Castres 15 Ospreys 9

Ospreys crashed to a third straight Heineken Cup defeat despite a fiercely-competitive performance against Castres.

They went into the clash following consecutive losses to Leinster and Northampton and they were once again edged out in the south of France. Dan Biggar slotted three penalties but was out-fired by Rory Kockett and Geoffrey Palis, who booted the French champions to a slender 15-9 victory.

The defeat leaves the Welsh region all but mathematically out of the Heineken Cup, while Castres maintained the chase on Pool One pace setters Leinster and Northampton, who clash today.

While they produced a desperately resilient performance the Ospreys offered little in attack and paid the price for an extensive penalty account.

Wales outhalf Biggar was off-target with an early drop-goal but quickly made amends with a penalty.

Kockett found his range and made it third time lucky on 15 minutes but missed once again as the Ospreys’ indiscipline went unpunished.

Biggar fired the Ospreys back into the lead on 21 minutes but Kockett responded on the half-hour mark.

Kockett soon nudged the hosts into the lead after their juggernaut pack roared into life at the set-piece.

Castres remained camped in Ospreys territory and launched wave after wave of attacks but the Welsh region held strong.

The pressure eventually told as Sam Lewis infringed at the breakdown within five minutes of coming on and paid the price for his side’s incessant offences with a yellow card.

Kockett was successful with the ensuing penalty to hand his side a 12-6 lead after little more than an hour.

The Ospreys fought desperately in the closing stages and Biggar closed the gap on 73 minutes, to maintain his side’s hopes of snatching a dramatic victory.

Palis instantly responded to restore the hosts’ six-point advantage and they clung on for dear life.