Williams upbeat despite crushing defeat

Ospreys 43 Ulster 0: MATT WILLIAMS remained upbeat after the hammering that keeps Ulster rooted to the bottom of the Magners League. The coach watched on in horror as his winless side struggled with the quality of the star-studded Welsh region in Swansea on Saturday night.

But he reckons the defeat will stand the Irish province in good stead and provide an eye-opener ahead of the Heineken Cup kick-off next month.

Williams said: "The scoreline was disappointing but no one expected us to win. The Ospreys showed why they are a fantastic team. Physically they are a massive side with great individuals and will be a similar test to Stade Français, whom we face in two weeks' time."

The Ireland and former Ulster star Tommy Bowe sealed a perfect evening for the Ospreys with their bonus-point fourth try and his 30th in the Magners League, which equalled Matthew Watkins's all-time try-scoring record.

Bowe's 53rd-minute score sealed an emphatic win that began in an explosive opening quarter, when the Ospreys exposed weak defending to run in three tries.

Scrumhalf Rhodri Wells opened the scoring in the eighth minute before the Wales stars James Hook and Shane Williams kept the hosts' feet firmly on the accelerator in front of national head coach Warren Gatland at the Liberty Stadium.

After Bowe's delightful finish, using fine football skills before diving on the loose ball, Lee Byrne and Ryan Jones compounded a miserable evening for Ulster.

Williams's men arrived in west Wales following three successive defeats and a dismal record casting a shadow over them after the failure to win in Wales since beating the Dragons in September 2006.

They were without their Ireland hooker Rory Best and they missed his hard graft and grunt up front.

It was the front five of Seán Holley's side that provided the platform for the opening try.

Winning the breakdown area and dominating the collisions, the Ospreys set off at a frantic pace before the backs showed their supreme talent out wide.

Fullback Byrne gathered the high ball and set them free in a free-flowing move. The ball found its way inevitably to Shane Williams, who fended off three challengers before offloading to Adam Jones. The Wales prop's neat offload found the young rookie Wells, who fought off the last-ditch tackles of Kieron Dawson and Niall O'Connor to touch down in the left corner.

Clinton Schifcoske had an off day with the boot and missed the first of two penalty opportunities in the 12th minute. And he was made to pay dearly for his failure to put Ulster on the scoreboard when Hook stormed through to double the Ospreys' advantage within 60 seconds.

Scottish wing Nikki Walker moved in off the left flank and his go-forward gave Hook the platform to spread the play. His reverse exchange with Byrne caught Ulster cold and Hook had the simple task of touching down under the posts.

Williams edged them nearer to the bonus point with a routine finish in the right corner as Ulster trailed by 19 points at the interval.

Matt McCullough was the first of three Ulster players yellow carded in the second half as Bowe, Byrne and Wales captain Ryan Jones joined in on the act with late tries.

SCORERS- Ospreys - Tries: Wells, Hook, Williams, Bowe, Byrne, R Jones Cons: Hook (5) Pen: Hook

OSPREYS:L Byrne; N Walker, T Bowe, J Hook, S Williams; D Biggar, R Wells; P James, R Hibbard, A Jones; A Lloyd, I Evans; J Thomas, M Holah, T Smith. Replacements: I Gough for Lloyd, R Webb for Wells (both 54 mins), G Henson for Biggar, H Bennett for Hibbard, D Jones for A Jones, R Jones for Smith (all 60 mins).

ULSTER:B Cunningham; T Nagusa, R Dewey, A Trimble, C Schifcofske; N O'Connor, I Boss; J Fitzpatrick, N Brady, BJ Botha; C del Fava, R Caldwell; Matt McCullough, K Dawson, R Diack. Replacements: P Steinmetz for Cunningham (27 mins), T Court for Fitzpatrick (48 mins), S Ferris for McCullough (57 mins), E O'Donoghue for Caldwell, S Philpott for Brady (both 63 mins), P Marshall for Boss (64 mins), I Humphreys for O'Connor (65 mins).

Referee:Peter Allan (SRU).