As the other three regions battled to tight defeats against French clubs, Ospreys beat Lions at Parc Y Scarlets to earn an important win in the context of their season.

While Cardiff and Scarlets lost away from home, Dragons battled the beginnings of Storm Darragh, falling at the last hurdle against Montpellier.

The stormy weather got the better of much of grassroots rugby this weekend, including a full round of Super Rygbi Cymru. Let’s get into the weekend as it happened for the regions!

Ospreys Claim Vital Victory

In the context of their season, Ospreys’ 30-14 defeat of Lions at Parc Y Scarlets on Sunday could not have been much more significant.

The match, moved from the Swansea.com Stadium to Parc Y Scarlets – home of arch rivals Scarlets – due to damaged sustained by the former in Storm Darragh, came off the back of Ospreys worst defeat for a while: a dismal 22-17 loss at Zebre.

Languishing in 14th in the United Rugby Championship, Toby Booth’s side may have felt a slight relief to see a brace of European games immediately after.

However, with Lions at home and Montpellier away, these two matches represent two of the trickier matches in the EPCR Challenge Cup this season.

So, to come out of the Lions match with a bonus point victory, thanks to tries from Jac Morgan, Keelan Giles, Kieran Hardy, and Dan Edwards, is an important result for the Ospreys’ season.

Booth echoed this after the match, praising his squad.

“We are really pleased. We love the competition and are excited by it,” the Ospreys head coach said.

“Campaigns are not always straightforward and we have had our challenges. The most impressive thing was despite what had happened previously, we looked like ourselves today and that is the biggest compliment I can give us.”

Scarlett Lose A Tight Encounter (Again)

For the second time in two weekends, Scarlets fans will be ruing their side’s inability to convert tough, solid away performances into points, as they feel to a late Bayonne penalty to lose 17-16.

The match mirrored a very similar URC defeat to Glasgow Warriors – that one ending 17-15 at Scotstoun – with Ioan Lloyd again looking good for Scarlets who were excellent as a defensive collective.

When Lloyd took Scarlets into the lead on 74 minutes, the travelling contingent must have been struck with a powerful sense of deja vu, as the referee gave Bayonne a penalty of their own two minutes later, which was converted.

Settling for a losing bonus point, Scarlets have a great chance to return to winning ways against their Georgian nemesis Black Lion next weekend.

“That’s a second week in a row that we’ve had that frustration at the end,” Scarlets head coach Dwayne Peel said.

“It was a huge effort and we got ourselves ahead so it’s really disappointing to give away that late penalty. A bonus point could be important at the end of the pool stage but we know it should have been a lot more.”

Dragons Battle In Storm Darragh

Dragons suffered another tight defeat, this time in European action against Montpellier, on Friday night.

The match went ahead despite the incoming Storm Darragh and all the points were scored in the first half as the conditions worsened as the game went on.

Playing against the wind in the first half, Dragons were excellent, trailing just 14-18 at the break. However, with the clock in the red and the ball in Montpellier’s 22, Dragons failed to score the try needed for victory.

With a trip to resurgent Newcastle Falcons on the cards next week, qualification from the group stage looks like an uphill task for Dragons this season.

“The mood is quite sombre and the realisation of opportunities missed again,” said Dragons interim head coach Filo Tiatia.

“We weren’t clinical enough and there were some moments where we did not play as a team. We just have to learn faster.”

Cardiff Show Their Quality But Surrender Lead Twice

Despite scoring four tries, and leading twice, Cardiff fell to a 37-26 defeat at Lyon on Saturday.

Tries from Josh Adams and Daniel Southworth gave the visitors a 5-14 lead, but Lyon hit back to lead 17-14 at the break.

France international Ethan Dumortier scored twice as Lyon threatened to break away. Cardiff, though, retook the lead through Ellis Bevan and Gabe Hamer-Webb, only for a failed restart to gift Esteban Gonzalez a try, and ultimately the win for his side.

Cardiff were denied a second bonus point as Lyon struck two late penalties.

With Cardiff finding some form in the URC, coupled with the fact that they have serious pedigree in this competition, Matt Sherratt will be targeting a run in this competition. A home game against the Cheetahs next Saturday offers the perfect chance to get back to winning ways.

Results

Friday

Dragons RFC 14-18 Montpellier Herault Rugby

Saturday

Aviron Bayonnais 17-16 Scarlets

Lyon Olympique Universitaire 37-26 Cardiff Rugby

Sunday

Ospreys 30-14 Emirates Lions

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