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EDF Energy became the sponsors of the Anglo-Welsh Cup for the 2006–2007 season. Having signed a three year deal the EDF Energy Cup would be contested until 2009. This season’s competition would see a reversal of home and away fixtures from the previous tournament, with Harlequins, having been promoted from Division One, replacing relegated Leeds Tykes.
In a turnaround from the previous competition the Ospreys hosted two of their pool fixtures on Welsh soil. The first clash was against Gloucester; the team had defeated the Ospreys in the previous tournament but were not to have the same success a year on. The Ospreys overpowered the visitors in a six try showing to gain a bonus point in the best possible start they could hope for. Shane Williams began the rout with a try after sixty seconds and Barry Williams secured the second before the quarter of an hour mark with Gavin Henson converting. He added a further nine points from three penalties as Gloucester replied with two penalties from Ludovic Mercier to reduce the deficit to 21-6. Gloucester struck with a third penalty following the half-time break but two tries in five minutes from Welsh international Sonny Parker erased the chance of a Gloucester fightback. Replacement scrum half Peter Richards achieved a consolatory try for the English team with Mercier converting but the Osprey try count increased in another scoring spurt. Justin Marshall and fly half Henson scored a try each in three minutes with a quarter of the match remaining. Mercier added another three points for his team in the match but the Ospreys victory was securely cemented just short of a half century of points, 49-19.
The Ospreys avenged their defeat at the hands of Bath in the previous season’s competition by securing their second win of the 2006–2007 EDF Energy Cup at the Recreation Ground. The home side drew first blood with a penalty from Nick Walshe but the Ospreys, largely a second string side, soon put themselves on the scoring board through a try from Jonny Vaughton. As the try went unconverted Walshe’s second three-pointer put Bath back in front but James Hook regained the Welsh advantage through a converted try. Shaun Connor added a drop goal and penalty to extend the Ospreys’ lead to 18-6. Bath took advantage of the depleted Ospreys, with Jason Spice in the sin-bin, as Walshe scored a penalty either side of half-time but an additional try from Stefan Terblanche once again stretched the Welsh region’s lead. In a fantastic fightback for the home side Tom Cheeseman scored a brace of tries in a brace of minutes to take the scores to 25-24. Yet Osprey try scorers Terblanche and Hook each attained a drop goal to push the region nearer to a semi-final berth with the 31-24 victory.
In the final pool stage match the Ospreys met Bristol and secured a place in the semi-final after a sparkling second half performance. The teams exchanged a penalty each before former All Black Justin Marshall touched down for the first try of the game. The home side took a slender 10-3 advantage into the break but two minutes after the restart James Hook made amends for his missed penalty attempts in the first half with a superb try. Ten minutes afterwards Wales and Scotland internationals Huw Bennett and Nikki Walker scored a try apiece to end Bristol’s chances of a victory. With the bonus point already secured Barry Williams crossed the line in the closing minutes for good measure. This dominant 34-3 victory secured a Millennium Stadium semi-final berth for the Ospreys in a clash in which they would meet a rival Welsh region.
The Cardiff Blues had equally successful Pool stage encounters against London Wasps, London Irish and Saracens. In the first match, staged at the Cardiff Arms Park, the Blues hosted reigning Cup Champions London Wasps. The Blues made the brighter start in the match which saw prop Gethin Jenkins touch down after six minutes to give the Blues an early advantage. As Wasps found their stride they soon set about reducing the deficit and did so emphatically with two tries in as many minutes; Josh Lewsey and James Brooks secured the points for the visitors. Following a penalty from Ben Blair young wing Chris Czekaj gained the Blues’ second try of the game to push the home side ahead but a drop goal from Jeremy Staunton drew the scores level at half-time. A drop goal and two penalties from the boot of the faultless Blair put the Blues 26-20 ahead before the decisive try of the game was scored. Fijian winger Mosese Luveitasau scored a superb try in the last twenty minutes of play and Blair’s conversion, together with his fourth penalty ten minutes from the final whistle, cemented the Welsh region’s first victory in the EDF Energy Cup.
Just over a week later the Blues travelled away from home to take on Saracens. The Blues started promptly with an early try from Marc Stcherbina. Glen Jackson attained the first three points of what would be a personal haul of nineteen before Tom Shanklin, an ex-Saracen, scored the Blues’ second try. Tomas de Vedia responded for the home side with a five pointer as Jackson converted and exchanged penalties with Blair to reduce the visitors’ advantage to 13-15. Jackson continued his fantastic form as he added a further three penalties to secure a seven point lead as half-time approached. However, the Blues turned the game around in the second period as tries from Mark Lewis and Tom Shanklin, completing his brace, pushed the Blues ahead. Mosese Luveitasau continued his try-scoring form in the competition by adding a fifth to the tally whilst Ben Johnston added a consolation try for the Saracens to pull the scores back to a more respectable 29-40.
In the final Pool Two match the Blues entertained London Irish at the Cardiff Arms Park. Despite an early scare from a breakaway try scored by Justin Bishop the Blues eased to a comfortable win and semi-final berth in the competition. Denied an early try by Welsh referee Nigel Owens, who deemed a forward pass had been involved in the score, the Blues conceded the early try after thirteen minutes. Yet All Black Ben Blair fired over three penalties to gain the advantage for the Blues. The final ten minutes of the first half saw a brace of tries for the home side as both Martyn Williams and Chris Czekaj crossed the line. The Cardiff crowd had to wait half an hour for the next score as Saracens tightened up their defence; Blair added a fourth penalty before Czekaj added to the try count ahead of the final whistle. The concluding scoreline was 31-7 and with it the Blues secured three wins out of three in the Pool and a semi-final clash with Welsh opponents the Ospreys.
The previous year’s Cup runners-up, the Llanelli Scarlets, sought to top Pool Three for the second successive year. Looking to build on their result in the preceding season, the first match saw the Scarlets pitted against Leeds Tykes’ replacements, Harlequins, following their promotion to the Guinness Premiership. The Welsh region secured tries through Darren Daniel and Inoke Afeaki before fifteen minutes of the game had passed. The Harlequins suffered further as they had a man sin-binned yet rallied to reduce the Scarlet advantage as wing Ugo Monye went over for a try. The Harlequins were unable to build on their seven point tally in the second half as the Scarlets added a Barry Davies try soon after the break. No.8 Nathan Thomas secured the Scarlets’ fourth try and bonus point with ten minutes of play remaining to seal the scores at 26-7.
The second pool match saw the Scarlets suffer a defeat at the hands of Newcastle Falcons at Kingston Park. The Falcons attained the first points through a Tom May drop goal but the Scarlets responded with penalty scores from Ceiron Thomas and Barry Davies. Newcastle scored their first try soon afterwards as Jamie Noon touched down the first of his brace in the match. Toby Flood furthered the Newcastle score by dropping a goal before the half-time whistle to extend the English side’s lead to 13-6. Ceiron Thomas added his second penalty of the game in the third quarter to reduce the deficit but a dropped Scarlet pass enabled the Falcons to swoop in for their second try of the game, touched down by England centre Noon. John Rudd scored a late try for the Falcons to extend their advantage to 25-9 at the close of play.
This defeat left the Scarlets needing a win away from home at Sale. The Sharks were firm favourites to gain the semi-final berth as they entered the match and proved their dominance in a 21-5 win over the Welsh region. Sililo Martens touched down for Sale’s first try of the match but Iestyn Thomas equalled his effort with a Scarlet try shortly afterwards. Lee Thomas added a penalty for the home side taking them to an 8-5 lead at half-time. The Scarlets were unable to add to the scoreboard after the break as Thomas continued with the boot and Jason Robinson guaranteed a Shark victory as he scored a late try, closing the scores at 21-5. The Sharks had sent the Scarlets out of the competition but joined two other Welsh regions in the semi-finals.
The Dragons began their EDF Energy Cup challenge in Pool Four with a brave performance against eventual semi-finalists Leicester Tigers. The Tigers drew out an early 13-0 lead through two Paul Burke penalties and a try-scoring effort from Johnny Murphy. Yet the Welsh region responded with a three pointer from Craig Warlow before Scott Williams intercepted a pass to cross the Tigers’ line. The Dragons conceded a penalty try before the half-time break due to the added pressure of their depletion to fourteen men. After the interval the Tigers effectively ended the game as a contest as tries from James Buckland and Shane Jennings put the game out of the Dragons’ grasp. Kevin Morgan added a consolatory score for the Dragons but Ian Humphreys added the fifth Leicester try to consolidate the impressive 41-17 victory.
The Dragons hosted Northampton Saints at Rodney Parade in their second pool game and made a bright start after the early sin-binning of All Black Carlos Spencer. Ceri Sweeney slotted over the resultant penalty and then set up Gareth Wyatt for a try. Sweeney added an additional three points before the Saints responded with a try of their own, touched down by Mark Robinson and converted by Robbie Kydd. Sweeney continued his superb form by notching a penalty before the half-time break to extend the advantage to 16-7. The Dragons restarted confidently as Colin Charvis fed Richard Fussell for a great try and Sweeney converted the additional two points. Despite the Dragons losing a man Northampton were unable to make use of the numerical advantage; Nathan Brew brought the scores to a close at 26-7 with a drop goal before the final whistle.
As Leicester had overpowered Worcester Warriors in a bonus point victory in round two the Tigers had already secured their place in the semi-final. The Dragons were consequently unable to progress to the latter stages of the Cup as they entered their third round clash with the Warriors. Worcester, still smarting from their previous defeat, enacted revenge on the Dragons in a 23-10 victory over the Welsh region. The Dragons were unable to amass a single point in the first half as Aisea Havili scored a try, converted by James Brown, to take the half-time advantage to 7-0. The Warriors continued to secure the points as Havili crossed to complete his brace of tries whilst goal-kicker Brown also crossed for a try. The Dragons were only able to respond through a converted try from Nic Fitisemanu and a Ceri Sweeney penalty as the Welsh region exited the EDF Energy Cup on a loss.
The semi-finals of the EDF Energy Cup were fixed as a double-header to be staged at the Millennium Stadium on March 24th 2007. The two English Premiership sides Leicester and Sale faced each other in all-English semi-final whilst the Blues and Ospreys clashed in an all-Welsh battle, guaranteeing an England v Wales final for the second successive championship.
The Cardiff Blues met the Ospreys just a few metres away from their Arms Park stomping ground in the latter match of the double header. The earlier clash had seen the Leicester Tigers progress to the showpiece Twickenham finale after a hard-fought victory over their Premiership adversaries. Tries from Sharks Sebastian Chabal and Ignacio Fernandez Lobbe were equalled by Alesana Tuilagi and Danny Hipkiss from the Tigers. The boot of Andy Goode proved the decisive factor in the match as he secured both conversions and three penalties to push the Tigers into the 29-19 victory and nudge the Sharks out of the competition.
The rival Welsh regions entered the fiery Millennium Stadium clash then with the finalist opponents already decided. The tense occasion was perhaps to blame for both James Hook and Ben Blair both unusually missing early chances with the boot but Blair soon secured the first Blue points after twelve minutes gone. Indiscipline from the Blues, a factor that would ultimately prove crucial to the semi-final result, soon followed as Scott Morgan came into a ruck from the side. He was rewarded with a yellow card and the Ospreys benefited from the resultant three points courtesy of Hook’s boot.
With the numerical advantage in their favour an Osprey try quickly followed. Sonny Parker evaded a tackle from fellow Welsh international Jamie Robinson and with the aid of Hook and Andrew Bishop, Parker used his pace to sprint over the Blues line. Hook converted to stretch the lead to 10-3. The restart brought more Blues misery as Deiniol Jones, having unwisely tackled Alun Wyn Jones whilst in the air, joined Morgan in the bin. Although the latter soon rejoined the field the Blues were back down to thirteen men as Robert Sidoli raised his hand to Brent Cockbain following a hefty shoulder tackle.
Though the Blues number was restored to fourteen after the interval the Ospreys secured their second try of the game five minutes after the restart. A superb pass from Hook set up fullback Lee Byrne and as the Blues defence was left wanting he was able to cross in the corner for an unconverted score. Chris Czekaj was the first to cross the Ospreys line shortly afterwards but was denied the score due to a crossing infringement. Hook furthered the Ospreys’ advantage with three penalties yet on the third restart they gifted the Blues a scoring opportunity. Launching a sweeping attack Nicky Robinson provided a long pass to send fullback Ben Blair over the Ospreys line. He duly converted his own effort to take his personal tally, and the Blues score, to ten points. The ‘home’ side had pulled the score back to within two scores but Hook struck a well-taken drop goal to push the Ospreys out of reach, and in doing so sealed the victory and a place in the EDF Energy Cup Final.
The Anglo-Welsh EDF Energy Cup Final encounter took place on English soil. Held at Twickenham on Sunday April 15th the Ospreys travelled with a huge Welsh contingency as a convoy of nearly eighty coaches crossed the bridge to support the region. The final produced one of the greatest cup comebacks ever seen as the Ospreys almost made up for their poor first half performance.
The Ospreys began the final promisingly and full of purpose as James Hook slotted a penalty between the uprights from forty-five metres out with just two minutes on the clock. He added another soon after to stretch the lead to 6-0 but following this, the Welsh scoring ground to a halt. With just twelve minutes elapsed Paul Burke chipped over the Ospreys defence and although All Black Justin Marshall gathered the ball he failed to retain it; Tom Varndell snatched the ball out of his clutches to score Leicester’s first try underneath the posts.
Just minutes on from their first score the Tigers were on the prowl for further points. Burke again created the move and, spotting the size mismatch between flanker Tom Croft and Shane Williams on the wing, kicked the ball down field. Croft’s pass found Danny Hipkiss, who sprinted through the Ospreys defence and sent the ball back to Croft to pile over the line for the second try. Marshall again made an error which resulted in the third Tigers try as he lost possession of the ball; it fell to Ben Kay who was able to run unchallenged to the line on twenty-five minutes. Samoan Alesana Tuilagi was the next Tiger to add to the mauling as he touched down following an excellent pass from eventual man-of-the-match Hipkiss. Hook was only able to add another penalty for the Ospreys as they entered the dressing rooms at half-time 28-9 in deficit.
The Ospreys emerged from the interval with renewed vigour akin to that of a phoenix rising from the ashes of a funeral pyre. The team were unlucky not to score from an early assault on the restart but the first Osprey try was not long in coming. A loose kick from Burke’s replacement Andy Goode fell to Scottish international Nicky Walker; recycled ball from Bishop and a beautiful pass from Shane Williams sent fullback Byrne over in the corner for the first Welsh try. Williams then added a second, finishing off a stunning counter-attack from deep inside their own half. Martin Castrogiovanni had lost possession within the Ospreys 22, courtesy of a huge Huw Bennett tackle, Walker received the pass and fed try scorer Byrne whose long looped pass put the speedy winger over the line.
Goode briefly halted the Osprey attack with a penalty for the Tigers before Walker again created an opportunity for the Welsh region. The Ospreys’ ferocity of attack soon broke the Leicester defence with Williams providing the score as he squeezed out of Daryl Gibson’s grasp to attain his second of the afternoon.
Having scored three tries in eleven minutes the game was a contest once more as the Ospreys were back to within a score of the Guinness Premiership leaders (and later Champions). Yet just as the Ospreys were picking up steam, Hipkiss made a crucial break and his pass to Varndell allowed him to score on 62 minutes. The conversion and a penalty from Andy Goode kept Leicester just out of reach though Walker kept Osprey hopes alive until the whistle when he scored seven minutes from time.
Despite the fantastic Ospreys fightback, Leicester held on to their 41-35 lead to claim the trophy for the sixth time, ensuring that the EDF Energy Cup would remain in England for another year. |
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