Ospreys swoop to leave shambolic Stade reeling

Ospreys 13 Stade Francais 8

Stade, the 2001 and 2005 tournament runners-up, proved a shambles.

Their normal fluency and attacking invention never materialised at the Liberty Stadium, and defeat against Paris visitors Leicester next Saturday would leave the bell tolling on any quarter-final ambitions.

Stade scored a second-half try through wing Lucas Borges, yet full-back Juan-Martin Hernandez missed four kicks at goal from five attempts, while star backs Stephane Glas and Julian Arias were both forced off injured.

The Ospreys, despite being without injured Lions Gavin Henson and Ryan Jones, made a mockery of their long quarter-final odds to progress from Pool Three. Centre Sonny Parker pounced for a first-half touchdown, created by fly-half Shaun Connor’s vision and pass, with Connor slotting a penalty and conversion before substitute Matthew Jones’s 69th-minute penalty proved the clincher.

Stade were captained by prop Pieter de Villiers, while veteran fly-half Alain Penaud - who helped Brive lift European rugby’s major club prize in 1997 - returned to the Heineken Cup arena, aged 36.

Hernandez finally booted a penalty at the third attempt, yet the Ospreys stunned Stade through a 10-point burst in three minutes.

Connor was the architect of a superb Ospreys try, carving open Stade’s midfield defence to send Parker over for a score that turned the game on its head.

Connor converted, and then added a penalty when Stade infringed in the shadow of their own posts.

The Ospreys sensed a famous win, and with Stade’s feathers well and truly ruffled, their forwards established base-camp inside the away 22.

Stade negated the threat, more by luck rather than judgement on occasions, and looked to have clawed their way back into it when Borges crossed wide out, but Jones responded by landing an immediate penalty and the Ospreys had arrived on cloud nine.