If the Emirates Lions were a desperate team to finish their season on a positive note against the Ospreys at Emirates Airline Park, they did not show it and only managed to beat the Ospreys 29-28.
It was a scrappy start to the game until a brilliant break by Quan Horn down the touchline led to soft hands to Edwill van der Merwe to score in the corner. The Lions led 05-00 after ten minutes of play in the first half.
The Ospreys struck back almost immediately after Richard Kriel's clearance kick was charged down by Will Griffiths, who scored the Ospreys' first try, Dan Edwards converted to edge the Ospreys 07-05 in the lead.
Despite dominating on the field and the statistics, the Lions could not convert that into points. After 30 minutes of play, the Lions launched another attack, and this time the passes stuck and captain Jaco Visagie crashed over to retake the lead 12-07 following the conversion by Lubabalo Dobela.
The Ospreys dominated the early exchanges and kept the pressure on the tryline of their hosts. However, after twelve minutes of play in the second half, James Ratti bulldozed his way over the tryline for the Ospreys' second try. Edwards converted to retake the lead 14-12 for the Ospreys.
The Lions' response was immediate when captain Jaco Visagie scored off the back of a lineout-maul with twenty-seven minutes still to play in the second half.
With the pace of play edging higher and defence becoming obsolete, it was the Ospreys who took advantage of it first when Jack Walsh danced past several defenders to score the Ospreys' third try. Edwards converted.
Brilliant interplay between Lubabalo Dobela and Henco van Wyk put van Wyk in space to score the Lions' fourth try, which Dobela converted to retake the lead 24-21.
And then it was the turn of the Ospreys to score when Sam Parry bulldozed himself over the tryline. With two minutes to play the Ospreys led 28-24.
With time up on the clock, Lubabalo Dobela scored in the corner to secure a 29-28 win for the Lions.
Scorers:
Emirates Lions: Tries: Edwill van der Merwe, Jaco Visagie (2), Henco van Wyk, Lubabalo Dobela. Conversions: Lubabalo Dobela (2).
Ospreys: Tries: Will Griffiths, James Ratti, Jack Walsh, Sam Parry. Conversions: Dan Edwards (4).
Teams
Emirates Lions: 15 Quan Horn, 14 Richard Kriel, 13 Henco van Wyk, 12 Bronson Mills, 11 Edwill van der Merwe, 10 Lubabalo Dobela, 9 Nico Steyn, 8 Jarod Cairns, 7 Renzo du Plessis, 6 JC Pretorius, 5 Ruan Delport, 4 Ruan Venter, 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 2 Jaco Visagie (c), 1 Juan Schoeman. Replacements: 16 Morné Brandon, 17 SJ Kotze, 18 RF Schoeman, 19 Izan Esterhuizen, 20 WJ Steenkamp, 21 Layton Horn, 22 Marius Louw, 23 Kelly Mpeku.
Ospreys: 15 Jack Walsh, 14 Luke Morgan, 13 Evardi Boshoff, 12 Keiran Williams, 11 Ryan Conbeer, 10 Dan Edwards, 9 Reuben Morgan-Williams, 8 Morgan Morse, 7 Harri Deaves, 6 Will Griffiths, 5 James Fender, 4 James Ratti, 3 Tom Botha, 2 Dewi Lake (c), 1 Steffan Thomas. Replacements: 16 Sam Parry, 17 Garyn Phillips, 18 Kian Hire, 19 Lewis Jones, 20 Lewis Lloyd, 21 Kieran Hardy, 22 Owen Williams, 23 Iestyn Hopkins.