Townsend frustration as Warriors let Ospreys off the hook
Gregor Townsend was left frustrated as glasgow missed the opportunity to make i nroads in their quest to defend their guinness Pro12 crown.
The Warriors should have come out on top in Swansea but relinquished control at crucial moments.
They allowed ospreys off the hook as the hosts secured a draw which does little to aid either side’s aspirations for the play- offs or european spots.
Wing rory Hughes and prop gordon reid scored tries for the Warriors, with Duncan Weir adding 10 points with the boot.
ospreys crossed the whitewash through eli Walker and Dan evans, with Sam Davies contributing both conversions and two penalties.
glasgow do at least climb to eighth in the table, with games in hand on those above them, but they still lie seven points adrift of the top six and eight off the play-off places.
‘When you are leading in a game in t he second half, you are disappointed when you don’t build on that or at least see it out to take the win,’ said boss Townsend.
‘Having said that, the ospreys had the momentum in the last 10 minutes, so to get a draw is oK, but we are disappointed because there was a lot of good play there.
‘We had a solid lead and, in future, we have got to make sure we come away with the win.
‘This is a tough period and I was pleased with how we were playing but we could not see home what would have been a very important win.
‘An away win is like double points in the race for the top four. We know it is going to the wire. We have games in hand, but they are tough games.
‘We have our own goals. We always attack the Six Nations period with a lot of effort and players need to grab these opportunities.’
Arguably the happiest man would have been Scotland coach Vern Cotter as Six Nations squad members Weir, reid, Pat MacArthur and Josh Strauss all came through unscathed.
No 8 Strauss was making his first appearance for a month after being si delined by concussion but showed no ill- effects, although back-row colleague Chris Fusaro did take a blow to the ribs which forced him off early in the second half.
‘Josh is getting into it and gordon had missed a chunk of games — and played well in t he s crums,’ said Townsend.
‘Josh will get his match fitness in the coming weeks. He has not trained as you are not able to with a head injury, but he came through fine.’
of the two sides, glasgow were missing more players via Six Nations obligations and injury, with the total upward of 20, but they were the more impressive side and took an early stranglehold.
ospreys’ l i ne- out went awry, something that proved a recurring theme, and the Warriors rampaged upfield courtesy of Fusaro to force a penalty which Weir gratefully slotted.
The edinburgh-bound No 10 soon doubled the lead. Again ospreys played a part in their own downfall, Davies putting a kick out on the full to gift glasgow field position and another three points.
Davies struck the post f rom distance as ospreys sought a response, but he made no mistake when t heir s et- piece f i nally functioned and glasgow pulled down the driving maul.
Another successful l i ne- out yielded more points for the hosts in the 24th minute. rory Thornton delivered off- the- top ball and Josh Matavesi’s delayed pass fooled the Warriors defence for Walker to slide in near the posts.
Davies’ conversion made it 10-6 to ospreys but glasgow responded i n emphatic f ashion through Hughes.
Jones set up the chance as he retrieved turnover ball and cut his way past several defenders into the 22. The ball was moved wide and the overlap told as Hughes cantered in on the left flank and Weir converted.
With Weir kicking well from hand and Warriors back row on top at the breakdown, glasgow looked comfortable as half-time arrived but needlessly allowed their hosts to level early in the second half.
Leone Nakarawa sought to offload near his own line but could find no supporting runners and was penalised for holding on under pressure from Nicky Smith, allowing Davies to kick his second penalty.
Parity did not last long. When Dan Baker spilled the ball at the back of an ospreys defensive scrum, glasgow camped themselves in the opposition half and the pressure told.
Jones made yards down the right wing and reid burrowed his way over from close range for a score confirmed by the Television Match official.
Weir converted but he and Davies could not find the target with long-range penalty attempts as the final quarter arrived.
The game began to loosen up and ospreys found their cutting edge in a frantic finale. Ben John found space in midfield and Davies popped the ball up to send evans racing in.
Davies added the extras to level the scores but wasted a drop-goal chance to win it as he dragged wide from straight in front of the posts. OSPREYS: D Evans; T Grabham, O Watkin, J Matavesi (JJ Engelbrecht 56), E Walker (B John 41); S Davies, B Leonard (T Habberfield 67); N Smith (G Thomas 56), S Parry (S Otten 52), D Arhip (M Fia 56), R Bernardo, R Thornton, J Bearman ( A Beard 71), S Underhill (O Cracknell 32), D Baker. Scorers: Tries — E Walker, D Evans; Cons — S Davies 2; Pens — S Davies 2. GLASGOW: P Murchie; L Jones, T Naiyaravoro (G Bryce 67), S Johnson, R Hughes; D Weir, G Hart (A Price 65); R Grant (G Reid 41), P MacArthur (J Malcolm 67), S Puafisi (D Rae 67), G Peterson, L Nakarawa, R Harley, C Fusaro (J Strauss 45), R Wilson (J Eddie 65). Scorers: Tries — R Hughes, G Reid; Cons — D Weir 2; Pens — D Weir 2. Referee: Peter Fitzgibbon (Ireland). Attendance: 7,239. Man of the match: Lee Jones (Glasgow).