Perpignan see off Ospreys

Perpignan kept alive their faint hopes of qualification from Pool Three with a hard-fought 17-15 win over Ospreys at the Stade Aime Giral on Saturday.

The French outfit maintained their 100 percent home record, but Ospreys claimed what could prove a valuable losing bonus point with a much-improved second-half display.

With Leicester crushing Treviso, the Welshmen now face a crunch clash with the Tigers at Liberty Stadium next week to decide who will take top spot in the group.

Ospreys had gone into the game looking to become the first Welsh side to defeat Perpignan on home soil, but that looked a far-fetched notion after an error-strewn first-half display.

First chance

The visitors started well and did have the first chance as an incisive three-quarter move saw them cut through Perpignan in midfield.

Winger Tommy Bowe kicked ahead but, despite having the beating of the home defence, the Irish winger couldn't quite touch the ball down before it bounced dead.

On the quarter hour the hosts did get on the board as Marty Holah was penalised for failing to roll away at the tackle. Standing in for the injured Dan Carter, Steve Meyer showed no nerves as he confidently slotted the resulting penalty.

Meyer doubled the lead five minutes later as another Ospreys infringement proved costly, Filo Tiatia was the guilty party this time as he slowed down the play of the ball, receiving a warning from the referee.

With Perpignan growing in confidence as the half progressed, their opponents struggled to cope with the penalty count rising as a consequence.

Meyer was presented with his third chance of the afternoon from distance on 34 minutes and once again produced a high-quality kick to edge his side further in front and things got even worse for Ospreys moments later as Lee Byrne limped off with an ankle injury.

Four minutes later the advantage was extended to 12-0 and an increasingly ragged Ospreys found themselves down to 14 men.

A rapid break from the hosts had left the Welshmen desperately trying to regroup inside their own 22 and, following their earlier warning, it was no surprise to see Mike Phillips sin-binned as he slowed things down at a ruck.

Meyer easily landed the penalty to send his side in at the interval in complete command.

Perpignan picked up where they had left off after the break, making their numerical advantage count as they scored what proved the match-winning try.

A period of sustained pressure on the Ospreys line finally told when number eight Henry Tuilagi crashed over from close range - although Meyer pulled the conversion wide of the posts to ensure the lead stayed at 17-0.

The visitors looked dead and buried at that point, but when Phillips returned from the bin they came back into the game as an attacking force and the scrum-half was instrumental as they gave themselves a lifeline on 58 minutes.

Fine break

Following a fine break, Phillips came up with a good off-load which allowed the ball to be spun out wide where Shane Williams gathered superbly, despite the attentions of a defender, and finished expertly - Hook missed the extras.

But they continued to build up a head of steam and were rewarded eight minutes later with a second try.

On this occasion Bowe was the architect as he collected and glided past two defenders before slipping a delightful ball to substitute Jonny Vaughton who touched down unopposed.

Hook slotted a fine conversion from out wide and then set up a grandstand finish as he was successful with a penalty four minutes from time, but Perpignan held on to ensure both teams remain alive in the competition.