Dan Edwards gives Warren Gatland a little to think about

By Roger Panting

Cardiff ………………. 13pts

Tries: Botham 6, Hughes 54

Penalty: Thomas 70

Ospreys …………….. 13pts

Try: Edwards 50

Conversions: Edward 50

Penalties: Edwards 31, 68

A terrific effort from Ospreys should have seen victory and it was rough justice that high-flying Cardiff escaped with an undeserved draw.

Ospreys had to overcome the loss of James Fender, in the 38th minute for a croc roll on Dan Thomas but remained the better team to have their opponents hanging on grimly at the death on this New Year’s Day clash.

Ospreys head coach Mark Jones, said: “We are frustrated that we didn’t take those opportunities at the end. Last week against Scarlets we nailed them, this week we didn’t.

“We also blew a number of chances in the first half when individuals made rash decisions.”

Ospreys Maintain Record

Despite their profligacy, Ospreys were able to maintain their impressive record against Cardiff and there is no doubt that they continue to have a raw deal in terms of national selection.

Morgan Morris, Keiran Williams, Reuben Morgan-Williams and Keelan Giles are among those who haven’t had the recognition that their consistent displays have deserved and it may be a pity that trial matches are a thing of the past.

In days gone by, an outstanding performance in a trial merited selection.

One of the best examples being Cambridge University captain and No.8, Roger Michaelson, who in 1963 was selected to play against England after starring in a Possibles win over the Probables.

However, there was to be no happy ending as Wales lost 13-6 and Michaelson was never picked again.

Moving on, this game was still as near to a final trial as you could get. On the strength of it very few Cardiff players would have been be selected as Sam Parry, Tom Botha, Morgan-Williams and Williams outshone counterparts, Evan Lloyd, Keiron Assirrati, Ellis Bevan and Ben Thomas, all of whom are incumbents in the Welsh squad.

Having been labelled the best back in Wales by coach Warren Gatland, Thomas shows little to justify that tag while, in contrast, 21-year-old Dan Edwards illustrated why he should be the next cab off rank when Gareth Anscombe moves on.

Match Action

Cardiff began strongly and were rewarded with a try from James Botham as their opponents conceded five penalties in the opening 10 minutes.

The remainder of the half saw Ospreys dominate but both Morris and Max Nagy blew golden opportunities. In addition, Morgan-Williams crossed the line after a superb break from Keiran Williams but there was an earlier knock-on. As a result they only had a penalty from Edwards to show at half-time when they trailed 5-3.

Soon after the restart, Teddy Williams was yellow-carded for persistent team infringements and Ospreys took their chance when Edwards waltzed through some weak tackling.

Cardiff drew level with a Dafydd Hughes try from a driving lineout before Rhys Litterick was sin-binned for persistent scrum infringements.

Edwards kicked the resulting penalty but Thomas saved Cardiff ’s bacon by quickly responding.

Cardiff head coach Matt Sherratt said: “It has to be a couple of points dropped when you are playing against 14.

“It was a fast start but because of the penalty count, the game meandered and it wasn’t much of a spectacle with 26 penalties when the average is 19.”