By Etienne Turpin
Reuben Morgan-Williams celebrated his hundredth appearance for the Ospreys with a player of the match performance as he helped his side to a bonus point win in Bridgend on Saturday night. Tries from the scrum half, Dan Edwards, Morgan Morris, and a Penalty try helped the Ospreys to victory.
It was a special night for the local boy Reuben Morgan-Williams who was celebrating his 100th cap for the region after making his debut back in 2017 as a teenager.
The Ospreys played out another game in Bridgend following successful outings last season including a derby day victory on New Year’s Day against Cardiff with a lively crowd. The home side were looking to make it two wins in a row against today’s visitors after a stunning win in Cape Town last season.
But the Stormers got the first try of the game through winger Leolin Zas after Ruhan Nel made a great run, linking up with his backrowers. The Ospreys were short of numbers on the left and quick hands from the South African side allowed Zas to walk in untouched. Mathee nailed the sideline conversion.
The Ospreys got their first points through the boot of Dan Edwards when the Ospreys were awarded a penalty about 40 metres out from the posts. The stormers restored their 7-point lead a couple of minutes later through a Mathee penalty.
The Stormers were without some of their Springbok stars who were away on international duty as they helped South Africa claim the Rugby Championship title with an emphatic victory over Argentina in Mbombela but they could rely on star man Damian Willemse who’s dancing feet proved to be difficult to deal with early on.
Mathee continued to impress with the boot as he extended the Stormers lead to 10-points following a scrum penalty just inside the Ospreys half.
The Ospreys replied fantastically with the always reliable Jac Morgan crashing over from close range after quick feet from Watkins almost gave Morgan-Williams a try on his big night. Edwards added the extras to make it a three-point game.
With half time approaching, Morgan Morris won a big penalty and Dan Edwards stepped up to level the scores, but they were penalised on the stroke of half time, and Mathee made no mistakes to give his side the lead at the break.
Willemse slotted a drop goal early in the second half to extend the Stormers lead on a cold night in Bridgend. The two time world champion showing his class in South Wales.
Reuben Morgan-Williams got his moment after 50 minutes with a quick snipe to reduce the gap to one point, which then became a one-point lead for the Ospreys as Edwards kicked the conversion over.
Dan Edwards then nailed a sublime long range drop goal of his own to extend his sides lead. The flyhalf struck the ball beautifully. A reminder to his match winning drop goal last season against Ulster.
Morgan-Williams was putting on a sensational display on his hundredth cap and set up the Ospreys third try in brilliant fashion. A quick snipe worked once more before chipping the ball over Willemse, regathering the ball before finding Edwards in support who went in under the posts.
The Stormers hit back through JD Shickerling to make the last 10 minutes a stressful one for the home side. The Stormers went through the phases and eventually crossed the line. Dan du Plessis’ effort went well wide so it remained at six-point game.
The Ospreys thew away an eight-point lead last week against the Dragons and we came close to seeing similar scenes again as the Stormers pressed for another try with minutes remaining but defiant Ospreys defence prevented another try and a crucial penalty was won.
The Ospreys sealed the win with a last minute penalty try thanks to a powerful driving maul as they claimed a big win over the Stormers, their second in a row over the side from Cape Town.
Ospreys: 37
TRIES: 4 (Morgan 26’, Mogan-Williams 50’, Edwards 65’, Penalty Try 80’)
CONVERSIONS: 3 (Edwards 27’, 51’, 66’)
PENALTIES: 2 (Edwards 9’, 39’)
DROP GOALS: 1 (Edwards 53’)
YELLOW CARDS: 0
RED CARDS: 0
15. Jack Walsh, 14. Luke Morgan, 13. Owen Watkin, 12. Kieran Williams, 11. Ryan Conbeer, 10. Dan Edwards, 9. Reuben Morgan-Williams, 1. Gareth Thomas, 2. Dewi Lake, 3. Tom Botha, 4. James Ratti, 5. Adam Beard, 6. Jac Morgan, 7. Justin Tipuric, 8. Morgan Morris.
16. Ethan Lewis, 17. Garyn Phillips, 18. Ben Warren, 19. Huw Sutton, 20. Harri Deaves, 21. Luke Davies, 22. Phil Cokanasiga, 23. Max Nagy.
Stormers: 24
TRIES: 2 (Zas 6’, Shickerling 71’))
CONVERSIONS: 1 (Mathee 7’,)
PENALTIES: 3 (Mathee 12’, 23’, 40’)
DROP GOALS: 1 (Willemse 45’)
YELLOW CARDS: 1 (Dixon 80’)
RED CARDS: 0
15. Damian Willemse, 14. Suleiman Hartzenberg, 13. Ruhan Nel, 12. Dan du Plessis, 11. Leolin Zas, 10. Jurie Mathee, 9. Paul de Wet, 1. Sti Sithole, 2. Joseph Dweba, 3. Neethling Fouché, 4. JD Shickerling, 5. Reuben van Heerden, 6. Marcel Theunissen, 7. Dave Ewers, 8. Keke Morabe.
16. Andre-Hugo Venter, 17. Leon Lyons, 18. Brok Harris, 19. Adré Smith, 20. Ben-Jason Dixon, 21. Stefan Ungerer, 22. Jean-Luc du Plessis, 23. Angelo Davids.