Henson kicks Ospreys to win over Scarlets

Ospreys 25 Scarlets 13

Ospreys 25 Scarlets 13

A Celtic League record crowd of 15,183 watched as Gavin Henson kicked the Ospreys to Celtic League victory over their West Wales rivals at the Liberty Stadium.

The Wales star kicked 20 points to give the Ospreys hard-earned revenge for defeat in the reverse fixture at Stradey Park last month.

The Ospreys deserved their 19-10 interval lead with Henson having supplied 14 of their points from his cultured right boot.

The Wales star got them off to a confident start with a sweetly struck drop-goal after only 62 seconds and then proceeded to give the Ospreys useful territory with a couple of siege-gun kicks to touch.

Henson and Mike Hercus swapped penalties in the space of two minutes before the Scarlets breezed into a 10-6 lead.

Matthew Watkins intercepted a telegraphed pass from outside-half Matthew Jones and raced in 60 metres for the converted try.

The second quarter was almost all Ospreys as the Scarlets’ set-piece scrum and line-out started to fail.

The on-song Henson bisected the posts with two more penalties, one from near halfway, while Barry Davies and Hercus were wide of the mark.

And in between the Scarlets’ penalty attempts the Ospreys were awarded a penalty try when the visitors’ scrum was demolished from five metres out.

The Scarlets went close to cutting the Ospreys’ lead when Alix Popham went in at the corner only to have a foot in touch.

And as the Scarlets made five replacements – including the whole front row - in the space of eight minutes, Henson missed his first penalty shot at goal.

It was the Scarlets who got on the scoreboard first after the break with a Hercus penalty, but that was cancelled out by Henson, who had been late-tackled, an offence which got Adam Jones sin-binned.

Five minutes later Jonathan Thomas followed Jones into the cooler following a professional foul.

Henson missed a long-range effort at goal but made up for it 10 minutes later with his fifth successful penalty as the Ospreys opened up a 12-point lead which they were to defend until the end.

more courts articles

DUP calls for measures to prevent Northern Ireland from becoming 'magnet' for asylum seekers DUP calls for measures to prevent Northern Ireland from becoming 'magnet' for asylum seekers
UK's Illegal Migration Act should be disapplied in Northern Ireland, judge rules UK's Illegal Migration Act should be disapplied in Northern Ireland, judge rules
Former prisoner given indefinite hospital order for killing Irishman in London Former prisoner given indefinite hospital order for killing Irishman in London

More in this section

Tom Farrell 11/5/2024 Farrell and Butler to depart Connacht at end of season 
Gavin Coombes 14/5/2024 Coombes starts as Rowntree makes five alterations for Edinburgh trip
Ulster v Benetton - United Rugby Championship Ulster confirm Ireland international Addison and eight others to depart squad
Sport Push Notifications

By clicking on 'Sign Up' you will be the first to know about our latest and best sporting content on this browser.

Sign Up
Sport
Newsletter

Latest news from the world of sport, along with the best in opinion from our outstanding team of sports writers

Sign up
Cookie Policy Privacy Policy Brand Safety FAQ Help Contact Us Terms and Conditions

© Examiner Echo Group Limited