FULL TIME: OSPREYS 36-21 LIONS
The Lions will curse their luck and perhaps the referee but they have to take better care of the ball. Too many stripped balls in tackles or pinched at the breakdown from the Lions. Ospreys used their chances well and found the mismatches.
CONVERSION, OSPREYS, WALSH, 36-21:
Walsh converts with the last act of the match.
TRY, OSPREYS, K WILLIAMS, 34-21:
Ospreys fly through with the Lions heads down.
Brace makes a bizarre call to give Ospreys a penalty for not rolling away and that will kill off this contest.
The Lions give away the penalty in their own 22 as they try to carry away from their line. Walsh kicks for goal but hits the upright and the Lions hack it clear.
CONVERSION, LIONS, HENDRIKSE, 29-21:
Hendrikse converts.
TRY, LIONS, KRIEL, 29-19:
Kriel dives in at the corner and the Lions are over. However the Ospreys might just have held on long enough there.
The TMO has to have a look at an attempted score in the corner for the Lions.
The scrum goes down again and the Ospreys get a warning.
The Lions win advantage at the scrum but cannot use the free play to score. The Lions call for another scrum from the penalty.
The Lions swarm all over the Ospreys who hold on and the Ospreys knock it on into touch five out. The Lions opt to scrum.
The Lions get a marginal call going their way now but the penalty stands and they kick up into the Ospreys 22.
CONVERSION, LIONS, HENDRIKSE, 29-14:
Hendrikse slots the kick.
TRY, LIONS, HORN, 29-12:
The Lions open up the Ospreys with ease this time and Horn sprints in to score.
The Lions think they have got it down but the referee has called it held up. There was no way that ball wasn't down. The Lions can feel aggrieved.
The Lions drill a grubber down into the corner but it goes out and the Ospreys have the lineout. They lose it though and the Lions attack.
The Lions knock on in the Ospreys 22. That is the 14th handling error from the Lions and that has been the problem for them. The Lions just cannot keep the ball for any length of time.
The Lions get a penalty and find touch inside the Ospreys 22 with the kick.
CONVERSION, OSPREYS, WILLIAMS, 29-7:
Williams adds the two after taking his time with the kick.
TRY, OSPREYS, LLOYD, 27-7:
Ospreys maul over the line with everyone piling in.
The Lions need to hang on now as wave after wave of Ospreys attacks hit away at them. The Lions cough up another soft penalty with a player being held into a ruck deliberately.
The Lions play some bizarre rugby in their own 22 but eventually get away with it and clear their lines. The Lions are not protecting the ball in the tackle.
The Lions knock on as they battle for a ball in the air. Ospreys have a scrum feed about ten outside the 22.
CONVERSION, OSPREYS, WILLIAMS, 22-7:
Wiliams converts the try.
TRY, OSPREYS, MORRIS, 20-7:
The numbers game tells as Ospreys suddenly have a spring in their step.
YELLOW CARD, LIONS, NAUDE:
Naude is yellow carded for a clearout that is deemed illegal.
The Lions earn a penalty and take play into the Ospreys 22 where they set a lineout. They lose it though and the Ospreys carry to set a better position for the box kick and then clear to just outside their 22.
Horn kicks a long kick back into the Ospreys 22 and they swing it around before clearing up to just before halfway.
Morgan bursts through the Lions defence but he ends up isolated and the Lions win a penalty on their own line. Hendrikse finds touch about ten outside his own 22.
Horn restarts for the Lions and it comes down just outside the Ospreys 22. The Lions gather a short box kick but then they knock on to cede the ball once more.
HALF TIME: OSPREYS 15-7 LIONS
The Ospreys have had the rub of the green and the ear of the referee in the first half but their lead is far from decisive. The Lions fought back but were their own worst enemy over and over again. The Lions tried a few too many offloads in attack and also failed to protect the ball once they were tackled.
PENALTY, OSPREYS, WILLIAMS, 15-7:
Williams slots the penalty.
Ospreys win a penalty as Botha is pinned into a breakdown. They call for the tee with a man in the sin-bin.
CONVERSION, LIONS, HENDRIKSE, 12-7:
Hendrikse converts from out wide.
TRY, LIONS, BOTHA, 12-5:
Its all about the forwards as they stay tight and maul over the line to score.
The Lions maul and win another penalty as they cannot use an advantage. They will go to the lineout again.
The Lions show shoddy ball protection through multiple plays where they lose the ball on attack. They have won a penalty but need to be better at the breakdown. They set up a lineout on the Ospreys 22.
Hendrikse kicks his kick over the top of the posts and has apparently missed the shot at goal.
YELLOW CARD, OSPREYS, PARRY:
Parry is cynical in committing a foul at a ruck with the Lions rumbling forward.
The Lions finally get a penalty going their way and they can take play up to the Ospreys 22 where they will feed a lineout.
A poor pass from Nohamba leads to a knock-on to end a promising Lions attack sparked by a strong run from Tshituka. Ospreys have the scrum feed.
A kick deflects back into the Ospreys in-goal and Walsh has to rush back and dot dead. Ospreys will restart with a goal-line dropout.
The Lions threaten again but Nohamba can't hold an offload on halfway. The Ospreys get a yard or two from the referee before the scrum.
The Lions are repelled and then Ospreys get a generous penalty and another ten as the Lions bemoan the decision.
The Lions win the lineout but don't get over initially. They have earned advantage but couldn't get over and they tease a tap and go but go back to the corner.
The Lions reject a shot at goal and set up a lineout five out. This will be their first attacking lineout feed.
CONVERSION, OSPREYS, WILLIAMS, 12-0:
Williams adds the two this time.
TRY, OSPREYS, PARRY, 10-0:
Parry finishes off with a great support line after Morgan-Williams snipes through a hole.
The Ospreys are turned over in contact twice in two 22 entries and the Lions eventually opt for the safety of touch after a breathless period of attack-counterattack-counterattack that leaves both sides puffing.
The Lions cannot believe that the scrum penalty has gone against them as they were going forward but Botha popped up first and the Ospreys use the penalty to drive play up to the Lions 22.
The Lions steal the ball in midfield but then they knock on out wide as Marius Louw tries to slip away on the outside but goes too soon and the ball needed to be flat and as a result, Louw couldn't hold the pass.
The Lions want to apply pressure at scrumtime and do but are blown up for not keeping it stable. Williams accidentally takes the free kick and the Lions rush him, but he escapes and it opens up. Ospreys kick long but Horn gets back and clears up to halfway.
Smith hammers his way through the Ospreys line but just as he tries to offload he loses it forward. Ospreys have a scrum inside their own 22.
Williams pulls his conversion kick away from the posts and it stays 5-0.
TRY, OSPREYS, BOTHA, 5-0:
It comes down to the pick and drive time and again but the Lions cannot stop Botha from burrowing over to score.
A high shot allows Ospreys to have another go after it looked like their attack had fizzled out. Ospreys win the lineout and try a worked move.
The Lions get a bit fancy and slack as they wind up defending a lineout on their own 22 after a poor kick from Nohamba.
KICK OFF: Williams kicks off onto Horn who gathers for the Lions and powers out of his 22. Nohamba sends up successive box kicks as van Der Merwe gathers the first but the second bounces into the Ospreys 22 and a kicking battle commences. Ospreys find touch close to halfway to end the exchange.
Sam Parry does the honours of leading the hosts out as he prepares to make his 150th appearance for the Ospreys.
Edwill van der Merwe leads the Lions out on his 50th appearance for the team.
Lions: 15 Quan Horn, 14 Richard Kriel, 13 Erich Cronje, 12 Marius Louw (captain), 11 Edwill van der Merwe, 10 Jordan Hendrikse, 9 Sanele Nohamba, 8 Francke Horn, 7 Emmanuel Tshituka, 6 JC Pretorius, 5 Reinhard Nothnagel, 4 Etienne Oosthuizen, 3 Conraad van Vuuren, 2 PJ Botha, 1 JP Smith.
Replacements: 16 Jaco Visagie, 17 Morgan Naude, 18 Ruan Dryer, 19 Darrien Landsberg, 20 Izan Esterhuizen, 21 Hanru Sirgel, 22 Morne van den Berg, 23 Stean Pienaar.
Ospreys: 15 Jack Walsh, 14 Luke Morgan, 13 Evardi Boshoff, 12 Owen Watkin, 11 Keelan Giles, 10 Owen Williams, 9 Reuben Morgan-Williams, 8 Morgan Morris, 7 Justin Tipuric (captain), 6 James Ratti, 5 Adam Beard, 4 Rhys Davies, 3 Tom Botha, 2 Sam Parry, 1 Gareth Thomas.
Replacements: 16 Lewis Lloyd, 17 Garyn Phillips, 18 Ben Warren, 19 Huw Sutton, 20 Harri Deaves, 21 Luke Davies, 22 Max Nagy, 23 Keiran Williams.
Hello and welcome to our coverage of the United Rugby Championship match between Ospreys and the Lions from Swansea.com Stadium in Swansea.
