James Hook kicked 19 points as the Ospreys claimed back-to-back Magners League wins for the first time since Christmas, beating Glasgow Warriors in a lively tussle at the Liberty Stadium on Sunday. It was a satisfying Sunday for the Ospreys as, just hours after confirming their signing of former All Black Jerry Collins, they secured their second Magners League victory in the space of four days. First half tries from Filo Tiatia and Gareth Owen set them on their way, but efforts from Bernardo Stortoni and Lome Fa’atau showed Glasgow’s attacking quality. The Scots, who managed just one win in their previous seven league games, leaked a third try to Ospreys scrum half Jamie Nutbrown and James Hook’s right boot pushed the hosts into a 34-18 lead. But in the closing 20 minutes, the Ospreys’ hunt for a bonus point had no happy ending and Glasgow had the final say as Samoan winger Fa’atau broke through for his second try. The Ospreys faced their first hurdle in the pre-match warm-up when Sonny Parker had to added to the starting line-up after winger Jonny Vaughton injured his groin. Five minutes in, Glasgow caught the home side cold when a three-man overlap on the left saw Argentinian full-back Bernardo Stortoni round in at the corner for a well-executed try. Ruaridh Jackson added the conversion and as the pace quickened, there were some heavy hits and expansive play from both sides. The Ospreys were back on terms on 13 minutes, putting Tiatia over for a try in the right corner. Shane Williams came in off his wing for scrum ball and created space for Marty Holah to break forward. A swift ruck pass from Nutbrown, just metres from the try-line, sent Tiatia through to touch down and Hook converted. Williams was pinged for not releasing close to the Ospreys whitewash, allowing Jackson to kick Glasgow back in front. But the Warriors’ indiscipline at ruck time costly dearly in the first as Hook popped four successive penalty goals through the posts after 22, 26, 28 and 32 minutes. His first came after a terrific grubber kick and gather by Dan Biggar and his third was preceded by a surging run from scrum half Nutbrown. But Glasgow got themselves back in touch at 19-15. Fa’atau slipped by an attempted tackle from Williams to dot down to the right of the posts, after a superb run through the middle from Max Evans had split the Ospreys defence. Jackson missed the conversion and the final scoring act of the opening half came from the Ospreys, with full-back Owen grabbing a try in the right corner after good approach work from Hook, Richard Hibbard and Holah. 24-15 behind at the break, Glasgow closed the gap again with a Jackson penalty but they suffered a big setback when one of their main creative talents, Max Evans, had to be stretchered off with an injury. A raft of replacements and a series of yellow cards – three to the visitors and two for the Ospreys – did little to enhance a stop-start second half. Hook, after missing his first place-kick of the half, made amends on 56 minutes to move the Welshmen’s lead back out to nine points. Glasgow then lost replacement prop Justin Va’a to the sin-bin, for killing the ball close to his own line, and off the resulting scrum Nutbrown gathered the ball and pounced for his try, which Hook converted. With rival props Paul James and Jon Welsh both seeing yellow for persistent scrum infringments, there were uncontested scrums for a 10-minute spell. Busy referee George Clancy brandished his fourth yellow card after Holah was penalised for a trip on Glasgow scrum half Mark McMillan. Glasgow subsequently lost their second prop to the sin-bin in injury-time when Moray Low was punished for some foul play. All that made for a scrappy finish and Glasgow closed out the game with a late try which saw Va’a tee up Fa’atau for a short burst to the line. Speaking afterwards, Glasgow coach Sean Lineen was left to reflect on what have been after a series of errors and loss of discipline left his side chasing the game. "The Ospreys were there for the taking today, but we were unprofessional. It was an unacceptable performance and we have to learn from that," he explained. "Callum Forrester played well, Lome Fa’atau took his two tries well, but it was a low intensity performance from us at the end of the season. "Our discipline was poor and that cost us, but we have to learn from that. This season has been a case of taking two steps forward and one step back. "We could have helped Edinburgh finish high in the league by winning today and we wanted to do that to help our fellow Scots, but we did not manage that either." Ospreys boss Sean Holley said: "We got on top just after half-time and we looked to be playing some really good rugby. "Unfortunately the game disintegrated with yellow cards. I don’t think the officials got to grips with it. "We got a good win at the end and hopefully the supporters have gone away happy."
