Welsh rugby: Ospreys count cost of European elimination

Jones was left to reflect on a disappointing European exit after his side went toe-to-toe with their French Top 14 opponents, captain Jac Morgan again outstanding.

In front of a crowd of only 3,723, Ospreys ultimately missed out on a possible chance of extra-time when Dan Edwards’ conversion attempt of George McGuigan’s 71st-minute try hit a post.

That ended Welsh involvement in Europe for another season with Cardiff hosting the Champions Cup and Challenge Cup finals in May.

“It’s disappointing because the effort was there, as you would expect, but we definitely dropped below a level of accuracy that we’ve shown over the last few months,” said Jones.

“Some of that was down to Lyon and the pressure they put on us around the contact area, but also a lot of skill-set stuff there we are a bit disappointed with.

“The little errors add up at the end and that’s disappointing because a lot of it was in our control.”

Ospreys dominated possession and territory in Swansea and forced Lyon to make more than double the tackles of their opponents.

The Welsh side ultimately though lacked game management at crucial times.

“We wanted the ball, dictate the speed of the game and move their big guys around,” said Jones.

“We did move them around, but we just didn’t move them around well enough and accurately enough.

“It is a good lesson for us that the closer you get to the finish line the more accurate you have got to be.

“All we can do is learn from it and hopefully we get into future knockout games.

“We want to build on this one and take the next step forward.”