European Rugby Champions Cup: Ospreys earn late draw against Racing Metro Paris
Last Updated: 06/12/14 6:13pm
Ospreys maintained their unbeaten record at the Liberty Stadium with a battling 19-19 draw with Racing Metro Paris in the European Rugby Champions Cup on Saturday.
The Welsh region entered Round Three of Europe’s premier competition with an unbeaten record on home soil and a late Josh Matavesi score cancelled out Francois van der Merwe’s first-half try for Racing Metro as Ospreys claimed a draw to leave Pool 5 wide open.
Dan Biggar kicked 14 points - as did his opposite number Johan Goosen - but Wales' player of the series from the Autumn Internationals will be left to lament a rushed penalty attempt which struck the woodwork and ultimately cost Ospreys a vital victory.
Following Northampton’s bonus-point win in Treviso earlier in the day the pressure was on the Parisian side, but their failure to win in Wales means they now stand level on points with reigning Aviva Premiership champions Saints ahead of a rematch with Ospreys in the French capital next weekend.
Although there are likely to be a number of twists and turns before the quarter-final line-up takes shape next month, Racing's trip to Northampton in late January already looks like being a group decider.
But Ospreys have at least given themselves a fighting chance, spurred into a second-half revival largely through the combined excellence of Wales internationals Rhys Webb and Justin Tipuric.
Biggar was among four players in the Ospreys line-up who started last weekend's Wales win against South Africa, being joined by his half-back partner Webb, hooker Scott Baldwin and lock Alun-Wyn Jones.
Goosen, deputising in the Racing number 10 shirt for Ireland star Jonathan Sexton, kicked a fourth-minute penalty that rewarded initial forward dominance, before he doubled his team's advantage shortly afterwards.
Slow Ospreys
Ospreys were slow to find continuity, but Webb sparked a 13th-minute attack that ended with Racing infringing inside their own 22, and Biggar's angled penalty halved the deficit.
There was no escaping, though, Ospreys' significant sense of strife up-front as Racing used an impressive driving maul to make considerable headway, and there could be few complaints when Van der Merwe scored out wide before Goosen landed the touchline conversion.
Racing's dominance was again underlined when the Ospreys resorted to illegal means to halt another maul, and English referee J.P. Doyle had no hesitation in sin-binning Wales international back-row James King.
Goosen rubbed salt into the wound by completing his penalty hat-trick, and although Biggar quickly replied for the home side, there was no doubting Racing's supremacy in all critical areas.
Ospreys, who were without their leading loosehead props Nicky Smith and Duncan Jones because of injury, pressed, yet Biggar missed an easy penalty chance before Webb's break and kick ahead just failed to find chasing wing Eli Walker, who was beaten to the ball by his opposite number Adrien Plante.
Biggar made amends for his uncharacteristic blunder by cutting the gap with his third successful penalty four minutes later, and there was a far greater sense of urgency about the home team as they tried to heighten their attacking tempo.
A fourth Biggar penalty gave Racing further food for thought, but just when it looked as though Goosen's 73rd-minute drop-goal would be enough, back came the Ospreys with Matavesi's superbly-worked touchdown that Biggar converted to secure a share of the points.
