Rugby Union: Ospreys 49 - 19 Gloucester 19

Gloucester's unbeaten start to the season came to a shuddering halt last night in Swansea as the Ospreys, securing a bonus point before an hour was up, took a firm hold on a group only they appear to be taking seriously.

Gloucester, who had not lost to Welsh opponents for 10 years, made eight changes from the team that beat Northampton last weekend and their line-up boasted only four first-choice players. In contrast, the Ospreys were virtually at full strength and their six-try win would have been even more impressive but for a high error count as they over-indulged in the second half, having led 21-6 at the break.

"They won the physical collisions," said the Gloucester coach Dean Ryan. "We didn't turn up with enough intensity to make it an even contest."

There is nothing like the sight of the English to stir the Welsh, and only one Gloucester player had touched the ball before they were lining up under their own posts for a conversion. That was the scrum-half Rory Lawson who dithered after receiving the kick-off and conceded a scrum. The Scot suffered one calamity after another and not even the sight of Peter Richards warming up on the touchline after 25 minutes galvanised him.

Lawson was not helped by Gloucester's problems at the breakdown where the Ospreys committed more forwards than is the norm in the Premiership, and regularly forced turnovers. Coupled with some soft tackling, it meant the action was concentrated in Gloucester territory.

The Ospreys profited from some poor refereeing. Their first try, after 62 seconds, was well fashioned with the ball moved quickly from the breakdown, but it contained two forward passes, while the third, the decisive score of the game five minutes after the restart, followed a scoring pass which was at least a yard forward.

But there was no denying the Ospreys' superiority. The only area of the game where Gloucester were in the ascendant was in the scrum where Patrice Collazo twisted his opposite number inside and out, but it was a night when the sword proved mightier than the bludgeon with the Welsh region's wings, Shane Williams and Nikki Walker, prominent throughout.

If the Ospreys' third try emphasised their sharper cutting edge, with the half-backs Justin Marshall and Gavin Henson synchronising their change of direction, their fifth summed up the rout: the Gloucester lock Will James was turned in the tackle on the halfway line, lost the ball and Ian Evans picked up to put Marshall through the most gaping of holes.

Henson steadily grew in authority as he and Marshall started to speak the same language. It was the Wales glamour boy who applied the coup de grace, weaving in and out of tackles on a 20-yard slalom to take him to 24 points on the night.

But by then Gloucester's resolve had been broken and all they had to show for a miserable evening was some classical centre play by the 20-year-old Anthony Allen, who displayed authority and vision in adversity and stood out on the night.

"We looked like a team, and we created space that meant individual flair came through," said the Ospreys coach Lyn Jones.

Ospreys Byrne (Selley, 73); Walker, Parker (Connor, 73), A Bishop, S Williams; Henson, Marshall (Spice, 73); D Jones (capt; James, 71), B Williams (Shervington, 73), James (A Jones, 50), Cockbain (Bateman, 76), Evans, A Jones, Tandy, R Jones (Thomas, 65).

Tries Parker 2, S Williams, B Williams, Marshall, Henson. Cons Henson 5 Pens Henson 3.

Gloucester Morgan (Thirlby, 71); Bailey, Adams, Allen, Foster; Mercier (Davies, 72), Lawson (Richards, 54); Collazo (Wood, 59), Davies (Azam, 47), Forster, James, Eustace, Balding (Merriman, 53), Boer (capt), Narraway.

Try Richards Con Mercier Pens Mercier 4.

Sin-bin Foster, 39

Referee H Watkins (Swansea)

Attendance 7,557