Sam Davies overcame a mixed day from the kicking tee to lead Ospreys to their first win of the GUINNESS PRO12 season with a 25-22 victory at Benetton Treviso. Dan Evans scored the Ospreys’ first try of the season, James Ambrosini replied with a fine solo score of his own before Ben John’s try sent the Welsh side into the break with a 12-8 lead. After the interval Davies crossed for the Ospreys’ third try but the Italians refused to buckle as Davies – who missed three penalties and a conversion in all – kept them interested. Jayden Hayward finished off a superb counter attack to close the gap back to seven, Davies then kicked a penalty to stretch the lead back out but with the clock in the red Luca Bigi went over to seal a deserved losing bonus point at the Stadio Monigo. The Italians are now without a win since February but they took the lead in the third minute, Hayward slotting over a penalty for an early lead. But the Welsh region, stung by their slow start to the season, clearly had a point to prove and their scrum twice won kickable penalties. However, Davies’ radar was slightly off and he wasted both chances for his side as the game passed the quarter-hour mark. An injury to Hanno Dirksen then brought Evans into the back line and replacement did not have to wait long to make an impact as he crossed for the region’s first try of the season after a fine team move. Again Davies was off target with the extras and Treviso soon re-took the lead and it was Ambrosini who did it all virtually on his own. The fly-half made the initial break, dummied his way into the clear and outpaced Davies for a superb solo score that Hayward failed to convert – meaning Treviso led 8-5 at the half-hour mark. The next time the Welsh region advanced into Italian territory they turned down a kick at goal to go to the corner and after a prolonged spell of pressure on the try line, Davies flung a long pass out to the left and John stepped his way over. Davies made no mistake with the extras this time and when Hayward’s long-range penalty came back off the crossbar the Ospreys led 12-8 at the break. The second half took a while to come to life, a Davies penalty in the 54th minute stretching the lead out to seven in the 54th minute. He then missed with an easier effort but soon made up for the mistake with what should have been the match-winning score, crossing under the posts and converting his own try for a 22-8 lead. But the Italians were not to be written off and Hayward finished off a slick counter-attack move that he converted himself to make it 22-15. Davies’ second penalty of the day pushed the lead back out to ten but in the dying moments Treviso won a penalty in kickable range and Hayward went for the posts, hoping to seal a losing bonus point. The full-back’s kick came back off the post, seemingly ending their hopes, but they collected the rebound, built the phases and eventually it was Bigi who crashed over with the 80 minutes long since up on the clock. To buy tickets for the GUINNESS PRO12 Grand Final click here. Also follow us on Facebook, join the conversation on Twitter, sign up to our YouTube channel for extensive match highlights and sign up for our newsletter for regular updates on the GUINNESS PRO12.
