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Carl Hogg hails Ospreys' character in 'roller coaster' Champions Cup clash with Racing 92
By Online Editors
Ospreys forwards coach Carl Hogg praised his young side’s attacking intent as they scored five tries in a 40-27 Heineken Champions Cup defeat by Racing 92.
The Welsh region still only have one win to their name this season, but with a host of senior players missing their young team stood up to be counted in the second half in Paris.
Wing Lesley Klim crossed twice after Luke Morgan had opened the scoring and there were also tries for Luke Price and Shaun Venter as Ospreys grabbed their first point in Pool Four.
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But it still was not enough for victory as Racing scored six tries of their own through Louis Dupichot, Juan Imhoff (two), Simon Zebo, Georges-Henri Colombe and Yoan Tanga.
“It was a bit of a roller coaster out there. We came into this game talking about having an attacking intent and I thought early on we were in the contest,” said Hogg.
“We gave away a couple of soft tries which put us behind the eight ball a little bit, but this group have shown over the last month they have real character.
“In the second half we kept our attacking intent going and we set a target of scoring four tries. It was great to achieve that and I thought there was some really good stuff out there.
“We put in some good defensive efforts too against a big side. This was an opportunity for us as a team to come and express ourselves on a European platform and in a very unique stadium.
“It was fast and physical and Racing are one of the top sides in Europe.
“We were able to cope for long periods within the contest.”
Ospreys had 14 players unavailable due to injury, but took the lead through Morgan’s stunning try.
Racing hit back to lead 26-5 at half-time thanks to Dupichot, Imhoff’s brace, and Zebo.
The tries continued in the second half, but a young Ospreys side could be proud of their efforts at the home of one of the favourites to lift European rugby’s biggest club trophy.
Colombe and Tanga grabbed further Racing tries, but it was the Ospreys who finished the stronger.
Klim went past Zebo to score in the 57th minute and there was still time for the Namibian to grab a second after both Price and Venter had crossed.
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Latest Comments
The better side seems to be the losing side a lot these days. As far as narrative goes. Must be the big emergent culture of “participation awards” that have emerged in nanny states. ”It looked like New Zealand would take the game from there but lapses in execution let South Africa get back into the game. New Zealand’s goal kickers left five points out there, including a very make-able penalty on the stroke of half”. Sounds like a chronic problem… I wonder how the better team has lapses in concentration and execution? Or are those not important factors in the grand scheme of total performances?
Go to commentsWith Stuart Lancaster at the helm, Racing 92 looks more and more a mercenaries club like Toulon some years ago and they are not even performing despite all the money on offer.
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