Tales of Christmases Past: The West Wales Derby

Swansea.com Stadium, 17:15, Saturday 21st December 2024

By David Brayley

Ebeneezer Scrooge was famously visited by three ghosts on Christmas Eve (well, really it was four if you include Jacob Marley but he doesn’t fit the rugby narrative of this piece, so I’m going to ignore him).

They were, of course, the Ghost of Christmas Past, the Ghost of Christmas Present and the Ghost of Christmas yet to Come. I was reminded of Dickens’ famous Yuletide story, A Christmas Carol, when I was doing research on this piece, which is going to focus on the upcoming, must-see annual Christmas fixture of Ospreys v Scarlets, because, as in Dickens’ famous ghostly tale, just about everything that can happen has happened in this fixture in seasons gone by.

But first, a question. Why is this fixture above all others, so important?

Well, I think the answer is found when we look at a local derby in any sport. No matter their positions in their respective leagues, Swansea City always want to beat Cardiff City, Rangers always want to beat Celtic, Lancashire always want to beat Yorkshire, the New York Yankees always want to beat the Mets and the Chicago Bears have been wanting to beat the Green Bay Packers above all others since they first met in 1921. It’s all about bragging rights and the closer the rivalry, the better.

The Swansea.com Stadium is separated from Parc y Scarlets by the small matter of 11 miles and the Loughor Bridge, and because the creation of these two regions also saw them sharing borders, rivalry was always going to run fiercely. But throw into the mixture a ‘Christmas Fixture’, and the stakes somehow get even higher.

Regardless of whether it’s the black of the Ospreys you’ll be cheering for, or the red of the Scarlets, with Christmas Day on the horizon and a day filled with turkey, pigs in blankets, nut roasts, mince pies and various alcoholic (or not!) beverages of your choice awaiting your consumption in a few days time, there’s nothing quite like a live sporting encounter on the weekend before Christmas to help you really embrace that Christmas spirit!

So, in the grand tradition of Mr Dickens, before we can predict the future, we must first take a look back into the past and see why this Yuletide fixture has become so important to both sets of supporters either side of the River Loughor.

To date, in the URC - which was known as the Celtic League when Welsh rugby initially went regional in 2003 - the Ospreys and the Scarlets have fought out 42 matches.

The bad news is that the Ospreys have lost 16 of those encounters, but the far more pleasing statistic for Ospreys supporters is that they’ve won 24. The other two contests being the drawn games of November 2011 and the most recent draw, back in September 2022. There’s nothing quite like a tight, exciting game to really bring to the fore the spirit of a local derby, and that 23-23 draw certainly delivered on that front.

The early exchanges were all Ospreys, and after some slick work by Keelan Giles, helping send Gareth Anscombe over for a try, the Ospreys ran in at half time leading 13-6, and probably hoping to build on that great start and head toward a cherished victory on away soil. But just after the hour, it was the Scarlets who had edged ahead, 23-16.

Despite the partisan home crowd willing the Scarlets on, right at the death, Rhys Davies managed to muscle his way over from a yard, which in turn piled the pressure on Jack Walsh wearing 22, and making his debut, needing the kick to secure a well deserved draw.

Jack nervlessly stroked over the calmest of conversions from a tight angle, wide on the right side of the pitch, with the clock showing 82:38 to secure the comeback and take a share of the spoils.

Sometimes, drawn games can be as important as victories, and Walsh’s composure ensured that, from an Ospreys perspective, this one could be celebrated in that way.

So that was the 39th derby, and just the second draw in all those contests, yet, as exciting and memorable as that match was, it was a world away from the first encounter between the two regions on 2 January 2004, played at the now, long gone, Stradey Park and with the Ospreys bearing the then Neath-Swansea prefix.

A sign of the times of that fixture of over 20 years ago, is found amongst the names on the team sheet. The first one that sticks out, though, is not a player, but the referee. The surname was Whitehouse, but not Ben who we’re now very familiar with, but his old man, Nigel, a Gowerton boy perfectly located to take charge of the first regional west Wales derby.

Before I give you some of the names who represented the Ospreys that day, a quick quiz question for you. Can you name the player who captained the team in that match? Answer given after the end of the next paragraph.

So, let’s look at some Ospreys favourites who played down at Stradey back in 2004: Stefan Terblanche, Dave Tiueti, Elvis Seveali’i, Andrew Millward, Barry Williams, Nathan Bonner-Evans and a brief appearance off the replacements bench from Gareth Llewellyn. Along with usual suspects, Shane Williams, Adam Jones & Jonathan Thomas, this talented line-up was still not enough to fend off the Scarlets, who took the honours in that first regional derby, 28-15, with their final try being run in by the talented, hugely popular and much missed centre, Matthew J Watkins. Nobody watching that day would’ve guessed that the powerfully built, athletic young man taking the plaudits from his adoring crowd at full-time would tragically be lost to the world so young.

I’m also sure that the Ospreys captain that afternoon, Scott Gibbs (did you get it right?), didn’t foresee that his team would lose the next encounter as well, with the Scarlets securing the first ‘double’ in the fixture’s history.

This was thanks to a narrow 15-18 Scarlets victory at St Helen’s in May 2004. Despite the handicap of the Scarlets seeing Scott Quinnell yellow carded for punching Huw Bennett and second half tries from Terblanche and Shane Williams, it still wasn’t enough to cap a brave comeback from the Ospreys - 15-3 down at half time - and Gavin Henson’s agonising last minute penalty which drifted wide of the posts disappointingly emphasising how close the Ospreys had come to snatching a draw.

But the Ospreys faithful didn’t have to wait too long to avenge the ‘Scarlet double’, by completing their own, more emphatic brace of victories the very next season.

Firstly at Stradey again, on 10 September 2004, a rampant Ospreys kept the Scarlets to just a couple of penalties, with the 6-23 away victory being delivered by tries from Gavin Henson and Richie Pugh, with the extras coming from the superb Henson’s trusty right boot, sealing his 18 point contribution to the win. This set up the second derby contest of the season, the first ever Boxing Day treat at the Gnoll.

Played out in front of a packed Neath crowd of 10,280, the old ground was brought to fever pitch by a scintillating performance from Shane Williams. The first half had been a struggle for the Ospreys, conceding the first try to Scarlets No 8, Jonathan Mills, after their hooker, Robin McBride had burst through from a line-out. Following quickly on from the Scarlets score, some magic from Shane saw him breakthrough with a typically jinking run before feeding Ospreys captain, Barry Williams to touch down and give the home team an 11-7 lead.

A feisty second half which saw Scarlets second row, Chris Wyatt seeing yellow, turned quickly in the Ospreys favour with tries from James Bater and two from Williams - Shane not Barry - to cap off the elusive wing’s Man of the Match performance. The 28-7 victory ensured that the first ‘Black and White double’ had been secured. For the likes of Sonny Parker, Jason Spice, Duncan Jones, Brent Cockbain, Ryan Jones and the rest, their abstinence of mulled wine the day before clearly paid handsome dividends!

Scarlets fans would have to wait two years for the next Boxing Day derby, and despite having won two of the three ‘regular’ derbies that followed their Gnoll defeat of 2004, they probably wished that they’d stayed at home when December 26 2006 came around. In front of a capacity crowd of 20,520, the Ospreys - and young lad called James Hook - made it a Nightmare after Christmas for the Scarlets. Having only made his first Ospreys start in the opening game of that 2006 season, Hook’s pinpoint accuracy with the boot delivered the Ospreys 23 points and with it, Hook was awarded the Man of the Match honours.

The contest was a classic game of two halves, with the Ospreys - inspired by their Kiwi imports, Justin Marshall and Filo Tiatia - winning both! The first was taken 22-10 and the second, 28-14 to deliver an emphatic 50-24 victory, which saw the home team running in 5 tries. The touchdowns were shared out between Ryan Jones, Andy Lloyd, Nikki Walker, Lyndon Bateman and Lee Byrne. The defeat was the worst ever suffered in the, then, Celtic League by the Scarlets, and despite a penalty try and consolation tries from Dwayne Peel and Gavin Evans it was a game that the Llanelli faithful would quickly choose to forget.

That crushing 50-24 Boxing Day victory proved a bit of a watershed for a rapidly developing Ospreys squad in terms of the derby, winning 7 of the next 9 contests between the two regions. Considering this was a squad now containing players of the calibre of Mike Phillips, Alun Wyn Jones, Marty Holah, Ian Gough and of course, Jerry Collins, it was no real surprise that it would all culminate in an even bigger victory than that 2006 game. This record-breaking win would take place on 27 December 2010. The game itself was subject to a 24 hour postponement due to frozen pipes at the, then, Liberty Stadium. But the day’s delay didn’t hamper the Ospreys, who put their rivals to the sword like never before.

Credit should also be given to both sets of supporters, who despite the disruption of the late postponement on Boxing Day, turned up in their numbers the following afternoon, with 18,151 braving the cold weather. Once again, and thanks to the record breaking 60-17 score line, it was the home fans who left the stadium filled to the brim with Christmas cheer.

The next derby would take place on another significant date, Guy Fawkes night in 2011, the November of the following season. A cliché would see me draw a comparison between on-field battles with fireworks, but a hard-fought, uncompromising struggle, meant that the only real fireworks were those in the skies around Swansea. On the field in Landore, the Scarlets fought hard and managed to halt their slide in these derby fixtures by securing the first of only previously mentioned two draws in the fixture.

The 9-all tie in front of a crowd of 12,332, was a night for the kickers with points being shared equally by Dan Biggar and the Scarlets’ legend, Stephen Jones. Not to reduce the importance of the points shared between each side, the evening was more notable for a significant career milestone for the 22-year-old Biggar. His 9 points saw him overtake James Hook as the Ospreys highest ever point scorer, a record he holds to this day. Despite Stephen Jones’s success with the boot on the night, he could probably count himself lucky to have not seen red following a spear tackle on Tommy Bowe, with French referee Mathieu Raynal deeming a yellow card sufficient punishment.

The match finished with the Scarlets in the ascendancy, desperately seeking the try that would’ve helped banish the memories of the previous crushing encounter, but dogged resistance from the Ospreys in defence prevented the Scarlets crossing. However, something eventually had to give from all the desperate home defending, and it did when Mr Raynal spotted the Ospreys defence stray offside allowing the excellent Jones to share the spoils with an equalising penalty. The 9-9 final score line was not the victory that the visitors craved, but was perhaps a moral one after experiencing that mauling of the previous season.

Jones and the Scarlets didn’t have to wait long, though, to see if they could improve on that drawn game. Just seven weeks after the Guy Fawkes display, both teams ran out onto a soaked Parc y Scarlets pitch for the next Boxing Day fixture, west of the Loughor Bridge. Prior to the tight draw in November, the Ospreys had won the previous six derbies, but as Mr Scrooge would himself find out, things can quickly change around Christmas, and unfortunately, they did for the Ospreys.

Led by Justin Tipuric, this was a game that the Ospreys, probably, should have won. Despite falling behind to a try from Rhys Thomas following a five-metre scrum, and the 17 points from the inspired boot of Rhys Priestland, the Ospreys almost managed to turn the game around even though they found themselves trailing by 13 points at the break. Three penalties from Dan Biggar and a try in the corner from returning Scarlets favourite, Barry Davies, had the majority of the 15,072 fans fearing the worst as the Ospreys pack, containing the all-star front row of James, Hibbard and Jones, began to take hold. With the score now 16-14, and despite this forward dominance culminating in a spell camped on the Scarlets try line, the score just wouldn’t come for the visitors and two further Priestland penalties midway through the half took the game away from Tipuric’s team.

As Nigel Owens blew his final whistle, with the score at 22-14, it meant that the Ospreys, who claimed the likes of Tommy Bowe, Ashley Beck and Andrew Bishop in their line up, would return back across the bridge empty-handed. Despite this disappointment there were some playing who would have no doubt noticed the smiles of a certain young Scarlet winger as he left the field, who would - in future Christmases - feature for the region slightly more to the east of Llanelli, eventually becoming an Ospreys try scoring match-winner in the fixture some eight years later…a certain George North.

There have been eight more ‘Boxing Day’ derbies since that Yuletide defeat for the Ospreys in 2011, (I’m also including a couple played on the 27th in that number), and initially, these Christmases Past couldn’t have gone better for the Ospreys, winning the first 5 of those encounters, home and away.

The most exciting of these was no doubt the single point victory at Parc y Scarlets on Boxing Day 2015. So much happened in that 26-27 win, that I could write another article on that contest alone, but to all who witnessed it, one moment stands out. It followed a turnover by Josh Matavesi, ten metres inside his own Ospreys territory after a Scarlets’ break by Aled Thomas was snuffed out by Justin Tipuric. The ball was carried forward by Scott Baldwin, who, looking for a speedster in the space that had opened up on the left flank…found one in the unlikely form of Moldovan prop, Dmitri Arhip. For 30 glorious metres, it looked as if the man mountain was going to go the full 50 metres for the try, but instead drew Jake Ball, before effortlessly passing outside to the waiting flyer, Eli Walker, to jog in, unopposed, for the score. Dan Biggar’s conversion was the first time in the match that the Ospreys had taken the lead. And it was one they would not relinquish in the remaining 23 minutes of the game.

In the seasons that followed that tight Ospreys win, Christmas memories of the Boxing Day derby were not so pleasing for Ospreys fans, all culminating in a defeat in 2019 that even a writer like Charles Dickens, so accomplished in describing life’s horrors via the written word, would struggle to do justice to, such was the 44-0 mauling the Ospreys took that Boxing Day …so I’m not going to try, either! Some things, even at Christmas, are best left in the past!

With an eye toward this weekend’s upcoming Christmas fixture, I’m sure Toby Booth won’t need to remind the surviving players of that humiliating defeat - Luke Morgan, Adam Beard, Justin Tipuric and Morgan Morris - of the pain felt walking off that day, and I’m sure the lads themselves might mention to their current teammates that a score line like that must never be contemplated for a second, such was the hurt it brought everyone associated with our region. That day was certainly a Ghost of Christmas Past that must permanently be banished from our thoughts, and stay exactly where it belongs…in the past!

A far more pleasant recollection is to recall what has happened in the last three derbies, two of which were Boxing Day affairs - the other one taking place in the month prior to Christmas 2023 - all of which resulted in comprehensive victories for the Ospreys.

The first of those trio of games was the home Boxing Day fixture of 2022, which saw the Ospreys running out comfortable 34-14 victors. Just under eleven and a half thousand turned up to the Swansea .com that day, and any latecomers would’ve missed a hugely decisive act in the game after just five minutes. It occurred when the experienced Argentinian flanker, Tomas Lezana, gave referee Craig Evans an early opportunity to reach for his red card, following a reckless high tackle on Rhys Davies. The challenge led to a dangerous clash of heads which was all Evans needed to see to banish Lezana for the remaining 75 minutes. A pivotal moment if ever there was one.

I’m sure the scarlet jersey clad fans would’ve been expecting the numbers to have been evened out by referee Evans later in the game, when Owen Williams was carded for a high tackle on opposite number, Sam Costello. However, Williams saw yellow not red as the referee decided the tackle by Williams was mitigated by Costello ducking into it. A lucky escape.

By then, though, the Ospreys were 12-0 up, thanks to tries from Alex Cuthbert and his opposite wing partner, Luke Morgan, and with Rhys Webb’s brilliance securing a third touchdown - which he converted himself - the 19-7 lead the Ospreys took in at half time was one that they were never in danger of losing.

The heart rate of Ospreys fans did, however, rise a little after the break, when Johnny McNicholl intercepted a Webb pass to run in for 5 points, but quickly regaining control, tries from Sam Parry and Keiran Williams confirmed that it was to be another Black Christmas, with a bonus point victory for Osprey fans to celebrate.

Fans of both regions would have to patiently wait 11 months for the next derby, which took place on 26 November 23 in Swansea, and no doubt, Scarlets fans would’ve travelled east looking to avenge the previous defeat. Sadly for them, there were to be no scores to be settled from their point of view, instead, the Ospreys ran out comfortable 31-9 victors and also, importantly from a defensive perspective, keeping the home try-line in tact.

In the match itself, Keiran Williams picked up where he ended the game of the previous Christmas, this time delivering two tries, not just the one, and he was followed across the whitewash by Morgan Morris and Dan Edwards. The match was notable for the first start in almost a year by Jac Morgan who had an outstanding return, but it was Williams with his two try Player of the Match performance which delivered another derby day bonus point win for the home team. All eyes now turned West, for the Christmas clash that would follow four short weeks later.

It’s easy to be blasé about a rugby match in hindsight, maybe that’s part of the message in Dickens’s fabled Christmas tale, not getting too far ahead of yourself, and trying to learn from the past with a view to improving the future. And obviously, I’ve no idea what the team talk leading up to last year’s Christmas battle contained. But despite the recent Osprey successes I mention in the paragraphs above, when the team crossed the Loughor Bridge that Boxing Day afternoon, they did so armed with the knowledge that they hadn’t won at the home of Scarlets rugby since 2015, so any complacency of recent victories would have surely been left behind on the coach trip over from Swansea.

On the field, the match itself was that odd affair of nobody being able to take advantage of their possession and rare opportunities forged. The Scarlets had more pressure in the first half, but with Ioan Lloyd missing three penalties and the Ospreys failing to click into anything like top gear, a very rare nil-nil was the outcome of a first half where both teams huffed and puffed, but lacked the cutting edge to make a breakthrough. Fortunately - especially for the travelling Osprey faithful - the points tap would be turned on in the second half, with 36 flowing from it…and 25 in the way of the Ospreys.

However, it was the Scarlets fans with most to cheer as the scoreless first half was wiped from the scoreboard, thanks to an interception try from Wales scrum half, Gareth Davies, with Lloyd again being unable to add the extra points.

The Ospreys finally took the lead thanks to a burrowing effort from Reuben Morgan-Williams and an Owen Williams conversion, soon followed by a penalty from the same boot. It wasn’t all plain sailing for the men in black, though, with Owen Watkin taking one for the team, thanks to a yellow card from referee Craig Evans for persistent offending.

Evans soon evened things up with a yellow for Scarlets skipper Josh Macleod, which led to Sam Parry going over for a short range try. To their credit, the Scarlets were never out of it, and what can only be described as a very competitive and confrontational contest, filled with the passion one would expect from such an important derby fixture, the rugged commitment on show would no doubt have pleased the retiring prop, Samson Lee. Lee had brought out the match ball at the start of the contest to accept the applause of his playing retirement due to a long term achilles injury. What wouldn’t have pleased Lee, though, was seeing Jack Walsh gallop away for a match sealing try at the end, as the Scarlets pushed for their own touchdown that might have evened things up at 18-18, but for Walsh’s crucial intervention.

So that was it, another Ospreys win, this time an 11-25 away victory, which extended their winning run in this fixture to three. Now, all squad and staff will be aiming to extend that run to four this coming weekend as the Scarlets are welcomed here for yet another festive rumble.

And, unless you have already been visited by a rugby version of the Ghost of Christmas yet to come, you’re going to have to wait until Saturday evening to find out if another Ospreys victory is going to be delivered.

And so, with that, I come to the end of my nostalgic trip back through the Christmas derbies of days gone by…along with a couple of other non-Christmas contests thrown in for good measure.

What I’ve tried to do is rekindle and reinforce just how special - for both rival camps - this Yuletide fixture always has been and why it remains such a highlight in the rugby calendar in this part of the world.

So now, with the 2024 instalment almost upon us, what can we expect to witness in the next match to be held in this long tale of a Christmas rugby rivalry?

Well, unlike the famous Christmas story I’ve been referring to throughout this retrospective look of past encounters, I’ve got no ghostly futuristic vision or insight whatsoever as to what is going to happen on 21 December 2024 or what will be in store for the players and fans of the Ospreys and Scarlets in this high octane fixture.

Instead, I make this final, festive plea to all. Bearing in mind the 21 years of history this article has covered, please consider getting your tickets bought nice and early, come along to the Swansea.com Stadium on the 21st, and become part of this rich story of rugby history yourself and to witness if your support can fill the ground like so many of the Christmas battles of the past and help cheer on the Ospreys to a much hoped for victory.

It’s also worth bearing in mind, that with the plans to soon move the Ospreys to St Helen’s, now is the time to pack the Swansea.com Stadium to the rafters. And as this article has leaned heavily on ghost based imagery, it would be fantastic to resurrect the spectres of Hook, Phillips, Henson, Byrne, AWJ, Biggar, Williams, Thomas, Jones (x2!), Marshall, Tiatia, Walker, Bowe and so many others, who all graced the turf at this iconic venue, and recreate the packed out, passionate and partisan atmosphere they all enjoyed playing in front of.

As ever, your support is never taken for granted, especially in these difficult times and at this time of year, and is always hugely welcomed by all Ospreys players and staff.

So, to end, I’ll paraphrase Tiny Tim at the very end of Dickens’ Christmas Classic: ‘Let’s enjoy a perfect Christmas, one and all…by cheering for an Ospreys victory!’

At least, I think that’s what Dickens was trying to say.