Glasgow Vs Ospreys, Firhill, Sunday

[DuncTheDoodle]

Glasgow: Bernardo Stortoni; DTH van der Merwe, Max Evans, Graeme Morrison, Rob Dewey; Ruaridh Jackson, Colin Gregor; Jon Welsh, Dougie Hall, Moray Low, Richie Gray, Aly Muldowney, Robert Harley, John Barclay (capt), Richie Vernon.
Replacements: Fergus Thomson, Kevin Tkachuk, Ed Kalman, Tom Ryder, Calum Forrester, Henry Pyrgos, Duncan Weir, Peter Horne.





Ospreys: Lee Byrne; Nikki Walker, Tommy Bowe, James Hook, Richard Fussell; Dan Biggar, Mike Phillips; Paul James, Huw Bennett, Adam Jones, Ian Gough, Ian Evans, Jerry Collins (capt), Justin Tipuric, Ryan Jones.
Replacements: Mefin Davies, Ryan Bevington, Craig Mitchell, James Goode, Marty Holah, Jamie Nutbrown, Gareth Owen, Sonny Parker.
Referee: David Wilkinson (IRFU)

 

[khaotix]

Comon the Ospreys! 8) Stop putting bowe in the centre tho! and drop biggar!!! 8)

 

[dullonien]

Nce to see Ian Evans back. Hopefully he can keep fit for longer than two games so he can be back involved with the Welsh squad for the 6 nations, and ultimately the WC.

 

[TrueSlawter]

Bowe should be Wing imo but is still a good centre, Biggar is fine at 10, good boot and having hook as centre too increases kicking options.

 

[cyRil]

Don't need extra kicking options when all Biggar does is sodding kick!
Also, I though Lee Byrne had been pulled from the game by the Welsh management?

 

[TrueSlawter]

haha, what i ment by kicking options really is both biggar and hook can kick well so if one goes down or is involved in the rucks the other can kick clear if needed. And Biggar does kick a bit too often but hes still improving his game tbh.

 

[khaotix]

well I would say that Biggar is holding us back. Dont get me wrong for his age he is a very good player, a little arrogant, but still a good player. But if the Ospreys are serious about challenging for Europe then I think we should look for someone who can offer a bit more than Biggar. He gets turned over nearly every time he is tackled, he has all that class outside him and opts to kick way too much, I just think we would be better off with the likes of Hook or, who knows, even Henson in time.

Thats not to say that I think Hook would be better at fly half than centre though.

 

[Draggs]

What I want to know is how long will they play Biggar, and can they really afford to do so? His kicking is poor and playmaking nonexistent, and at such a crucial position as standoff, it is holding their team back.
As long as he is playing at this level, I don't really see how the Ospreys can get any further in the HC, where all the money is. How much could Biggar really cost him?

On topic- Good to see Tipuric starting, he played well against Aironi a few weeks back and I look forward to watching him progress.

 

[Amobokoboko]

Good game so far by the Glasgowians

 

[cyRil]

Only one team in it the second half. We've been total ****, with the Grand Shitemeister Dan ******* Biggar at the helm. Nice one you ******.

 

[Amobokoboko]

**** happens you know, better luck next week.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Only watched the last 20, but good play by Glasgow

 

[Amobokoboko]

Idd, didn't see many games of Glasgow so far this season but this was a good one.

 

[TRF_Cymro]

Ospreys were poor ... bar Niki Walker!

 

[cyRil]

Well done, Nicholas!

 

[DuncTheDoodle]

The Ospreys last play was All Blacks-esque. The Ospreys wanted a try. So they scored one. Just do that for 80 minutes! They'd thrash any team! Or, at least do it more than once in the last play when they can't even get a losing bonus point. Silly.

On a more possitive note, Nikki Walker played well (But he's Scottish and will not be avalible for the next few weeks, yet not help the Welsh side out at all.) and I thought Ian Gough and Evans both looked very good. Hook is obviously a class above everyone else on the pitch- Shame Biggar hasn't realised that and started to pass to him! Moment Hooky's back from Welsh duty, reinstall him at 10 and I'll take pleasure in imagining that the next couple of weeks are the last I'll ever have to watch Biggar for until he learns to run.

 

[Dai26]

Glasgow did play well but its starting to get a bit repetitive with the Ospreys leadership saying this was one we missed. All respect to Glasgow but the Ospreys should do a number on them home and away. I looked at the Ospreys squad just now and they have 52 squad members which is absurd. With depth like that and the wage costs to those players they really have to start earning some respect because they are losing mine rapidly. Biggar is not good enough to play for the Ospreys full stop. Its not like he will ever be able to succeed Stephen Jones for Wales so I dont see why the Ospreys keep plugging away giving him chance after chance. Every now and again he'll kick well but his play making and decision making are well below par. I still think the Ospreys biggest problem is one of an identity though i.e. a complete lack of one. Barring a few players, among them Jerry Collins who isnt even from the region, few of them really seem to care about playing, I think they are almost too professional and dont show any real grit in many of their performances. Jeremy Guscott wrote an article a few weeks ago saying that the Ospreys dont hurt enough when they lose and for once I agree with him. They go through the motions after a game and say they are gutted but I don't think that shows in their performances enough. With everything they have got going for them they have got to start nailing matches like this down.

 

[dullonien]

Mention should also go to Fussell who was good again. He dealt with everything thrown his way. Forwards in general were shite tonight. Backrow were ineffective and hemorrhaged penalties. Tipurik can be forgiven to some extent given his age and lack of experience, but Collins and Ryan Jones have no exscuses, they got thoroughly outplayed by their opposite numbers, and there was me thinking Ryan Jones had turned a corner! Second row may well be the future for him, and I'm not sure he should play at 8 v Aus in two weeks time.

Biggar certainly going backwards, apart from a couple of exfellent touch-finders he was average at best. Bowe isn't a centre and the Ospreys should stop using him there, Bishop was missed big time. Byrne played very well untill he went off, hope it was nothing serious and he'll be available for Wales v Aus. Prydie looked indecisive at fullback which highlighted his lack of regional experience.

 

[Draggs]

Hate to say it, but this is now a typical Ospreys performance.
Biggar was poor, yet Holley/Johnson left him on.

Didn't see much of Ian Evans, I'll give him time to come back from injury a bit more.
Can't really judge Prydie, as there wasn't really much for him to do.

Why can't the Ospreys play like they did in the first and last few minutes for an entire match?!? They'd blow everyone away.
Fussell was good in the first half, and Walker looked sharp whenever he had the ball.
Hook had a few nice moves and looked class as always.

Hope Byrne's injury isn't too serious, as fullback options are rather slim this fall.

 

[dullonien]

Cyrils gonna hate me, but Priestland is staking a serious claim to be included in future Welsh squads as fullback cover. He'd also be decent fly-half cover (better than Biggar) if there was someone else to take kicking dutues, which there is in Halfpenny and Hook. The other option would be Tovey who's also a good fullback imo and was assured in his comeback on Sat (although not perfect).

Unless Biggar seriously improves his performances I hope the Ospreys take another look at Hook there and Gatland tries another player for Wales in future. There are a few options, Sweeney, Nicky Robinson, Tovey or Priestland.