Mark Jones: 'That’s quite a rarity in modern day sport'

Jac Morgan has been labelled a sporting rarity after marking his final home appearance for the Ospreys with a late match-winning try against the Scarlets.

The Gloucester-bound flanker forced his way over just five minutes from time to secure a 27-20 victory at Bridgend’s Brewery Field following a second half revival from the visitors.

That meant he was then able to lift the URC Welsh Shield, with the win taking the Ospreys above Cardiff in the table which is based on results in derby matches over the season.

The Wales and Lions back row star also picked up the Player of the Match award after leading from the front as skipper.

Summing up Morgan, Ospreys head coach Mark Jones said: “He’s just a great human being, first and foremost. He’s so humble, but then he’s a world class player.

“That’s quite a rarity in modern day sport, to get somebody as humble as that, but be as high profile as he is. He is one of the best in the business.

“He has a massive impact on the group, both off the field and on it. He scored the winning try, coming up from underneath that pile-up. His performance was exceptional, both leading the team and individually. We are so pleased that it has finished off well for him.”

As well as being Morgan’s last home game for the Ospreys, it was also their final match at the Brewery Field ahead of next season’s move to Swansea’s St Helen’s.

Over the course of the last two years, they have recorded victories against the Stormers, Ulster, the Sharks, Cardiff (twice), Sale, Edinburgh, Dragons, Zebre and now the Scarlets at the Bridgend venue. It has been some happy hunting ground.

Reflecting on the emotions after claiming the latest scalp – which saw two-try Wales fly-half Dan Edwards rack up 22 points – Jones said: “It was relief in the end. We made hard work of it with our accuracy. We have played much better in other games and lost, but on this occasion we got the job done.”

After trailing 17-5 at half-time, the Scarlets fought back to lead going into the closing stages, only to be denied by Morgan’s decisive late score.

Their interim director of rugby Nigel Davies said: “I am hugely frustrated, but I’m not frustrated with my players. I can’t ask any more of them. They played really well. They went at it and gave everything they have got. Unfortunately, they didn’t get the just rewards.”

While the play-offs are well beyond both Welsh regions, the race to get into the top eight is going down to the final weekend of the regular season with five teams fighting it out for four spots.

Leinster Rugby and the Bulls have now joined Glasgow Warriors and the Stormers in booking their places in the knock-out stage.

That leaves the Lions, Munster, Cardiff, Ulster and Connacht Rugby competing for the four remaining spots with just four points separating the five of them.

Meanwhile, Glasgow are back on top of the table, having jumped above the Stormers by claiming a 40-17 bonus point victory over Cardiff at Scotstoun on Friday night.

It was a real return to form for them after an unhappy tour of South Africa where they failed to pick up a point in two heavy defeats.

Reflecting on the six-try win over Cardiff, skipper Kyle Steyn said: “We absolutely needed it. We have got a tight circle and we know what matters to us. We just kind of stuck with that. We knew whose opinions we needed to count on and trust and it was good to bounce back in front of our fans.

“We needed to rediscover or recommit to what our DNA was and we will just keep doing that.”

Giving the view from the Cardiff camp, head coach Corniel van Zyl said: “We wanted to have a go at them, but, unfortunately, we turned the ball over too many times in contact and they just kept coming.”

The Stormers have dropped down to second after their dramatic 38-38 draw with Ulster in Belfast where they earned a share of the spoils through a last minute penalty try. Along with Glasgow, they are now guaranteed a home quarter-final in the play-offs.

Leinster are up to third after triumphing 31-7 in their top four showdown with the Lions at the Aviva Stadium where they pulled away in the final ten minutes in front of a 16,259 crowd.

The Bulls were the big movers of the weekend, leaping from eighth to fourth thanks to their eight-try 54-19 victory over Zebre Parma at Pretoria’s Loftus Versfeld.

Then come the five teams battling it out for the last four play-off spots. It was Connacht’s 26-7 bonus point win over Munster in Galway which ensured the Race to the Eight would go down to the wire in the final round.

They remain in ninth place, but they are just a point off eighth with a trip to Edinburgh to come next Friday on the final weekend of the regular season.

A win in the Scottish capital could see them through to the play-off quarter-finals depending on results elsewhere.

Commenting on the win against Munster, head coach Stuart Lancaster said: “I was delighted with that performance, the first half in particular, when I thought we were excellent.

“To get the bonus point in the end was a big relief. It’s Part One done, we’ve still got to go and do it next week. Edinburgh are on a bit of a roll. They are playing really well at the moment, so we know it’s going to be a tough game.

“We’ve got to get ourselves ready and hopefully give ourselves a chance to get in the play-offs.”