Winning start for Ospreys over depleted Munster

Neath-Swansea Ospreys 34 Munster 17

Neath-Swansea Ospreys gave the revamped Welsh regions a winning start to the Celtic League with victory over Munster at St Helen's last night. Following another summer of painful rebuilding that saw the Celtic Warriors axed from existence, the Ospreys gave a glimpse that the reduction to four regions could reap the rewards it promised, albeit against a second-string Munster.

New signings Jason Spice and David Bishop scored on their debuts before Lyndon Bateman and Adrian Durston cancelled out two tries from Christian Cullen. The Celtic League got off to a cautious start at St Helen's with two sides overdue in making an impact in the competition after the disappointment of last season.

Yet the contrast in approach was reflected in the players on the field, Munster missing 11 internationals while the Ospreys had insisted on playing their stars against the wishes of the Welsh management.

One of those names at the centre of the disagreement was the young talent of Gavin Henson who showed early on why the Ospreys were so eager to play him. His powerful break in midfield was halted illegally by Jerry Flannery's boot and duly punished by that of Henson.

It was not long before Henson was stepping up again as the game suddenly broke loose following an extremely cagey opening half-hour when two players lived up to their names.

Some nifty footwork from Elvis Sevalai'i saw him past blood replacement Jason Holland before Jason Spice ended the finishing touch to score. Just minutes later and Munster were all at odds again. The on-rushing Ospreys defence forced ex-Neath centre James Storey into a rash pass that was intercepted and then punished by young opposite number David Bishop to score on his debut.

The second-half degenerated into a scrappy stalemate before sparking into life in the final minutes. Cullen pounced twice to reduce the gap, either side of a score from Durston after Barry Williams' neat handling, before Bateman went over in injury time to secure the result and bag the bonus point.

Neath-Swansea Ospreys: Tries J Spice, D Bishop, A Durston, L Bateman; Conversions G Henson 4; Penalties G Henson (2).

Munster: Tries C Cullen 2; Conversions P Burke 2; Penalty P Burke.

Neath-Swansea Ospreys: G Henson; S Terblanche, D Bishop, E Sevali'i (S Parker, 59), S Williams (A Durston, 65); M Jones (A Williams, 76), J Spice; P James, B Williams (capt), A Millward (D Jones, 78), A Newman (B Cockbain, 63), L Bateman, J Thomas,R Jones, R Pugh.

Munster: C Cullen; S Payne, M Mullins, J Storey (J Holland, 59), A Horgan; P Burke (J Holland, 33-H-T), M Prendergast; F Roche, J Flannery, G McIlwham, S O'Connor, T Hogan, S Keogh (J Blaney, 40-50), J Williams, D Leamy.

Referee: R Dickson (Scotland)