Champions Cup: Bordeaux-Begles 33-27 Ospreys
By Keith Moore
Last Updated: 19/12/15 8:02pm
Bordeaux-Begles resisted a late fightback from Ospreys to record a 33-27 win in the Champions Cup on Saturday.
Bordeaux-Begles looked in the clear when Yann Lesgourgues scored a try in the 65th minute to put the French side 30-15 up, but a surge from Ospreys at the end meant the home side were relieved to come away with a narrow win.
Ospreys secured two bonus points in the loss, which keeps them in first place in Pool 2, though Exeter will usurp them if they are able to beat Clermont on Sunday.
The game endured a frenetic start, with Bordeaux-Begles scoring with just one minute on the clock. Possession was secured at the lineout and passed out wide before Julien Rey received an offload in the tackle to crash over the line.
Justin Tipuric hit back moments later, taking an inside pass from Jeff Hassler, who had drawn the opposition defence to his line to give the flanker a clear run in and an easy score.
Fly-half Bernard then reinstated the home side's lead from the kicking tee as Bordeaux-Belges took a 10-7 lead after just eight minutes.
Clement Maynadier was shown a yellow card by the referee for lazy running when he got tangled in a threatening Ospreys attack, but the extra man was of no use to the Welsh side who not only failed to score a try, but conceded one during Maynadier's 10 minutes off the field.
The Frenchmen scored at the end of the first quarter, after a kick ahead resulted in a turnover and the Ospreys defence failed to regather in time to stop second rower Berend Botha from crossing on the right side of the pitch. Bernard missed the conversion but slotted a second penalty to give his side a commanding 18-7 lead.
A penalty to Ospreys then gave them an attacking lineout deep inside the opposition half, but Sam Davies forced his pass to Dan Evans who spilled it, and Sofiane Guitoune snapped it up to race in for a try unopposed.
With two minutes to go in the first half Ospreys were awarded a penalty in enemy territory, and though he appeared tempted to kick for the corner, Biggar used the opportunity to reduce the deficit from the tee as the two sides went into the break with Ospreys 25-10 down.
The Welsh side opened the scoring in the second half when they chose a scrum from a penalty right under the opposition posts. The ball was pushed left where an overlap sent Eli Walker over to keep things close at 25-15.
Bordeaux-Belges then suffered their second yellow card when Serin kicked the ball out of the scrum-half's foot while Ospreys were right on the line.
Once again though, despite being a man down it was Bordeaux-Begles who scored next. A scrum feed under their own posts led to the ball being sent right, where Metuisela Talebulamaijaina crashed through Eli Walker and sent an inside ball to Lesgourgues, who kicked ahead and dived on the ball when Evans spilled it into the in-goal area.
At 30-15 down with 15 minutes remaining, Ospreys looked down and out, but the Welsh side continued to fight, scoring tries through Alun Wyn Jones and Biggar, making it 30-27 with five minutes left in the game. However the home side held out, eventually opting to kick for posts with no time remaining to take a six-point win.
