Ospreys condemn online abuse of Luke Morgan over Ethan Hooker injury

Ospreys’ excellent 21-17 victory kept alive their slim hopes of qualifying for the play-offs but came in controversial circumstances.

Sharks, who needed a win to keep the pressure on the top eight, were furious that injuries to loose-head props Gareth Thomas and Garyn Phillips led to uncontested scrums for the final quarter.

That meant Ospreys were reduced to 14 men, but the South Africans, who were increasingly dominant at the set-piece through Springbok props Ox Nche and Vincent Koch, failed to make the most of that advantage.

Once again, that has led to plenty of finger-pointing from South Africa, but Jones defended his club.

He said: “We pride ourselves on our integrity. We are pretty disappointed if people are suggesting that we didn’t adhere to everything that we should be doing on game day.”

Wales loose-head Thomas failed a head injury assessment on Saturday but passed another on Monday so remains in contention for Friday’s derby at Cardiff.