Northern Edition
Select Edition
Northern Northern
Southern Southern
Global Global
New Zealand New Zealand
France France

Ospreys run out of steam as Racing 92 book quarter-final place

By PA
Teddy Thomas /Getty

Racing 92 qualified for the quarter-finals of the Heineken Champions Cup with a hard-fought 25-10 victory over Ospreys in a game played behind closed doors in Swansea.

ADVERTISEMENT

It took some time for the French side to quell their spirited opponents but Ospreys’ defeat leaves them pointless after three games, with their remaining fixture a difficult one at Sale.

Their only try came from Keiran Williams, with Gareth Anscombe kicking a penalty and a conversion to give the Welsh side a 10-8 half-time lead.

Video Spacer

Champions Cup Chaos, Eben Etzebeth drama & we speak to Zach Mercer | Le French Rugby Podcast | EP 12

Video Spacer

Champions Cup Chaos, Eben Etzebeth drama & we speak to Zach Mercer | Le French Rugby Podcast | EP 12

We catch up with England international Zach Mercer to find out all about the Covid cases in the Montpellier camp, their European ambition, how he’s thriving on and off the field in France, being back on Eddie Jones’ radar after a chat at a recent Top 14 game and much more. Plus, we discuss the lay of the land in the Top 14 and how the regulations in France are affecting rugby and the Champions Cup. And, we pick our MEATER Moment of the Week…
Use the code FRENCHPOD10 at checkout for 10% off any full price item at Meater.com

But Racing 92 took charge in the second period, with Teddy Thomas and Virimi Vakatawa touching down, Antoine Gibert converting both and Finn Russell adding a penalty. Julian Imhoff’s try and a Maxime Machenaud penalty had come in the first half.

Racing began brightly with both Imhoff and Teddy Baubigny making penetrative runs to threaten the home defence.

Baubigny was only stopped by a high tackle from Alex Cuthbert, which earned the Ospreys wing a yellow card with Machenaud kicking the resulting penalty.

Down to 14, Ospreys were placed under considerable pressure and conceded five penalties in the opening 12 minutes.

ADVERTISEMENT

But Cuthbert was able to return with no further damage done to the scoreboard with Machenaud’s penalty the only score of the opening quarter.

With their first attack of the game, Ospreys scored the opening try when Williams forced his way over with Anscombe on-target with the conversion and a subsequent penalty to make it 10-3.

The French response was quick. They flung the ball wide to provide space for Thomas, who twice kicked ahead for Imhoff to win the race to touchdown. Machenaud missed the conversion to leave his side trailing at the interval.

Ten minutes into the second half, Ospreys flanker Will Griffiths became the second home player to be sin-binned, this time for a deliberate knock-on.

ADVERTISEMENT

The shorthanded hosts had the next chance for points but Anscombe was short with a penalty from the half-way line.

One of the biggest problems for the Welsh region was the malfunction of their line-out and it was instrumental in them losing the lead.

A line-out throw on halfway went astray for Russell and Gael Fickou combined to send Vakatawa in under the posts.

Griffiths returned with his side still in contention but 13 minutes from time Russell fired over a long-distance penalty to give Racing some breathing space.

The French became dominant as Ospreys tired and Thomas secured victory by rounding Luke Morgan to score.

ADVERTISEMENT

KOKO Show | July 8th | Bernard Foley stops by to talk the Wallabies winning and Lions being tested

England v South Africa | World Rugby U20 Championship | Extended Highlights

Georgia vs Ireland | Men’s International | Full Match Replay

Lions Share | Episode 2

Chile vs Romania | Men’s International | Full Match Replay

USA vs Belgium | Men’s International | Full Match Replay

Touchdown in Dublin, The Red Sea Returns & We Prepare to Face Argentina | Ep 2: The Ultimate Test

South Africa v British & Irish Lions | 2009 | Second Test | The Vaults

Trending on RugbyPass

Comments

0 Comments
Be the first to comment...

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Features

Comments on RugbyPass

J
JD Kiwi 54 minutes ago
France push All Blacks to 80th minute in narrow Dunedin defeat

Yes we really should be bringing this discussion to a close but I feel that I have to pull you up on a couple of points.


First, whether the top 14 plays during the window isn't the issue. It actively prevents the first choice France internationals from playing for their country and holds its final so late that the participants can't play at the start of the window.


No other league attacks international rugby like this. It's not a matter of dictating someone else's selection policy, it's a matter of calling out the only country that doesn't act in solidarity with the rest of the sport. We have a system where a country only earns money from home tests and every other nation honours that by sending teams that help their opponents maximise revenue.


And its a totally false equivalence to try to argue that when the likes of NZ, Ireland and England are doing the same by only selecting from home based talent. We're only talking one or two players not the whole team and in any case these countries believe that the team would otherwise not play so well due to availability, travel, workload and cohesion.


As for the “shining light for rugby” argument, yes it's great that players get employment, not so great when other countries lose access to them, either permanently because they end up playing for France or temporarily due to being overworked or told not to play. And we haven't even talked about the wages arms race which has had a huge negative impact on the financial sustainability of the global game.

263 Go to comments
LONG READ
LONG READ Richard Whiffin: 'I 100 per-cent believe Wales has the talent to thrive.' Richard Whiffin: 'I 100 per-cent believe Wales has the talent to thrive.'
Search