
Unfortunately, Sale’s size and power gave them a notable advantage early in the game, and within the first two minutes inside centre Janse van Rensburg sped away to score under the posts, followed shortly afterwards with a try by hooker Ewan Ashman, and a third from Jean-Luc du Preez; all converted by outside half AJ Macginty. Ospreys’ only points of the half came through the boot of outside half Gareth Anscombe.
There would be a small mountain to climb in the second half if the hosts wanted to remain in the game for another forty minutes.
Half time score: Ospreys 3 Sale Sharks 21
They couldn't, could they? 😮@ospreys strike back and are on the front foot with 25 mins to play...#HeinekenChampionsCuppic.twitter.com/z6dV0jppkl
— Heineken Champions Cup (@ChampionsCup) December 12, 2021
The second half was much better from an Ospreys perspective, with the tempo from the hosts much higher and putting Sale under all sorts of pressure. Ten unanswered points were scored in all. The first through speedy Ospreys winger Luke Morgan, sprinting onto the end of a wonderful long pass and tearing over the line. Five further points came from the boot of young outside half Josh Thomas, who replaced Gareth Anscombe at half time.
Despite the territory and pressure, the Ospreys couldn’t quite manage a full comeback. Sales’ defence, although breached, wouldn’t buckle on their own line the hosts ended up just one point shy of earning themselves a losing bonus point.
A brave performance from the Ospreys, having come through a difficult week off the pitch, but it was a powerful game from the Sharks, whose first half lead proved the difference in the end.
Final score: Ospreys 13 Sale Sharks 21