Ospreys 35-29 Montpellier: Ospreys complete double over French champions in breathtaking display

The Ospreys produced a remarkable performance to complete the double over French champions Montpellier and take a step closer to the Champions Cup knockout stages in a breathless match at the Swansea.com Stadium.

A brace of tries from Alex Cuthbert and further scores from Justin Tipuric and Morgan Morris, as well as the impressive boot of Cai Evans, secured a mightily impressive bonus point victory.

The first-half was a brutal affair. Much of the opening quarter saw little action in either 22, with the battle around midfield instead bringing its fair share of big hits and collisions.

Montpellier might have taken the lead after seven minutes, but for Louis Carbonel to miss the first of three first-half kicks that went awry for the French side.

The Ospreys - and perhaps Warren Gatland and Wales - were dealt a blow after just 11 minutes when Rhys Webb limped off with the match still scoreless.

Slowly, the Ospreys seemed to get the better of the territorial battle being played out around halfway. Eventually, after 23 minutes, that paid off.

Patient attack in the Montpellier 22 saw Tipuric and Michael Collins nearly sneak through gaps - the latter desperately close to getting over the whitewash. However, Booth's side kept their patience and wing Cuthbert forced his way over from close range to open the scoring.

The French outfit's response was fairly immediate. Within two minutes, lock Willemse was crashing over the line after some inroads were made through strong carries.

The boot of Evans extended the Ospreys lead, before Montpellier drew level through another try from Willemse. A lineout peel move saw Zach Mercer get away down the blindside before offloading to Brandon Paenga-Amosa. He was stopped short, but the French