CARDIFF KEPT THEIR hopes of reaching the European Cup quarter-finals alive with a 9-7 win at Glasgow on Friday.
The victory, temporarily at least, sent Cardiff to the top of Pool 2 ahead of reigning champions Toulon, who host Exeter on Saturday and could retake the lead if they win. The defeat all but mathematically ended Glasgow’s involvement in the competition as they sit eight points behind Cardiff with two games left.
But it could have been so different had replacement fly-half Duncan Weir not sliced a penalty wide in the final minute.
Rhys Patchell scored a stunning penalty from inside his own half and Toulon target Leigh Halfpenny scored two more as Cardiff made it three wins from four games in the competition.
The Welsh region’s qualification hopes could rest on their trip to the south of France in early January.
Ospreys kept their faint mathematical qualification hopes alive with a 21-12 win over French champions Castres, meanwhile.
With Leinster topping Pool 1 with three wins out of three and hosting Northampton on Saturday, Ospreys have next to no chance of actually making the last eight but this victory was a boost nonetheless, although it may cost Castres their chances of reaching the quarters.
The first half was a kicking contest between Wales fly-half Dan Biggar and South African scrum-half Rory Kockott that ended even at the break with four penalties each.
Ospreys would have been frustrated, though, that they failed to take advantage of Castres fly-half Remi Tales’s sin-binning after 26 minutes as in the extra-man period they failed to outscore the visitors.
But in the second period Biggar outshot Kockott three penalties to nil to make the difference.
Ospreys would still need a minor miracle to qualify while Castres, with two defeats and no bonus points, would need a remarkable turnaround and two bonus point victories to have any realistic chance of going through.
