There was St David’s Day delight for the Ospreys as they beat Glasgow Warriors 32-31 at Scotstoun with “a rollercoaster ride” of a match taking a dramatic twist at the final turn.
It looked as though league champions Glasgow had snatched the spoils when Duncan Weir converted Nathan McBeth’s try with just 30 seconds to play.
But from the restart, with the clock having turned red, Ospreys skipper Justin Tipuric won a jackal penalty and full-back Jack Walsh kept his nerve to slot the match-winning kick from wide out on the right.
It was the Welsh side’s first win in Glasgow since 2016 and the scenes of celebration were suitably ecstatic as Walsh was mobbed by his team-mates.
Giving his thoughts, head coach Mark Jones said:
“The whole game was like a rollercoaster ride.
“It was a stressful few minutes at the end, I won’t lie to you.
“For Jack to step up in that moment, under that sort of fatigue as a goal-kicker, all credit to him.
“That wasn’t a gimme there. That’s why he spends all the time he does after training. When we are all going back in for a cup of tea, he’s out there whacking them between the posts.
“I am chuffed for him and the team for the commitment they showed and that they do get a reward at the end of it.”
The visitors had raced into a 15-0 lead with three tries inside the opening quarter, only for Glasgow to peg them back as the pendulum swung back and fore.
There were ten tries in all, five apiece, with Ospreys scrum-half Kieran Hardy and home prop Patrick Schickerling both crossing twice ahead of the grandstand finish.
Jones added: “Glasgow are the champions, they are the best side in the competition until the final happens again.
“So we knew we would have to be at our best and we weren’t far off it, especially in the first half. We were pretty good.
“Against the best teams, there are always going to be ebbs and flows. It’s how you deal with them and I thought emotionally we were very good. We stuck in it and we managed the momentum tides.”
Reflecting on his match-winning penalty with the final kick of the game, Walsh said: “The boys put in a shift, so I just didn’t want to let them down really. As a 10/15, that’s my job.
“Glasgow are a class outfit. I can’t remember how long it is since they lost at home. So we said we had to be in it for every minute.
“It was about having the confidence to go out and express ourselves. There was no point going out there with fear. That’s what we spoke about all week.”
The Player of the Match award went to Ospreys centre Keiran Williams who set up a couple of tries and was the joint top carrier along with No 8 Morgan Morse (both on 14).
“As a neutral, what a fantastic game that was to watch and, from my point of view, what a fantastic game to be a part of, especially going down to the wire,” said Williams.
“I thought we had given it away at the end and that the game had gone.
“It was one of those where we had to do anything we could to get the ball back.
“Obviously Tips - what a man - did it and credit to Jack for stepping up and getting us the win.
“It doesn’t get much better than that, does it, especially in the last minute.
“Credit to us for scoring five tries at the home of the champions. I thought we did very well in our attack.
“Hopefully, we can kick on now and finish the season well.”
It was only Glasgow’s second home defeat in the league since 2021, but their coach Franco Smith wasn’t too downbeat.
“I am proud of the boys with the character they showed to claw their way back from behind,” he said.
“A win would have been even better, but there are enough positives for us to take from this that will serve this squad well.”
He added: “Well done to the Ospreys. It’s tough to come and beat us here.”
The defeat for second-placed Glasgow leaves Leinster Rugby a whopping 13 points clear at the top of the BKT URC following their six-try 42-24 victory over Cardiff Rugby at the Aviva Stadium.
As for the battle for play-off spots, it’s now more congested than ever with just nine points separating fourth and 15th in the table. The boys will need you behind them as Connacht visit on March 22nd for a huge URC Clash.
