| Ospreys Overwhelm Cardiff In One-Sided Derby |
Ospreys |
32 - 10 |
Cardiff Blues |
| Liberty Stadium Att: 8,499 |
| Tuesday 9th September 2008, 18:35 |
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| The Ospreys signalled their intent for the season ahead as they cut the Cardiff Blues to shreds at the Arms Park on Tuesday night, with fly-half James Hook helping himself to two tries and 22 points in all. |
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| Ospreys number 10 James Hook races clear for the first of his two second half tries against Cardiff |
| © Huw Evans Agency |
A sizzling second half performance saw the Ospreys chalk up their second win of the new campaign and firmly establish themselves as the early season pacesetters.
Fly-half James Hook was on top form as he racked up 22 points - two tries, three conversions and two penalty goals - and also helped create a try for Tommy Bowe on his home debut.
Shane Williams, making his first appearance of the season, got the ball rolling with a third-minute try but playing on the back foot for much of the first half, Cardiff were only 5-3 down at the break thanks to a Ben Blair penalty.
It was a different story in the second period though as two Hook penalties helped Sean Holley's men reassert themselves and then three converted tries in a devastating 18-minute spell ended the game as a contest.
Winger Aled Brew's late seven-pointer was effectively a consolation score as the Blues' six-match unbeaten run in the league came to a sorry end.
With the teams playing for the second time in four days and with a third fixture to come for both on Friday, coaches Holley and David Young predictably made considerable changes to their line-ups.
The Ospreys made seven changes to the team that won 16-3 at Connacht last Friday, with internationals Shane Williams, Duncan Jones and Alun Wyn Jones all recalled.
Cardiff, who drew 16-16 with reigning champions Leinster in their opener, made nine alterations altogether.
Gethin Jenkins, Tom Shanklin, club captain Paul Tito and half-backs Nicky Robinson and Jason Spice were all benched by Young, while influential flanker Martyn Williams was left out completely.
With their opening three league fixtures against the competition's last three champion sides - Leinster, the Ospreys and Ulster - the Blues have understandably adopted a squad rotation policy.
Cardiff's sole win to date at the Liberty Stadium was back in December 2005 and their chances of repeating that feat lessened as early as the third minute when Williams waltzed over in the right corner.
He scampering over for his try after a lovely link-up with Lee Byrne, who stretched the Cardiff defence with a powerful run and hand-off of Brew.
Hook missed the conversion, however the Ospreys continued to have the early edge. Winning the forward exchanges and with Bowe and Byrne excelling under the high ball, the hosts looked solid all over the pitch.
Yet Cardiff were able to soak up that early pressure and a relieving tenth-minute penalty from Ceri Sweeney brought play up to the halfway line.
Indeed, the Blues had three decent attacks in the hosts' 22 as the first quarter came to a close. Unfortunately, their movement was too lateral and Andy Powell knocked on during their best attack.
Things were almost coming together for both teams during a really fluid phase. Sweeney's beautifully-timed kick feint and pass set Powell charging through the middle past two tackles.
Nevertheless, the big back rower's pass to the supporting Blair was too high.
The visitors continued to lack the necessary precision when going forward. On 21 minutes, Richard Mustoe gained ground with a sniping run and offloaded for Darren Allinson, who was making his first start for the region.
The young scrum half's kick towards the home 22 was shepherded into touch by Hook though, and the Ospreys were soon back probing in the Blues' half.
Ireland international Bowe, who was industrious throughout, came in off his wing and charged through a midfield gap, bringing play up to the Blues' 22.
But the Ospreys could not fully penetrate the Cardiff defence and they were almost made to pay in the 31st minute when Hook failed to clear his lines and his wild pass had to be touched down over the try line by hooker Huw Bennett.
The Blues kept play in the Ospreys' half and with Ian Evans pinged for coming in at the side of a ruck, Cardiff were presented with their first scoring chance. Blair took it - his 33rd minute penalty cut the deficit to just two points.
Williams agonised at the other end when he knocked on as another try looked on the cards and Cardiff missed an opportunity to sneak ahead in first half injury-time when Blair's monster penalty kick, which had the accuracy but lacked the distance, dropped short.
The second half looked to be a slow burner but some powerful runs from Filo Tiatia, who was making his 50th appearance for the Ospreys, and man-of-the-match Byrne helped Holley's men motor ahead.
Hook kicked his first successful penalty after Jamie Robinson and replacement Shanklin were caught offside.
Blues prop Gary Powell was whistled up for a similar offence in the 51st minute, allowing Hook to move the Ospreys onto 11 points.
The tide really began to turn when Byrne brilliantly powered through midfield tackles from Allinson, Sweeney and Shanklin and offloaded for Hook, who ran a great support line, to sprint clear and score under the posts.
The fly-half added the extras and had a big part to play in Bowe's 56th-minute touchdown. A well-placed kick out to the left from Hook invited Bowe on.
The former Ulster winger connected with the ball on the half-volley, nudging it over the advancing Blair, and he gleefully collected it to score and open his Ospreys try account.
Hook converted for a 25-3 score-line and worse was to follow for the Blues.
Ten minutes from time, replacement scrum half Jamie Nutbrown, another of the Ospreys' recent signings, linked with Ryan Jones off the back of a scrum.
The New Zealand 'A' international flew through a gap and was alert enough to send a skip pass out for Hook to run in his second try, which he converted himself.
Job done and after prop Paul James had come off the bench to become only the third Ospreys player to reach 100 games, the Blues salvaged some pride.
Brew's score in the left corner was impressively converted by Blair but the gloss remained on what was a particularly polished final half-hour from the Ospreys.
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| First half timeline |
| 3 | Ospreys | Try - S Williams |
| 33 | Cardiff Blues | Penalty kick - B Blair |
| Second half timeline |
| 41 | Cardiff Blues | Substitution - G Jenkins on for T Filise |
| 41 | Cardiff Blues | Substitution - T Shanklin on for J Roberts |
| 46 | Ospreys | Penalty kick - J Hook |
| 51 | Ospreys | Penalty kick - J Hook |
| 52 | Ospreys | Try - J Hook |
| 52 | Ospreys | Conversion - J Hook |
| 56 | Ospreys | Try - T Bowe |
| 56 | Ospreys | Conversion - J Hook |
| 58 | Ospreys | Substitution - N Walker on for A Bishop |
| 65 | Cardiff Blues | Substitution - T Filise on for G Jenkins |
| 65 | Cardiff Blues | Substitution - P Tito on for B Davies |
| 66 | Ospreys | Substitution - J Nutbrown on for R Wells |
| 68 | Ospreys | Substitution - P James on for A Jones |
| 68 | Ospreys | Substitution - I Gough on for A Jones |
| 68 | Cardiff Blues | Substitution - M Molitika on for A Powell |
| 68 | Cardiff Blues | Substitution - M Molitika on for B White |
| 69 | Ospreys | Try - J Hook |
| 69 | Ospreys | Conversion - J Hook |
| 70 | Ospreys | Substitution - T Smith on for F Tiatia |
| 71 | Cardiff Blues | Substitution - G Jenkins on for T Filise |
| 71 | Cardiff Blues | Substitution - G Jenkins on for G Powell |
| 71 | Cardiff Blues | Substitution - T Filise on for G Powell |
| 72 | Ospreys | Substitution - E Shervington on for H Bennett |
| 72 | Ospreys | Substitution - G Owen on for S Williams |
| 76 | Ospreys | Substitution - A Jones on for D Jones |
| 79 | Cardiff Blues | Try - A Brew |
| 79 | Cardiff Blues | Conversion - B Blair |
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