SATURDAY WRAP: Ospreys suffer record loss
SATURDAY WRAP: Ospreys suffered a massive defeat at the hands of Montpellier in their Challenge Cup encounter on Saturday, going down 15-59.
The French scored nine tries by Nicolas Martins, Tyler Duguid, Jordan Uelese, Leo Coly, Lyam Akrab, Mael Moustin, Auguste Cadot, Enzo Forletta, and Madosh Tambwe.
Ospreys could only respond with two late tries by Evardi Boshoff and Keelan Giles and a Dan Edwards drop-goal.
A host of injuries hampered the Ospreys' team for this weekend, with key players like Adam Beard, Justin Tipuric, Gareth Thomas, Jac Morga, and Owen Williams all out.
Two years ago, Ospreys completed a Champions Cup double against Montpellier, but they looked a shadow of that side on this occasion in Europe's second-tier tournament.
Ospreys' defence let them down in a big way, and they lacked any attacking prowess in what can only be described as an embarrassing performance.
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Lyon took a big step towards qualifying for the rest of the competition with a victory Zebre.
The Italians went down 19-21 as each side scored three tries each and one conversion kick for the French made the difference in terms of score.
With a quarter of an hour to go, Zebre had to play with fourteen men due to a red card waved at Alessandro Fusco for a dangerous tackle.
In the last minutes, Zebre tried to get back ahead to turn the result in their favor, but Lyon defended well and maintained the narrow advantage until the final whistle.
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A youthful Gloucester side was defeated 19-43 by Top 14 side, RC Vannes, in France on Saturday despite a valiant effort by the youngsters.
The travelling squad bounced back from a slow start to close the gap to just seven points but were left to rue accuracy and disciplinary errors in the final quarter as they fell to the first defeat of their European campaign.
Gloucester began their second match with a sluggish start, as the hosts raced out to a 14-point lead.
Within a minute, Vannes has ghosted 50 metres after receiving the kick-off to send winger Enzo Benmegal into the corner for the first-ever European try to be scored at Stade de la Rabine. After a lengthy TMO check, the score was confirmed and Maxime Lafage added the extras.
Just minutes later the home side was over again through scrumhalf, Michael Ruru, who dummied from the base of the ruck. Another conversion took their lead to 14-0.
Gloucester hit back with their first real attack of the game. Flyhalf George Barton rode contact well and escaped a tackle to break the defensive line, linking up with Chris Harris to send the captain over. Barton added the extra two with the boot.
However, Vannes cancelled this try almost immediately by adding a third try of their own. After Gloucester initially stopped a maul just short, Ruru picked the ball up and forced his way over the whitewash for his second of the match.
The home side was leading 19-7 at halftime and went on to dominate proceedings in the second half.
The Cherry and Whites will look to bounce back in a crucial Premiership match at Kingsholm next week, with Harlequins the visitors in this festive fixture.
With a tight turnaround, Gloucester was forced to rest several players for the trip to Vannes, who will be back at 'Holm on Friday evening as the club looks to cement their space in the top half of the table.
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Saturday’s scores and scorers:
Montpellier 59-15 Ospreys
For Montpellier:
Tries: Martins, Duguid, Uelese, Coly, Akrab, Moustin, Cadot, Forletta, Tambwe
Cons: Coly 4, Hogg 3
For Ospreys:
Tries: Boshoff, Giles
Cons: Edwards
Pens: Edwards
Teams
Montpellier: 15. Josh Moorby, 14. Mael Moustin, 13. Thomas Darmon, 12. Arthur Vincent (captain), 11. Madosh Tambwe, 10. Stuart Hogg, 9. Leo Coly, 8. Sam Simmonds, 7. Lenni Nouchi, 6. Nicolas Martins, 5. Tyler DuGuid, 4. Nicolaas Janse van Rensburg, 3. Luka Japaridze, 2. Jordan Uelese, 1. Baptiste Erdocio
Replacements: 16. Lyam Akrab, 17. Enzo Forletta, 18. Wilfrid Hounkpatin, 19. Bastien Chalureau, 20. Billy Vunipola, 21. Ryan Louwrens, 22. Aurelien Barreau, 23. Auguste Cadot
Ospreys: 15. Jack Walsh, 14. Daniel Kasende, 13. Owen Watkin, 12. Owen Williams, 11. Keelan Giles, 10. Dan Edwards, 9. Kieran Hardy, 8. Morgan Morris, 7. Jac Morgan (captain), 6. Tristan Davies, 5. Lewis Jones, 4. Will Spencer, 3. Ben Warren, 2. Dewi Lake, 1. Gareth Thomas
Replacements: 16. Sam Parry, 17. Steff Thomas, 18. Rhys Henry, 19. Will Griffiths, 20. Will Greatbanks, 21. Reuben Morgan-Williams, 22. Evradi Boshoff, 23. Iestyn Hopkins
Referee: Adam Leal
Assistant referees: Richard Gordon, Hamish Grant
TMO: David Rose
Zebre 19-21 Lyon
For Zebre:
Tries: Di Bartolomeo, Prisciantelli, Nasove
Cons: Prisciantelli 2
For Lyon:
Tries: Gonzalez, Ioane, Saghinadze
Cons: Meliande 3
Teams:
Zebre: 15. Alessandro Fusco, 14. Jacopo Trulla, 13. Luca Morisi, 12. Fetuli Paea, 11. Simone Gesi, 10. Geronimo Prisciantelli, 9. Gonzalo Garcia, 8. Giovanni Licata, 7. Bautista Stavile Bravin, 6. Giacomo Milano, 5. Andrea Zambonin, 4. Leonardo Krumov, 3. Matteo Nocera, 2. Tommaso di Bartolomeo, 1. Danilo Fischetti (captain)
Replacements: 16. Giampietro Ribaldi, 17. Luca Rizzoli, 18. Muhamed Hasa, 19. Rusiate Nasove, 20. Jacopo Bianchi, 21. Thomas Dominguez, 22. Giacomo da Re, 23. Scott Gregory
Lyon Olympique: 15. Alexandre Tchaptchet, 14. Ethan Dumortier, 13. Alfred Parisien (captain), 12. Semi Radradra, 11. Vincent Rattez, 10. Martin Meliande, 9. Esteban Gonzalez, 8. Maxime Gouzou, 7. Liam Allen, 6. Steeve Blanc-Mappaz, 5. Tomas Lavanini, 4. Theo William, 3. Jermaine Ainsley, 2. Sam Matavesi, 1. Jérôme Rey
Replacements: 16. Yanis Charcosset, 17. Hamza Kaabeche, 18. Irakli Aptsiauri, 19. Killian Geraci, 20. Beka Saginadze, 21. Charlie Cassang, 22. Xavier Mignot, 23. Monty Ioane
Referee: Ben Breakspear
Assistant referees: Mathew Leon, Mike English
TMO: Tom Spurrier
Vannes 43-19 Gloucester
For Gloucester:
Tries: Harris, Blackmore, Morris
Cons: Barton, Taylor
For Vannes:
Tries: Benmegal 2, Ruru 2, Chateau, Blanchard
Cons: Lafage 5
Pens: Lafage
Teams:
Vannes: 15. Paul Surano, 14. Enzo Benmegal, 13. Robin Taccola, 12. Tani Vili, 11. Romaric Camou, 10. Maxime Lafage, 9. Michael Ruru, 8. Sione Kalamafoni, 7. Francisco Gorrissen (captain), 6. Karl Chateau, 5. Timothe Mezou, 4. Anton Bresler, 3. Simon Bourgeois, 2. Theo Beziat, 1. Mako Vunipola
Replacements: 16. Cyril Blanchard, 17. Charlesty Berguet, 18. Santiago Medrano, 19. Eric Marks, 20. Fabrice Metz, 21. Simon Augry, 22. Jules Lebail, 23. Inaki Ayarza
Gloucester: 15. Ioan Jones, 14. Jacob Morris, 13. Chris Harris (captain), 12. Seb Atkinson, 11. Jack Reeves, 10. George Barton, 9. Charlie Chapman, 8. Albert Tuisue, 7. Harry Taylor, 6. Danny Eite, 5. Cameron Jordan, 4. Freddie Clarke, 3. Kirill Gotovtsev, 2. Morgan Nelson, 1. Mayco Vivas
Replacements: 16. Gareth Blackmore, 17. Archie McArthur, 18. Alfie Petch, 19. Deian Gwynne, 20. Caio James, 21. Caolan Englefield, 22. Rory Taylor, 23. Jack Cotgreave
Referee: Saba Abulashvili
Assistant referees: Nika Amashukeli, Shota Tevzadze
TMO: Brian MacNeice