Ospreys Secure Dramatic Last-Minute Victory Over Scarlets

Iestyn Hopkins scored Ospreys’ third and final try against Scarlets. The United Rugby Championship match saw Ospreys (8) finish with 23 points, including tries from Parry, Tipuric, and Hopkins, conversions by Edwards, and two penalties by Edwards. Scarlets (19) concluded with 22 points, comprising a try from Mee, a conversion by Lloyd, four penalties by Lloyd, and one by Costelow. A last-gasp try from replacement Iestyn Hopkins delivered a dramatic late win for Ospreys against Scarlets in the west Wales festive derby at the Swansea.com stadium. The Ospreys achieved this victory despite the recent departure of head coach Toby Booth, marking a successful debut for Mark Jones in his first match at the helm of an engaging contest. The home team overcame an 11-point half-time deficit of 19-8, thereby extending their seven-year unbeaten run against Scarlets when playing in Swansea. Scarlets had established their lead through a try from wing Ellis Mee and 14 points contributed by Ioan Lloyd’s kicking. However, the Ospreys, galvanized by captain and player-of-the-match Jac Morgan, registered tries from hooker Sam Parry and flanker Justin Tipuric. Hopkins’ subsequent late score extended their unbeaten streak against Scarlets to six matches. Ospreys’ preparations had been impacted by Booth’s immediate departure. It was previously announced in September that defence coach Jones would take over from Booth at the conclusion of the 2024-25 season. A record 59-15 European defeat in Montpellier the previous weekend led to the decision to advance Booth’s exit by six months. Consequently, former Wales wing Jones assumed command for his inaugural match, facing a Scarlets team where he spent his entire professional playing career and held his initial coaching position, and where he competed against his long-standing friend Dwayne Peel. Jones was unable to select Wales captain Dewi Lake due to a bicep injury, a concern for Wales coach Warren Gatland, who will remain in his position, ahead of the Six Nations tournament next month. The Ospreys controlled the initial phases of play, with Scarlets wing Tom Rogers executing a try-saving tackle on the home full-back Jack Walsh. Edwards put the hosts ahead with a penalty. Scarlets then believed they had scored a try through full-back Lloyd, but it was disallowed due to a forward pass. Lloyd successfully converted two penalties, followed by a powerful break from Scarlets wing Mee, which set up the opportunity for a third successful kick. The game’s first scrum occurred in the 30th minute, resulting in a penalty against Ospreys, which Lloyd capitalized on, extending the lead to nine points. Ospreys countered with a characteristic driving line-out, leading to the game’s initial try scored by hooker Parry. The visiting team responded with a skillfully executed try by Mee, following astute passes from half-backs Gareth Davies and Sam Costelow. This score occurred just before half-time, giving Scarlets an 11-point advantage at the interval. Tipuric, currently in his final year of a distinguished career and slated to become defence coach next season, scored a try early in the second half. Lloyd failed to convert two penalties, after which Costelow assumed kicking responsibilities, successfully converting an effort despite the ball initially dislodging from the tee during his setup. A superb break by Owen Watkin nearly resulted in a try, but a cynical penalty committed by Scarlets second row Sam Lousi led to the Tonga lock receiving a yellow card. Edwards converted a penalty, which represented the sole three points Scarlets conceded while playing with 14 men. Scarlets’ defense remained resolute upon Lousi’s return to the field, with Ospreys captain Morgan being held up and denied a try. Continued infringements by Scarlets resulted in replacement wing Ioan Nicholas being shown a yellow card with four minutes left in the match, a situation Ospreys exploited. The hosts demonstrated patience, and Hopkins scored on the left wing, the area Nicholas would have been defending. Scarlets players collapsed to their knees as their opponents celebrated. An excellent atmosphere was generated by the 6,836 attending fans, though this figure marked the lowest attendance for this specific fixture since regional rugby commenced in 2003. In 2006 and 2008, this Christmas game in Swansea drew capacity crowds of 20,250, while in 2016, over 19,000 fans were still present. A decline has been observed since then, with just under 11,500 attending this game two years prior, and 8,090 present for last season’s derby in November 2023. The attendance was likely impacted by the mandatory change from the customary Boxing Day slot on 26 December to four days before Christmas. This alteration was necessitated because football landlords Swansea City are scheduled to play at home this season on the day after Christmas, requiring Ospreys to adjust their match date. This situation, coupled with the crowd size leaving the stadium less than half full, suggests the rationale behind Ospreys’ planned move out of the stadium next season to return to St Helen’s. While interest in the west Wales local fixture appears to be diminishing, with Ospreys anticipating a smaller stadium, Glasgow and Edinburgh are scheduled to play two Scotland derbies within six days after relocating their matches. These games have been moved to larger venues, Hampden Park and Murrayfield, to accommodate projected attendances exceeding 30,000 for each event, with significantly larger festive crowds also expected in Ireland and France. There is a perceived decline in public interest in Welsh rugby across all levels, a trend that must be addressed in 2025. It is hoped that engaging derbies such as this one will contribute to reversing this process. Ospreys head coach Mark Jones stated: “It felt like it was a good game of rugby and the neutral would have enjoyed it.” He added, “I thought the Scarlets were clinical off our mistakes in that first half. We spoke at half-time and we were far more clinical in the second half and that last play summed it up.” Jones concluded, “We knew if we could continue that quality we had enough good players on the field to put the final nail in the coffin. I would have liked it to have been before the 82nd minute though!” Scarlets head coach Dwayne Peel commented: “We are bitterly disappointed. We came here well prepared and I felt at half-time we deserved our commanding lead.” He continued, “Slowly but surely we let momentum slip in that second half through some inaccuracy and lack of discipline, with two yellow cards not helping.” Peel concluded by saying, “It was a game we probably let slip rather than them winning it.” Ospreys lineup: Walsh; Kasende, Watkin, K Williams, Giles; Edwards, Morgan-Williams; G Thomas, Parry, Botha, Spencer, Fender, J Morgan (capt), Tipuric, Morris. Replacements included: L Lloyd, G Phillips, Henry, Griffiths, Morse, Hardy, Boshoff, Hopkins. Scarlets lineup: I Lloyd; Rogers, J Williams, James, E Mee; Costelow, G Davies; Mathias, van der Merwe, H Thomas, Douglas, Lousi, Plumtree, Macleod (capt), Fifita. Replacements included: S Evans, Hepburn, Holz, Craig, Taylor, A Hughes, Roberts, Nicholas. Sin-bin incidents: Lousi at 53 minutes, Nicholas at 76 minutes. The referee was Craig Evans (WRU), with assistant referees Ben Connor & Adam Jones (WRU), and the TMO was Aled Griffiths (WRU).