Leicester 30 Ospreys 12Gavin Henson announced his return to action for almost six months with a first-minute break which would have resulted in a try had he not inexplicably stepped into the arms of a defender when he had a free run to the line. In the heel of the hunt, Leicester moved to the top of the group with a bonus point victory having been outplayed in the opening half.
Henson's first contribution was to split the Leicester defence by gliding past a flanker and a prop, but instead of continuing his outside break with an unguarded line ahead of him, he stepped into the arms of Ollie Smith and a certain try was lost. Unfazed, he attempted a 65-yard drop goal, he was stamped on after being caught at the bottom of a ruck and he created his side's first try with a neat inside pass to his centre colleague Sonny Parker.
The Ospreys sought space rather than contact and their 12-6 interval lead was a meagre reward for their superiority. Leicester looked neolithic in comparison with only the prop Darren Morris showing any lightness of touch, but they used the half-time interval to work out a way of getting across the gainline by using blockers to create a path for the scrum-half Harry Ellis.
With Leicester putting pressure on the Ospreys' lineout - which had been the platform for the region's two tries thanks to clean takes by the 21-year old second row Ian Evans - the Welsh team's possession dried up and they became stuck in reverse gear. Henson, not surprisingly, started to feel the pace but even at peak fitness his influence would have been marginal as 18 unanswered points in 26 minutes transformed what had been an intriguing contest."I am sore, in body and mind," said Henson. "Most parts of my body ache and it was a game we looked like winning for an hour."
The sides will meet again at the Liberty Stadium on Sunday, a match the Ospreys have to win to retain any hope of qualifying for the quarter-finals. They surprisingly left the Wales wing Shane Williams on the bench and his replacement, Richard Mustoe, justified his selection by setting up his side's second try with a clean break and a perfectly timed pass to the full-back Adrian Cashmore which gave them a six-point lead.
It would have been greater had Henson taken his early chance and Ellis not somehow gotten his arm under the ball as the flanker James Bater looked to touch it down.
The Tigers exploited the profligacy, also using the lineout as a platform for tries. They created three from the set-piece, two after kicking penalties to touch, while the fourth was taken from the Ospreys' manual, the front rowers' Morris and George Chuter's legerdemain creating a try for the latter. It was not vintage Leicester, but it was enough.
LEICESTER: Vesty; Lloyd (Healey 50), Smith, Cornwell, Murphy; Goode (Broadfoot 80), Ellis (Hipkiss 77); Moreno, Chuter (Buckland 80), Morris (Holford 72), L Deacon, Kay, B Deacon, Jennings (Abraham 80), Corry (capt). Tries: B Deacon, Ellis, Chuter, Healey. Cons: Goode 2. Pens: Goode 2.
OSPREYS: Cashmore (S Williams 64); Terblanche, Parker, Henson, Mustoe; Connor (M Jones 75), Spice; D Jones, B Williams (capt; Bennett 64), A Jones (Millward 70), Newman, Evans, Bater, Thomas, Tandy. Tries: Parker, Cashmore. Con: Connor.
Referee: J Jutge (France)
