Leinster 12 - 17 Ospreys: Ospreys swoop to take title

WITH four rugby finals taking place around the world yesterday it was important that the best two teams in the Magners League put on a good display for the good name of Celtic rugby and they duly hitched up their breeches and did just that.

Admittedly the match had too many errors to be top class entertainment but there was an early scrap to prove how much it meant to the players and no shortage of ambition throughout the 80 minutes.

The Ospreys lost both the regular season league matches against yesterday's opponents but they ultimately triumphed in this Grand Final thanks to their very own version of the "killer Bs": Biggar, Bowe and Byrne. These three chalked up 14 points in a purple patch during the second quarter and, while the home side dragged themselves back into contention with four penalties from Jonathan Sexton, the damage was done and the gap proved too big to bridge.

Had they started this match the way they finished it, Leinster would be Celtic champions this morning, instead it was a sad end for coach Michael Cheika who leaves in the summer to work his magic at Stade Francais. The big Aussie has transformed the team once dismissed as the "Ladyboys" of Leinster and he deserved a better send-off from his under-performing players.

The Welsh were good value for the win in an exciting climax to the league's inaugural play-offs. They were much slicker with the ball in hand and they made far fewer mistakes on the day, not that that was any great boast given Leinster's handling. On a night when the ball was slippy the home side appear to have greased their mitts with butter because almost everyone in a blue shirt spilled the ball at some point and any momentum was lost as a result.

The only time that Leinster threatened was around the hour mark and again at the very death when they finally managed to string together a few waves of attack without dropping the ball. The crowd found their voice and the blue shirts responded with sustained pressure but they were unable to find the try they needed.

Despite the frantic pace of the game, a simple penalty that Dan Biggar fluffed and any number of line breaks, the match somehow remained scoreless until the 22nd minute when Tommy Bowe showed why he has been the most dangerous winger in the league for the last few years. The try was created by centre Andrew Bishop who picked a sublime out-to-in line that will give Gordon D'Arcy nightmares for years to come. After splitting the line Bishop found Bowe on his shoulder for the simplest of run-ins.

The Welsh side should have had another not long after as the match opened up even more, if that was possible. With Leinster flanker Kevin McLaughlan receiving treatment the Ospreys worked Alun-Wyn Jones into space on the left flank with two players outside and only Rob Kearney manning the barricades. Facing a three to one, the Irish full-back somehow shepherded Jones towards the touchline and then did fantastically well to collar Jerry Collins when the former All Black flanker needlessly cut back inside and the danger was cleared.

It was breathless stuff from everyone involved but the bulk of play took place deep inside Leinster territory and most of the traffic was heading towards the home try line. While the referee saved Leinster on one occasion by calling an obstruction against, a decision that the crowd viewed as long overdue, it wasn't long before the Ospreys' sparkling back division was working its magic once more.

Biggar threw a long pass that tempted Ica Nacewa to go for the intercept. He failed, James Hook shimmied one way then the other before finding Lee Byrne on the inside and D'Arcy again made an attempt at a tackle that would have been half-hearted only if you added two of them together. Jamie Heaslip chased him all the way but Byrne wasn't going to suffer the indignity of being caught by a forward.

All Leinster could manage by way of reply was a penalty from Sexton after Alun-Wyn Jones collared Kearney around the neck. The same man made a clean break not long after but he ran away from his support and when Shane Horgan found some space on the right wing the big winger was hunted down ruthlessly by Ospreys skipper Ryan Jones.

The two kickers swapped penalties at the start of the second half and Hook had a drop goal attempt that you might catch on video bloopers but nowhere else. Leinster crawled a little closer to the Ospreys with Sexton's third and fourth penalties of the match, the last coming with ten minutes left after Byrne caught D'Arcy around the head. The Irish fly-half was wide with a fifth attempt that would have, and should have, dragged his side to within two points.

These were nervous times for the Welsh but they withstood the late onslaught and when they finally got their hands on the ball they ran the clock down for a well-deserved triumph.

Leinster: R Kearney; S Horgan, B O'Driscoll, G D'Arcy, I Nacewa; J Sexton, E Reddan; S Wright, J Fogarty, C J Van Der Linde (C Healy 47), N Hines, M O'Kelly, K McLaughlin (S Keogh 35; T Hogan 42), S Jennings (capt) (R Strauss 66), J Heaslip.

Ospreys: L Byrne; T Bowe, A Bishop, J Hook, S Williams (S Williams 70); D Bigger, M Philips; P James (R Bevington 70), H Bennett, A Jones, A-W Jones, J Thomas (I Gough 61), J Collins, M Holah, R Jones (capt) (F Tiatia 66).

Scorers: Leinster – Pens: Sexton (4). Ospreys: Tries: Bowe, Byrne. Conv: Biggar (2), Pen: Biggar.

Referee: C White (RFU). Attendance: 18,500.