Dan Biggar became only the second player to pass 1,000 RaboDirect PRO12 points as Ospreys saw off a Connacht fightback to win 43-26 in a thrilling encounter at The Sportsground. The Wales fly-half scored the opening try of the game and ended the evening with a personal haul of 18 points, becoming the first Welshman to reach the milestone as Ospreys maintained their unbeaten start to the season. And fittingly it came against a Connacht side including Dan Parks, the only other player in league history to have broken the four-figure barrier. Ospreys scored six tries to Connacht’s two but were given an almighty scare by the home side in the second half, who were boosted by 12 points from the boot of Craig Ronaldson and at one point came within three points of the Welsh outfit during a frenetic second half. Ronaldson had given the home side an early lead from the kicking tee but then immediately gave man-of-the-moment Biggar the perfect start to his historic evening with a wayward intercepted pass which the fly-half returned 40 metres for a sixth-minute try. The fly-half converted his try to put the visiting side in the ascendancy and after ten minutes of further pressure Richard Fussell burst through a gap in the Connacht backline to cross again, with Biggar again successful from the kicking tee. Ronaldson started to make amends for his earlier error as he narrowed the deficit to 14-6 but only Ospreys looked likely to cross again and they did on the half-hour mark. A flowing move from the visitors was finished off by Wales speedster Eli Walker in the corner, but this time Biggar was unable to split the posts from the conversion. Ronaldson then added six points with the boot either side of another successful Biggar penalty as Connacht looked for a way back into the game. Biggar hit the upright with another penalty on the stroke of half-time, leaving Ospreys 22-12 ahead at the interval. Despite being second best for the opening period Connacht came out strongly after the break and were rewarded on 50 minutes as lock Aly Muldowney put wing Danie Poolman through with a brilliant pass. Dan Parks added the conversion to bring the home side within three points, trailing 22-19. But the visitors responded immediately as Tito Tebaldi touched down under the posts on the hour following a superb solo effort to register his first try in an Ospreys jersey and give Steve Tandy’s side the bonus point. Biggar added the conversion to re-establish the ten-point lead but scrum-half Kieran Marmion scored again almost instantly, with Park’s extra points bringing Connacht back to within three points. But wing Jeff Hassler removed any doubt as he crossed eight minutes from time, with Biggar’s conversion putting him into the history books and Ospreys ten points clear again. . Two minutes from time Alun Wyn-Jones scored another, with Biggar converting again to secure the win and leave Ospreys joint top with Glasgow at the summit of the table.
