Ospreys WTF

[Sourdust]

One of the more bizarre games I've attended.

Absolutely men vs boys for the first 30 minutes; Connacht looked on for 50+.

Then they had a scrum under Os' posts to go 28-0 up. They got pushed off their own ball. For the next 50 minutes, they scored 0. Os never controlled the match the way Connacht had previously; but they were the better side from that moment on, destroyed the Connacht scrum, and ended up with a bonus point win. The Brewery Field was strangely subdued after the match, probably because no-one really believed what had happened. Connacht must be gutted.

Oh, and yes, there was a forward pass in the winning try. It was about the forty-sixth unpunished forward pass in the match.

[Sandydragon]

One of the more bizarre games I've attended.

Absolutely men vs boys for the first 30 minutes; Connacht looked on for 50+.

Then they had a scrum under Os' posts to go 28-0 up. They got pushed off their own ball. For the next 50 minutes, they scored 0. Os never controlled the match the way Connacht had previously; but they were the better side from that moment on, destroyed the Connacht scrum, and ended up with a bonus point win. The Brewery Field was strangely subdued after the match, probably because no-one really believed what had happened. Connacht must be gutted.

Oh, and yes, there was a forward pass in the winning try. It was about the forty-sixth unpunished forward pass in the match.

Good win for the ospreys and if they had the run of the green for a final try then so be it. Compared to how the dragons got shafted at Leinster it’s small beer.

[Son of Mathonwy]

It all seemed to be about our starting loose head. Never seen one man (or the ref's view of him) destroy a team's game like that. 21-0. Then a compete turnaround. Yep, pretty random reffing of forward passes and god knows what else. Loved the way he penalised Connacht twice on the line as their scrum was destroyed but no penalty try and even sent off their prop to give them uncontested scrums for 10 minutes but we got the try somehow. Anyway, crap ref, right result

[Sourdust]

It all seemed to be about our starting loose head. Never seen one man (or the ref's view of him) destroy a team's game like that. 21-0. Then a compete turnaround. Yep, pretty random reffing of forward passes and god knows what else. Loved the way he penalised Connacht twice on the line as their scrum was destroyed but no penalty try and even sent off their prop to give them uncontested scrums for 10 minutes but we got the try somehow. Anyway, crap ref, right result

I'm always hesitant about attributing too much to a scrum personnel change. But this was SO dramatic - and immediate - that it's impossible to ignore. Whatever Phillips was getting wrong, Thomas clearly knew EXACTLY the right answer.

As regards the Smith try, I guess it shows the utility of that rule about losing a 2nd player if you can't field a scrum. Not that Smith went directly through one of those gaps, but having 2 players missing probably gave the defence too much to think about.