Ospreys held off a spirited Connacht comeback to record a 43-40 victory in Swansea in the United Rugby Championship.
It was a big victory for the Welsh hosts, who move into seventh in the standings, level on 33 points with Stormers in the eighth and final play-off spot with five regular-season rounds remaining.
Connacht, who next take on sixth-placed Munster at Elverys MacHale Park in Castlebar, finish the weekend in 12th spot and level on 31 points with 11th-placed Edinburgh, both just two points outside the play-off places
Kieran Hardy and Jack Walsh also crossed the whitewash for Mark Jones' side, while Dan Edwards kicked 13 points.
Shamus Hurley-Langton (two), Finn Treacy, Dave Heffernan, Piers O'Conor and Josh Murphy recorded tries in a losing cause for Connacht.
The visitors got off to a quick start when left wing Treacy scored a brilliant, twisting, first-minute try after an excellent break from Cathal Forde, converted by Josh Ioane.
Fly-half Edwards got Ospreys on the scoresheet with a penalty three minutes later before Hurley-Langton touched down for Connacht's second try, Ioane once again adding the extras.
Wonderful offload leads to Keelan Giles touching down for @ospreys against @connachtrugby, this after a review to check the grounding #URC #rtesport
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) March 22, 2025
📺 Watch Ospreys v Connacht live on @rte2 and @RTEplayer pic.twitter.com/yZ9jwiIGFt
Ospreys then went on a scoring blitz to seemingly take control of the game with Giles, Hardy and Kasende scoring three tries in as many minutes before the break - Edwards converting all three - to see the Welsh outfit into half-time with a 31-14 lead.
That quickly became 38-14 as Walsh dotted down four minutes after the break for another converted try.
But the visitors refused to give in and began to claw points back with quickfire tries from Heffernan and Murphy - both converted by replacement JJ Hanrahan - to reduce the deficit to 38-28 before Kasende gave Ospreys some breathing space again when he crossed over for his second.
Another try for Shamus Hurley-Langton as @connachtrugby edge closer to @ospreys #URC #rtesport
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) March 22, 2025
📺 Watch Ospreys v Connacht live on @rte2 and @RTEplayer pic.twitter.com/hjKdz48EFC
Connacht continued to fight though and tries from Murphy and Hurley-Langton drew them to within three points heading into the final 10 minutes, but the Irish outfit were unable to overhaul their hosts.
Ospreys: Jack Walsh; Daniel Kasende, Evardi Boshoff, Keiran Williams, Keelan Giles; Dan Edwards, Kieran Hardy; Garyn Phillips, Sam Parry (capt), Tom Botha; James Ratti, Adam Beard; Morgan Morse, Justin Tipuric, Morgan Morris.
Replacements: George McGuigan, Steffan Thomas, Ben Warren, James Fender, Tristan Davies, Reuben Morgan-Williams, Phil Cokanasiga, Iestyn Hopkins.
Connacht: Piers O'Conor; Finn Treacy, Hugh Gavin, Cathal Forde, Shayne Bolton; Josh Ioane, Caolin Blade; Denis Buckley, Dave Heffernan, Jack Aungier; Darragh Murray, Joe Joyce (capt); Josh Murphy, Shamus Hurley-Langton, Paul Boyle.
Replacements: Dylan Tierney-Martin, Temi Lasisi, Sam Illo, Oisín Dowling, David O'Connor, Matthew Devine, JJ Hanrahan, Sean Jansen.
Referee: Aimee Barrett-Theron (SARU)
