Bowen scores twice as Cardiff shut out Ospreys 26-0

Cardiff secured a 26-0 bonus-point victory over Ospreys at St Helen's, with Tom Bowen scoring twice as the visitors returned to the top half of the United Rugby Championship. Josh Adams and replacement hooker Tom Howe supplied the other tries. BBC Sport Wales reported that the result left Cardiff seventh and Ospreys ninth heading into the league's five-week break for the Nations Championship.

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The Swansea derby drew a sell-out crowd of 5,592 for the second Ospreys match at the revamped ground. Both teams were missing Wales squad members ahead of the November internationals, although Adams had been released to play. Ospreys also lost fly-half Lawson Creighton to a late withdrawal with a groin injury, leaving Cardiff loanee Harri Wilde to start against his parent club alongside scrum-half Luke Davies.

Bowen finished Cardiff's early pressure with the opening try, but Ospreys briefly thought they had answered through prop Steffan Thomas. The score was initially awarded before a television review ruled that Johan Mulder had prevented the grounding. Cardiff then added a second Bowen try from a scrum move, extending their advantage after surviving that period of home pressure.

Centre Steffan Emanuel helped create Cardiff's third score. After an earlier break and kick had been covered by the Ospreys defence, he delivered another kick that Adams collected to score following a turnover penalty won by Dan Thomas. Cardiff reached half-time 19-0 ahead, while Ospreys had also lost flanker Ross Moriarty to a head injury, with Morgan Morse replacing him.

Ospreys gained an advantage at the scrum early in the second half, prompting Cardiff to introduce props Scott Sio and Javan Sebastian. Adams needed treatment for a knee problem but continued, and home co-captain Sam Parry was held up over the line. Despite conceding penalties and receiving a warning for repeated infringements, Cardiff continued to keep Ospreys without a score.

Howe contributed a turnover penalty before claiming the fourth try from a close-range drive. The 18-year-old's score secured the attacking bonus point and was the only scoring play after the interval. Emanuel then stopped Keelan Giles with a late covering tackle to preserve the shutout. According to the BBC report, Ospreys had previously gone scoreless in a 23-0 defeat against Munster in October 2024.