Ospreys Euro win sets up possible Gloucester rematch

Jan 14 2008 by Simon Thomas, Western Mail

Ospreys 32-15 Gloucester

BATTEN down the hatches and prepare for World War III if these two sides meet again in the quarter-finals of the Heineken Cup.

A last-eight rematch is now a distinct possibility in the wake of Saturday night’s volatile and controversial encounter at a packed Liberty Stadium.

Gloucester remain in the frame to go through as top seeds despite being well beaten in Swansea, while the Ospreys are on course to qualify as the second-best runners-up, which would make them eighth seeds.

That would then set up a quarter-final showdown at Kingsholm on the first weekend in April and that would be no place for the faint-hearted given the events here.

Gloucester headed home feeling deeply aggrieved with their hosts’ tactics and convinced they’d had a raw deal off referee Alan Lewis, who sin-binned three of their players, reducing them to 13 men at one point.

But Ospreys coach Lyn Jones had no time for such whingeing, insisting his team had been by far the better side and declaring that Gloucester had received a kick up the backside.

All of which makes the idea of the two sides meeting for a third time this season in the quarter-finals a mouth-watering prospect.

Asked how he would view that challenge, Gloucester coach Dean Ryan replied, “I would look forward to it,” with the menacing solemnity of his tone speaking volumes.

Ryan – an explosive character during his playing days – was a picture of simmering discontent as he bemoaned the way Lewis had handled the game, especially in terms of the breakdown and the yellow cards.

Gloucester had flanker Peter Buxton binned late in the first half for taking man of the match Justin Marshall out at a ruck and then crucially lost replacements Luke Narraway (swearing) and Olivier Azam (high tackle off the ball) in quick succession midway through the final quarter.

Handed a two-man advantage, the Ospreys capitalised on it, with hooker Richard Hibbard crashing over to seal a richly-deserved victory that leaves them needing to win in Bourgoin on Sunday to reach the quarter-finals.

It was the dismissal of Narraway, who had only been on the field for three minutes, that particularly enraged Ryan.

He maintained that the flanker hadn’t sworn directly at the ref, something the player himself confirmed later.

“I’m frustrated we ended up playing with 13 men and I’m interested to hear the transcript of what was said in the dissent issue,” said Ryan.

“If we are yellow-carded for swearing, then it’s a pretty widespread action which needs application across the game.

“If it was personalised towards the referee, I would understand the action, but I’ve been told that wasn’t the case.

“Then I do start to struggle why swearing is such a serious offence at this level when other liberal use of the law seems to be applicable.

“The ref is here to uphold the law and I’ve not read one that’s about swearing.

“The clarification I need is why it’s such a contentious issue that it ends up with us playing 13 men, considering the stringency of certain laws and other interpretations.”

In particular, Ryan felt the Ospreys had been allowed to get away with illegal play at the contact area.

“I’d like to know why there were so many people round the ball,” he said.

“If you leave that amount of bodies off their feet or in offside positions, you will get flashpoints.

“I didn’t think Olivier’s action was particularly malicious. He was clearing out Marty Holah, who was in an offside position and he got a yellow card for it. The referee obviously has a different view.”

Someone else who had a different view was Ryan’s opposite number Jones.

“Alan Lewis is a world-class referee,” he said. “He blows his whistle to what he sees happen in front of him. I’ve got no qualms with him, I never have.

“You lose games of rugby as a team, not because of the referee, but because you are not good enough. When the opposition is going forward and is too powerful, then there’s only one way to stay in the game.

“We dominated right throughout, physically, breakdown, set-piece, kicking strategy. I just felt we were by far the better side right throughout the game.

“We totally closed out the leaders of the Guinness Premiership. They just weren’t in the game.

“I think it might do Gloucester a lot of good in the long run. They are obviously through to the quarter-finals and it might be a good one for them to kick them up the backside.”

As for the prospect of a rematch in the last eight, Jones believes it would be a clash to savour.

“They are a tough outfit up in Kingsholm, make no bones about it,” he said.

“They are not top of the Premiership for nothing. They are a quality outfit. Both sides would have learned a lot from the two games and, if we to play Gloucester in the quarters, then it's going to be a hell of a game.

“Both sides would have to look at their tactics, because we’ve worked each other out so well.

“Kingsholm was a land of missed opportunity for us in November. We outplayed them for 60 minutes and didn’t get the spoils.

“This time, we outplayed them for 70 minutes and that’s what you have to do against a quality side like Gloucester.

“We are delighted with the performance and delighted to have our just rewards. It’s a big feather in our cap and shows we are going in the right direction.”

For all Ryan's rumblings of discontent, there’s no doubt the Ospreys were by far the superior side as they produced a hugely professional, disciplined and efficient performance.

Their front five laid a superb platform, which enabled the back row to prosper, with Holah dominating the breakdown and the ageless Filo Tiatia making huge yardage across the gain-line.

And in a third Kiwi, the outstanding Marshall, they had the perfect man to navigate the ship through the stormy weather at a rain-lashed Liberty.

The veteran scrum-half said before the game that it was the dream of winning the Heineken Cup which was keeping him going, providing the motivation to put his 33-year-old body through the mincer and once again – just as in Belfast – he was the Euro hero, making all the right calls as his class and experience shone through the Swansea monsoon.

He received a standing ovation when he left the field on 72 minutes with the match won and it wasn’t just the supporters who were on their feet.

“Even I stood up and applauded,” admitted Jones.

“I thought his performance was one of the best we’ve seen at the Liberty Stadium. He was man of the match by a country mile.

“There were no mistakes, he was very clean and tactically too good for everybody on the field – absolutely outstanding. You can see why he won 80 odd caps for the All Blacks.”

Outside Marshall, the 22-point James Hook had an encouragingly steady game, not looking to take too much on himself but rather feeding his runners intelligently, while his goal-kicking was excellent given the conditions as he punished Gloucester’s mounting indiscretions.

Wales coach Warren Gatland, who watched the game alongside Rob Howley, will also have been heartened by the return of Gavin Henson, who showed up well in the first half on his comeback appearance after six weeks out with a broken hand.

It was Henson who set up the first try from Shane Williams, chasing his own testing up-and-under and collecting the ball on the bounce as three Gloucester players dithered, while he also carried strongly.

That score, combined with Hook’s boot, gave the Ospreys a 19-3 interval lead and there was no way back for the visitors who lost the plot after the break as their discipline crumbled.

For both teams, the equation is now simple. Win their last group matches and they will be through to the knockout stages, and then it’s a case of watch out for that quarter-final draw.