Eli Walker’s try double gave Ospreys a second GUINNESS PRO12 win of the season as they picked up a comfortable, bonus-point victory over a subdued Zebre at the Liberty Stadium. Zebre had won back-to-back matches and were seeking a third consecutive PRO12 win for the first time in their history but tries from Jonathan Spratt, Josh Matavesi and Walker helped Ospreys into a 17-3 half-time lead. And the hosts refused to take their foot off the pedal after the break as Justin Tipuric, Walker’s second and Sam Parry saw them triumph 36-3 It was just the Welshmen’s second victory in their last eight GUINNESS PRO12 matches and gives them a platform to build on heading into European action. Ospreys coach Steve Tandy made four changes from the starting XV that lost to Glasgow Warriors and one of those, Spratt, opened the scoring on eight minutes. A well-worked move saw the outside centre go over in the corner but Dan Biggar’s conversion struck the post. Biggar wasn’t the only kicker struggling to find his range early on as Zebre fly-half Carlo Canna failed to slot a penalty and they were punished on the quarter-hour mark when Matavesi dotted down under the posts for try number two. Ospreys had only lost to Zebre on one previous occasion – back in May 2014 – and they essentially put the game beyond doubt on 25 minutes. A glorious team move, involving Welsh international trio Tipuric, Dan Evans and Alun Wyn Jones ended with Walker diving over in the right corner. Tandy’s troops looked a completely different side from the one which had lost five of their first six GUINNESS PRO12 games and former Zebre scrum-half Brendon Leonard’s lovely dink through was only narrowly out of Walker’s reach as they sought a bonus point. However, the Italians finally began to assert some authority on proceedings as Canna slotted a penalty before the break and they engineered a spell of concerted pressure after the interval – only for the hosts’ defence to hold firm. But on 55 minutes Tipuric secured the four-try bonus point as he rounded off a great team score to cross the whitewash. With the victory sealed, Ospreys began to express themselves as Walker crossed for his second try before, with Michele Visentin in the sin-bin, Parry was driven over from close-range. And Zebre put the hosts under some late pressure as they looked for a consolation score but Ospreys refused to buckle and are now above the visitors in the GUINNESS PRO12 table. 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.
