Ospreys 21-38 Cardiff: Thomas Young shines a day after dad's suspension to clinch Welsh Shield

Cardiff put the sudden suspension of director of rugby Dai Young behind them as they secured the Welsh Shield and Champions Cup rugby with a dominant five-try victory over the Ospreys at Judgement Day.

News broke on Friday that Young had been suspended pending an investigation, meaning he wouldn't be present at the club's final match of the season - with top-tier European qualification on the line at the Principality Stadium.

But rather than be left reeling by the news, they fronted up in style. An impressive first-half in particular, that effectively settled the match as a contest before the break, was littered with a series of strong individual performances. Wales scrum-half Tomos Williams was superb, while Thomas Young shone just 24 hours after the news about his father broke.

Read more: Dai Young suspended by Cardiff Rugby

The Welsh back-row scored a try in either half, with Max Llewellyn and Mason Grady also crossing for Cardiff. Second-half tries from front-rowers Sam Parry, Gareth Thomas and Dewi Lake offered hope of a comeback, but it wasn't to be as Rhys Carre and Cardiff had the final say.

Last week, Ospreys head coach Toby Booth, referring to the situation facing Welsh rugby as all four sides face budget cuts, said to 'be careful what you qualify for' when it came to European rugby's top-tier. However, the truth was that, in what had been billed as a shoot-out between the two sides for the Welsh Shield and a Champions Cup place, the Ospreys' hopes to retain their title as Wales' best were gone by half-time.

The opening quarter was dominated by the Arms Park side, who sought to put a tricky 24 hours behind them with a fine final performance of the season. However, despite continually milking scrum penalties