Fair result as Lions and Ospreys play out exciting draw in Bridgend

For the second week in a row the Lions were involved in a stalemate, with their 20-all draw in Perpignan that knocked them out of the EPCR Challenge Cup being followed by a 24-all draw against Ospreys in their ninth round Vodacom URC clash in Bridgend on Friday night.

Whereas last week the result wasn’t enough to keep the Lions in the European competition, this draw in a game that ended in driving rain, as did the one in France, wasn't in vain.

The Lions will have something solid to show as the two points for the draw was accompanied by a try-scoring bonus point.

A thriller between the Ospreys and Lions ends in shared points 😲🤝#VURC | #SSRugby pic.twitter.com/q7VLI1dzM9 — SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) January 23, 2026

Three points out of a game they led for 23 minutes against the 42 minutes the Ospreys led for out of a maximum of five shouldn’t displease the Lions too much, although they came so close to making it a full house in a pulsating end to end finish to the game.

Unlike in the Challenge Cup game six days earlier, when it was the Lions doing most of the attacking in the quest to get the win in the final minutes, this time it was the Ospreys pressing hard.

Their flyhalf Dan Edwards missed a penalty kick from what normally would have been an easily kickable on a normal day but was difficult into the rain and wind within the last minute of normal time.

Then, with the clock having gone into the red, the same player lined up a drop goal only to push it wide.

The Lions ran the ball out of defence and their flyhalf Chris Smith broke through. He could possibly have kept the ball himself but opted to kick ahead for wing Angelo Davids to chase.

The former Blitzbok won the race to the ball but knocked it on as he tried to press it down and cut a forlorn figure at the end as the referee blew for fulltime.

Four tries apiece tells the story of an entertaining game, particularly given the conditions, with both teams throwing everything into their quest for victory.

It was the Lions who drew first blood after a strong start when some good slick passing from the backrow players created the inches of space that was needed for captain and No 8 Francke Horn to squeeze over for a spectacular try in the right corner.

It wasn’t converted so when the Ospreys got the bit between their teeth playing with the strong wind behind them and scored tries through James Ratti in the 24th minute, Iestyn Hopkins in the 34th and Morgan Morse in the 39th the hosts had built up a commanding 19-5 lead.

However, the Lions drew seven points back after four minutes of attacking after the hooter with Horn going over for his second try to make the halfway score 19-12 after Smith’s conversion.

Lions scored another try eight minutes into the second half to draw within two points of the Ospreys when Smith missed the conversion and then the Lions reclaimed the lead 11 minutes after that when the other Horn, fullback Quan, scored his team’s fourth and bonus point try.

The turnover is made and the Lions charge straight to the try line 🦁🔴

Quan Horn earns a bonus-point try for the Lions 💪

📺 Stream #VURC on DStv: https://t.co/0P0NNhnwKw pic.twitter.com/Ql8DH2QM9G — SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) January 23, 2026

The Smith conversion made it 24-19 to the Lions going into the final quarter and with the wind behind them the South African team had a good chance of winning but a 63rd minute try from Daniel Kasende levelled the scores and proved the last score of a pulsating and closely fought game.

A big talking point after the game will surely be the incident that saw Wales skipper Dewi Lake yellow carded after a shoulder to chin hit on the big Lions prop Asenathi Ntlabakanye.

According to the modern day law interpretations around the tackle, on another day that could easily have been red but instead Lake spent just 10 minutes in the sin bin.

However, while the Lions were unlucky there and could so easily have dotted down the winner off the last move of the game, on balance it was a fair result, with the Ospreys, who had a difficult week in terms of what was happening off the field with their future in the URC now under serious threat, shading both the battle for possession and territory.

What could not be faulted was either side’s level of commitment and maybe it was right that both teams should get three points out of a game where, to use the timeworn old cliche, rugby was the winner.

The three points lifts the Lions to seventh on the log after they started the weekend in eighth, while the Ospreys are three points behind them (21 to the Lions’ 24 log points) in eighth with five games set to be played on Saturday.

The Lions do have a game in hand on the Ospreys.

Scores

Ospreys 24 - Tries: James Ratti, Iestyn Hopkins, Morgan Morse and Daniel Kasende; Conversions: Dan Edwards 2.

Lions 24 - Tries: Francke Horn 2, PJ Botha and Quan Horn; Conversions: Chris Smith 2.