Second half tries from Mike Phillips and Ryan Jones helped the Ospreys pull clear of their Welsh rivals the Scarlets in front of a large Liberty Stadium crowd. The former champions’ 20-6 victory saw them regain second place in the Magners League table. The Ospreys made it seven wins on the trot at Liberty Stadium in all competitions as they turned things around in the second half thanks to converted efforts from the returning Phillips and Wales captain Jones. The Scarlets, who led 6-3 at half-time, were without rested fly-half Stephen Jones and flanker and captain Simon Easterby, as well as injured hooker Matthew Rees (shoulder), but they were very competitive in the opening 40 minutes and deserved their lead. Jones’ absence saw youngster Rhys Priestland step in for only his second start of the campaign at number 10 as Welsh international Morgan Stoddart was fit to return at full-back. Former Neath player Gareth Morris also got a notable call-up for the Scarlets on the right wing. The Ospreys, boosted by a capacity 20,520-strong crowd, handed scrum half Phillips his first start since March when he damaged his knee ligaments. His Wales colleague Gavin Henson, who touched down twice from full-back against the Dragons, was restored to a centre berth alongside Sonny Parker. Given the current injury situation, with star winger Shane Williams (shoulder) their latest concern, Ospreys coach Sean Holley could still field an enviable starting line-up. An early offside saw Priestland kick the Scarlets ahead and while the initial phases of play were frenetic with both sides preferring the kicking option as they sought territory, it was still compelling viewing. The tackling was fierce and in the bruising exchanges up front, the visitors showed good cohesion and discipline as they carved out a second penalty chance for Priestland, after 9 minutes, which he duly dispatched. James Hook missed his first shot at the posts at the other end and in a scappy opening period, this derby clash took a while to ignite. The Ospreys’ one real try-scoring chance of the half saw Parker put Henson haring through a gap on the left wing and Henson’s timely offload sent Jonny Vaughton dancing down the touchline. However, Vaughton had to come back inside for support as the Scarlets cover got back in time and the chance went a-begging as the visitors’ defence quickly realigned. Hook landed a penalty in the 23rd minute to get the home side off the mark and as the action began to heat up, Scarlets full-back Stoddart and Ospreys flanker Jones were yellow carded in quick succession by referee Nigel Owens for killing the ball on the deck. The Scarlets forwards did create opportunities in the hosts’ 22 but despite the best efforts of stand-in captain Vernon Cooper, lock Simon Maling and prop Deacon Manu, they could not convert from close range. Then just before the half-time interval, Hook missed with a lengthy penalty kick to leave the Scarlets with a slim advantage for the second half. But it was an altogether different Ospreys team that came out for the restart. Marty Holah was the only change in personnel yet Sean Holley’s men just seemed to find an extra gear as they increased their accuracy across the board and began to make inroads into the Scarlets half. Holah had a try ruled out for an earlier knock on from Hook but as Richard Hibbard, Alun Wyn Jones and the abrasive Filo Tiatia carried with menace, that elusive try eventually came just short of the hour mark. Making use of quick ruck ball, Phillips scampered through for a 56th minute try with a neat dummy and two hand-offs seeing him race over to the left of the posts. Hook converted for 10-6 and a further penalty from the fly-half made it a seven-point game. With the Ospreys seizing more and more control of possession, it took a meaty tackle from Jonathan Davies to deny Parker a try in the right corner, after a superb link-up with Tommy Bowe. And fittingly it fell to Ryan Jones, who put in another athletic and purposeful performance, to secure the match points for the Ospreys. He slipped through a tackle and powered over under the posts late on, leaving Hook with a simple conversion as the Ospreys claimed the match points and the Scarlets failed to follow up on their win over Cardiff last weekend.
