Ospreys crush sorry Ulster

The Ospreys shrugged off the absence of the injured Gavin Henson to earn their second win in three Heineken Cup Pool Two matches with a 48-17 thrashing of Ulster at the Liberty Stadium.

Nikki Walker scored two tries while Sonny Parker, Justin Marshall, Alun Wyn-Jones, Filo Tiatia and Lee Byrne all touched down as the Welsh region scored a valuable bonus point.

James Hook added five conversions and a penalty for the Ospreys, who had already secured the extra point before Isaac Boss went over for Ulster's first try.

Henson's hand injury - and alleged rowdy behaviour on a train - was the focus of all the pre-match publicity, but early scores from Parker and Marshall brought the attention back to matters on the field.

Third defeat

Ulster, whose coach Mark McCall left his post following a thumping home defeat to Gloucester last month, suffered their third successive Pool Three loss.

Caretaker boss Steve Williams, a former Wales international, would have gained satisfaction from some spirited defence, but Ulster were starved of possession and could offer little in attack, apart from touchdowns by Boss and Simon Danielli.

The teams meet again in Belfast next Friday night, when Ospreys coach Lyn Jones will demand a repeat performance after seeing his side post their biggest Heineken Cup win.

But Ulster's European campaign is all over bar the shouting, leaving them lurching towards a pool stage exit for the ninth successive season.

Ospreys blasted out of the blocks, taking a fifth-minute lead when full-back Lee Byrne's beautifully-timed run enabled him to send Parker over wide out.

Pressure

They then bagged a second try inside the opening quarter following sustained pressure that saw Ulster inevitably run out of defensive numbers and Marshall crossed unopposed.

Fly-half Paddy Wallace reduced Ulster's deficit by slotting an angled penalty, and the Ospreys could make no further inroads before the break.

The second period was all about Ospreys going in pursuit of a bonus point, but once it arrived they didn't take their foot off the pedal.

Only some committed tackling kept out a hungry back division, although Ulster were powerless to stop Walker and Byrne completing a six-try Ospreys performance.