Bowen double sets up Cardiff's 26–0 derby win at Ospreys

Cardiff Rugby beat Ospreys 26–0 in the United Rugby Championship at St Helen's on Saturday night. Wing Tom Bowen scored two tries in the first 20 minutes and Cardiff, who the club said were without 18 players because of international call-ups and injuries, took a four-try bonus point.

How the scoring went

Bowen finished in the corner in the seventh minute after Steff Emanuel's long pass, and Jarrod Evans converted. Bowen scored again on 20 minutes, looping around Evans to cut through, and Evans converted for 14–0. Josh Adams collected an Emanuel grubber for the third try on 31 minutes, with the conversion missed, so Cardiff led 19–0 at half-time. Ospreys spent long spells in the Cardiff 22 after the break but were held up several times, according to the club's report. Replacement hooker Tom Howe scored the fourth try from a driving maul on 68 minutes and Callum Sheedy converted.

Ospreys had the ball, Cardiff had the points

Ospreys had 62% of possession and 61% of territory, according to the URC match centre, and gained 327 metres to Cardiff's 273. Cardiff made 195 tackles to Ospreys' 102. Ospreys won 21 lineouts to 12 and conceded 13 penalties to Cardiff's 15. The figures come from the URC match centre alone.

What Cardiff said

Head coach Corniel van Zyl told the club website: “There was an amazing effort by the boys and all credit to them, to the staff, to the coaches.” He added: “I definitely didn’t expect that winning margin.” Centre Steff Emanuel, named the URC player of the match, called it “an unbelievable game to play” and said “my lungs were screaming at me most of the match”. The club said he made 17 tackles and had a hand or foot in all three first-half tries. It was Cardiff’s first win at St Helen’s in the regional era and the first by Cardiff on Ospreys soil since 2019. Cardiff now have five weekends without a fixture during the Nations Championship window and return against Ulster on 5 December. Van Zyl said the next block is “going to be nine games”.