The Ospreys arrived in Cardiff hoping to keep their play-off hopes alive. They knew that a bonus point win was the only acceptable result if they wanted to usurp Ulster in the top four. The Dragons camp would have had much simpler motivations. Improve on their recent form and try and keep pace with Cardiff Blues, who had won earlier in the day.
The Ospreys class was shown even before the kick-off. The region had to do without Rhys Webb, Richard Hibbard, Eli Walker and Joe Bearman - all on the medical table. However, this didn't prevent Steve Tandy from fielding a star-studded side. A similar playing loss for the Dragons would see their performance levels dip considerably, highlighting the difference in playing resources between the two squads.
The Ospreys started the quicker of the two sides, but they did have a scare in the first minute as Tom Prydie intercepted possession and only try saving tackle stopped him. From then on they built momentum and a try seemed inevitable, Richard Fussell received a pass from Dan Biggar and side-stepped the Dragons defence to cross the whitewash. All seemed well until Nigel Owens checked the video and adjudged Tom Habberfield to have knocked-on at the base of the ruck, denying Fussell a try against his former team.
After another flurry of Osprey attacks Dan Baker, was the next player to have a try scrubbed off - crossing the line but losing control of the ball as he reaches to ground it. His match-up with Taulupe Faletau was fascinating to watch with the Swansea RFC product looking to shine infront of the Welsh selectors. The first twenty minutes remained scoreless, plenty of adventure from the Ospreys but countered by a superb Dragons defence over and over again. The Dragons would not be able to tackle all afternoon and the fatigue of tackling for half an hour began to show as Alun Wyn Jones broke clear and cantered away.
Will Harries got his first sniff of the ball on 34 minutes. The wing countered superbly and sent a neat kick upfield. He managed to tackle the covering Fussell before he could get the pass away, earning the Dragons a penalty and putting Ryan Jones in the bin for killing the ball at the breakdown. Biggar could have taken six easy points in the first half but opted for the corner on both occasions. Showing the desperation of the men in white to get the scoreboard ticking over.
After the Ospreys' early dominance, the Dragons found a foothold in the game and created several chances. The half ended 0-0, with both sides showing invention, but lacking the killer instinct at vital times.
The deadlock was finally broken after 46 minutes when Richie Rees finished off a flowing team move. A wonderful try showcased the clinical edge that both teams lacked in the first half. The score saw youngsters, Hallam Amos, Tyler Morgan and Cory Hill combine to send over veteran scrum-half, Rees.
The game sparked into life following the try and on 51 minutes Nic Cudd was sin-binned for a tackle off the ball, on Dan Bigger. This time Biggar did take the points from the resulting penalty to make it 7-3. The addition of Sam Davies at full-back provided extra direction and zip to the Ospreys attack.
The biggest cheer of the day from the 30,411 strong crowd came on 61 minutes when Adam Jones came on for Aaron Jarvis. A minute later the Ospreys were cheering again as Tom Habberfield crashed over for the Ospreys first try. Dan Biggar converted to make in 7-10 in favour of the Ospreys. Tom Prydie replied immediately with a penalty of his own after Jonathan Spratt was sin-binned for a deliberate knock-on. It was all square at 10-10 with fifteen minutes left to play.
The Ospreys earned yet another penalty at the scrum on the 70 minute mark and Dan Biggar gladly snaffled the points to make it 10-13, giving the Ospreys the lead for the first time in the game. The game was wrapped up by the Ospreys in the 77thminute as the infamously weak Dragons scrum collapsed once again, giving Nigel Owens no choice but to award the penalty try. Dan Biggar popped over the conversion to make it 10-20 to the Ospreys.
All the stats before the game pointed to an Ospreys win but there was a small matter of 80 minutes of rugby to go through first. The Dragons provided stern opposition to the Ospreys but the strength in depth proved the deciding factor as they brought on Sam Davies and Adam Jones who helped turn the tide in favour of the 'away' side.
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