Ospreys hammer Dragons to keep play-off dream alive

Ospreys celebrated their final home game of the season with a win against Dragons

United Rugby Championship:

Ospreys (14) 57

Tries: Spencer, Lake, Warren, Giles 2, Edwards 2, Hardy, Morgan-Williams Cons: Edwards 5, Walsh

Dragons (10) 24

Tries: Rees-Weldon, R Williams, Rosser Cons: O'Brien 3 Pens: O'Brien

Ospreys kept alive their slim hopes of a United Rugby Championship (URC) play-off place with a comprehensive nine-try bonus-point win against Dragons in Swansea.

Wales fly-half Dan Edwards scored 20 points as Ospreys recovered from a slow start in the final Welsh derby of the season.

Dragons took an early 10-0 lead through a try from Wales Under-20s wing Harry Rees-Weldon on his debut and the boot of Angus O'Brien.

Ospreys responded with tries from Will Spencer and Dewi Lake to lead 14-10 at half-time.

Edwards and wing Keelan Giles both scored second-half try doubles, with prop Ben Warren and scrum-halves Kieran Hardy and Reuben Morgan-Williams also crossing.

Dragons scrum-half Rhodri Williams and wing Jared Rosser scored second half tries.

Mark Jones' side had started the day in 13th place after successive league defeats against Scarlets and Cardiff had dented their hopes of finishing in the top eight.

After this success Ospreys lifted themselves up two spots but know they need to win their final two games, preferably with bonus points, to have any hope of sneaking into the top eight.

The sorry Dragons remain 20 points adrift at the bottom of the table. Filo Tiatia's side have now lost 15 successive matches since their only league victory of the season on the opening weekend against Ospreys.

Both Welsh sides finish their regular season in South Africa in May with Ospreys playing Sharks and Lions and Dragons facing Stormers and Bulls.

Fond farewell

Lock Adam Beard, who led the Ospreys out with his children against Dragons, has played 58 internationals for Wales and one Test for the British and Irish Lions

It was a fond farewell to two Welsh rugby stalwarts with another one denied a chance to say goodbye.

Ospreys lock Adam Beard led the side out as he won his fitness battle to feature in front of his home supporters before leaving at the end of the season to join Montpellier.

Flanker Justin Tipuric, who retires at the end of the season to become Ospreys defence coach, missed his home goodbye because of injury.

Dragons flanker Dan Lydiate played his final game of professional rugby against his former side.

Lydiate, 37, will also retire at the end of the season and become part of the Dragons' backroom team.

This Welsh derby was played in front of a crowd of 4,677 on a sunny Saturday afternoon.

Ospreys are moving to the St Helen's ground next season with the first home game due to be in December after work has been completed.

Whether they feature again at Swansea.com Stadium, their home for the past two decades, remains to be seen.

Dragons start strong before Ospreys roar back

Harry Rees-Weldon played for Wales Under-20s in the 2025 Six Nations

After a cagey start, O'Brien opened the scoring with a penalty before his superb hands put Rees-Weldon over for the opening try.

Ospreys responded immediately as lock Spencer dived over for his second try in successive games.

Important turnovers penalties were secured by Jac Morgan and Lake, who was then comprehensively driven over as Ospreys took the lead for the first time.

A four-point half-time advantage was extended early in the second half when Warren burrowed over.

Number eight Morgan Morse produced a superb solo run before his final pass to Giles went astray.

The home wing could not be denied for long as he scythed through for the bonus-point try.

Dragons responded when scrum-half Williams demonstrated some fancy footwork to cross.

Ospreys retaliated from the kick-off with another towering aerial catch from wing Daniel Kasende setting up the platform for centre Keiran Williams to send Edwards over.

This was the first of a quickfire double for the home fly-half as he crossed for Ospreys' sixth try.

Rosser, who moved from wing to centre in the second half, scored before Lydiate was clapped off the field in his final professional game in Wales.

Hardy produced an opportunist effort to justify his player-of-the-match award before late tries from Giles and Morgan Williams completed the rout.

What they said

Ospreys head coach Mark Jones: "I am delighted for the group. We lost a derby last week and it hurt. We have won one this week and it feels a lot better.

They now need to follow it up by winning in South Africa with games away to the Sharks and Lions in the final two rounds of the league campaign.

"It's a tough place to go, but if you want to be in play-offs you have got to go to those places and get results. It's in our hands."

Dragons head coach Filo Tiatia: "We were in the game and the boys were competitive but we lost our shape defensively in the last 25 minutes.

"The learnings are how do we stay in the match. We are where we are at and we want to be so much better than we were in that final 20 minutes."

Ospreys: Jack Walsh; Daniel Kasende, Evardi Boshoff, Keiran Williams, Keelan Giles; Dan Edwards, Kieran Hardy; Gareth Thomas, Dewi Lake, Ben Warren, Will Spencer, Adam Beard, James Ratti, Jac Morgan (capt), Morgan Morse.

Replacements: Sam Parry, Steffan Thomas, Tom Botha, Will Griffiths, Harri Deaves, Reuben Morgan-Williams, Owen Williams, Iestyn Hopkins.

Dragons: Ewan Rosser; Harry Rees-Weldon, Joe Westwood, Aneurin Owen (capt), Jared Rosser; Angus O'Brien, Rhodri Williams; Rhodri Jones, Brodie Coghlan, Chris Coleman, Joe Davies, Ryan Woodman, Shane Lewis-Hughes, Dan Lydiate, Aaron Wainwright.

Replacements: James Benjamin, Dylan Kelleher-Griffiths, Nathan Evans, Barny Langton-Cryer, George Young, Che Hope, Will Reed, Huw Anderson.

Referee: Ben Breakspear (SRU)

Assistant referees: Gareth Newman & Carwyn Sion (WRU)

TMO: Tom Spurrier (SRU)