United Rugby Championship: Lions draw again as Ospreys match them in Wales

The contest followed a similar pattern to the Lions' 20-20 draw with Perpignan in France the previous week, with handling errors and territorial battles dominating proceedings. The result earned the visitors three log points thanks to a try-scoring bonus.

The Lions endured a tough opening spell playing into a strong wind but struck first in the eighth minute when Francke Horn crossed for an unconverted try to make it 5-0.

The Ospreys gradually found their rhythm and took the lead in the 23rd minute through James Ratti, with Dan Edwards adding the conversion.

Two minutes later, Ospreys captain Dewi Lake was shown a yellow card for a high tackle on Asenathi Ntlabakanye, though the offence was not deemed worthy of a red.

Despite their numerical disadvantage, the hosts extended their lead when Iestyn Hopkins scored, Edwards again converting. After SJ Kotze was sin-binned for repeated infringements, the Ospreys capitalised with a maul try from Morgan Morse.

The Lions had the final say of the half, however, as Horn grabbed his second try after the hooter, converted by Chris Smith, to trail 19-12 at the break.

With the wind behind them, the Lions started the second half strongly. PJ Botha powered over from a maul in the 48th minute before Quan Horn finished a sweeping move involving Richard Kriel to put the visitors 24-19 ahead.

The Ospreys responded through Daniel Kasende to level matters, and despite late opportunities for both sides - including a near miss from Angelo Davids after a Chris Smith break - the match ended in a hard-fought 24-24 draw.