The Emirates Lions' plan to send most of their regulars home and start with a young inexperienced side backfired on them as they were on the wrong end of a 30-14 scoreline in their EPCR Challenge Cup match in Llanelli, Wales, on Sunday afternoon.
It was hard to see any other result with the mismatch in experience, and the Lions suffered their third straight defeat in all competitions with the loss.
𝗙𝗨𝗟𝗟 𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗘 | Ospreys 30– 14 Emirates Lions
— Lions (@LionsRugbyCo) December 8, 2024
Tough night in Llalenelli for our team#ForOurCity
#ChallengeCupRugby#LionsPride🦁 pic.twitter.com/UN2EyQNMFx
The Lions scored first and looked good for the first 20 minutes, but after their initial start they sank back into old ways as Ospreys started to dominate the breakdown and general play and took control of the game.
With Wales international Jac Morgan causing chaos on his own, it wasn’t a surprise that he was named man of the match afterwards and was at the heart of all their action on a night that favoured the home side.
The Lions opened their account with a lineout maul try that rumbled upwards, seeing Franco Marais power over with a host of backline players joining to ensure they got over the line.
But from then on, the tide started to turn and Ospreys took control.
A penalty by Owen Williams, followed by the yellow card to JC Pretorius, led to Morgan’s try shortly afterwards, and by the time Williams nailed a second penalty 7-0 had turned into a 13-7 halftime lead for the Ospreys.
But it was the double blow in the second half that sunk the Lions' hopes in earnest as Keelan Giles and Kieran Hardy dotted down within three minutes of each other and took the game away from the Lions.
Giles went wide and finished superbly on a penalty advantage as the Lions were back-pedalling while Hardy took a turnover, beat Tapiwa Mafura and then outstripped the rest of the defence to score an individual try.
Erich Cronje scored a late try to make the scoreline look respectable, but Ospreys had the final say as Dan Edwards dotted down two minutes from time to complete a solid victory for the Welsh side.
SCORERS
Ospreys - tries: Jac Morgan, Keelan Giles, Kieran Hardy, Dan Edwards. Conversions: Owen Williams (2). Penalties: Williams (2)
Emirates Lions - tries: Franco Marais, Erich Cronje. Conversions: Sam Francis, Sanele Nohamba.