Ospreys power to victory over the Sharks as star sends message to Gatland

The Ospreys outmuscled a powerful Sharks outfit 19-5 to claim a significant victory in south-west London.

Ospreys owners Y-11 made the bold decision to move what was supposed to be a home fixture to the Twickenham Stoop, the home of English Premiership outfit Harlequins. Whether the experiment worked is up for debate, but a crowd of 7,183 witnessed the Welsh side claim a significant result against one of the stronger sides in the United Rugby Championship.

The magnitude of this win cannot be understated given the Ospreys were without a host of their internationals due to Wales' exhibition match against the Barbarians in Cardiff tomorrow. This was a victory based on physicality with the Ospreys not allowing the Sharks to gain the upper hand, while their defence stayed firm throughout.

With the Six Nations around the corner it will be hard for Wales head coach Warren Gatland to ignore the claims of Ospreys No 8 Morgan Morris for much longer. Morris was outstanding, leading from the front, with his carrying and relentless defence playing a big part in swinging this result the Ospreys' way.

The visitors made a fast start, finding the edge after some scintillating back play which resulted in Werner Kok putting Phepsi Buthelezi over for a try. To their credit the Ospreys hit back with their driving lineout causing the South African outfit all manner of problems.

They thought they'd opened the scoring but Ethan Lewis' try got disallowed after the hooker was adjudged to have lost control of the ball in the act of scoring. But the Ospreys continued to lay siege to the Sharks line, and after 13 phases Jack Walsh gratefully received Owen Watkins' pass to score.

Owen Williams uncharacteristically missed a conversion attempt from right