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Ben James

Ospreys v Scarlets player ratings as unstoppable Wales star tears up remarkable derby

It was a remarkable west Wales derby at the Swansea.com Stadium, with the Ospreys and Scarlets sharing 90 points in a high-scoring affair.

Here's how the players rated...

Mat Protheroe 7 v 6 Angus O'Brien

Lively with ball in hand and dangerous on the counter-attack, Protheroe's defending makes you question his long-term future at full-back - being bumped off by Conbeer all too easily.

Read next: Ospreys 56-34 Scarlets: Toby Booth's side romp to victory in 13-try epic

Thrust into the starting XV late on, O'Brien didn't exactly let anyone down.

Alex Cuthbert 7 v 9 Ryan Conbeer

Few better sights than Cuthbert running an arcing line in space, as was the case before the opening try. Wanted a try so badly, but it unfortunately didn't come.

Perhaps Dwayne Peel's best decision in his first season in charge has been getting Ryan Conbeer back into the starting side. Just an electric player. Hat-trick that demonstrated all that is good with his game.

Michael Collins 7 v 5 Jonathan Davies

Plenty of ball in hand for Collins, even when switched to full-back. Did a lot right and got his reward with a try.

Davies has been a proper leader in recent weeks, however he wasn't exactly to the fore in this one. Very quiet.

Owen Watkin 7 v 8 Johnny Williams

Decent enough from Watkin and he took his try well, but Williams was arguably the stronger of the two over the 80. The Scarlets 12 always gets over the gainline.

If he stays fit, he might just jump ahead of his opposite number in the Welsh pecking order. However, the one major blot on his copybook was a daft penalty that laid the groundwork for Lake's second try.

Keelan Giles 8 v 3 Corey Baldwin

Two good cover tackles from Giles when Scarlets broke the line early on. Building nicely and looking good for having regular rugby under his belt - deserved his try.

No complaints from Baldwin for the deliberate knock-on. As clear a deliberate knock-on as you'll see. Sucked the life out of the tiring Scarlets. Little to note beyond that.

Gareth Anscombe 9 v 7 Sam Costelow

Costelow threatened to be the better of the two earlier on, but Anscombe grew into it to have his best match in an Ospreys jersey to date. It felt like the Ospreys' attack finally arrived after a season of little threat.

Still, plenty of positives from Costelow. Broke through the Ospreys line early on, with only Giles managing to stop him. Little bit of wizardry for Davies' try. Helpless to stop Ospreys' turnaround and departed after 55 minutes.

Rhys Webb 7 v 6 Gareth Davies

These two are no longer the best two Welsh scrum-halves in Wales but it was an interesting battle nonetheless.

It looked like Davies would get the better early on, being the more switched on as Webb made a few errors. However, the swing in fortunes for both sides saw Davies replaced and Webb marshal things to the end.

Gareth Thomas 7 v 6 Javan Sebastian

Thomas was off the park for a blood sub early on, but did decent enough during the 50-minutes or so - leading the tackle charts.

Home pack started to get the squeeze on early in the second-half, with Sebastian toiling valiantly.

Dewi Lake 9 v 7 Ryan Elias

Wales' two hookers in the Six Nations both had their moments, but it was Lake who took the plaudits. Lake is just ridiculous with his carries. No stopping him for his two tries.

Elias was decent enough, making a load of hits and carrying hard, but this was Lake's day for sure.

Tomas Francis 7 v 5 Steff Thomas

Strong performance at the scrum for the Welsh international, while he made his fair share of hits.

As for Thomas, it was a learning curve in what has been a breakthrough season for him. Few missed tackles as the Ospreys found some gaps around him.

Adam Beard 7 v 7 Sam Lousi

Wales lock Beard was a quiet presence, just doing things right amongst an Ospreys pack that got stronger as the match went on.

One early interception demonstrated just how in form Lousi is at the minute. Almost had to stop to receive Webb's pass. Charged down the scrum-half soon after. Threat throughout.

Alun Wyn Jones 6 v 6 Jac Price

Perhaps not as impactful as others, the Wales skipper still largely did what was asked of him. Not a great deal of note in the tackling or carrying stakes.

Solid enough day for the man opposite him. Managed to last for 70 minutes before being replaced, racking up a fair few tackles in that time.

Will Griffiths 7 v 6 Josh Macleod

Solid shift from Griffiths, going about his work with little fuss.

Not a great deal of note from Macleod. Replaced around the 50-minute mark by Shingler.

Jac Morgan 7 v 6 Tomas Lezana

Couple of key steals and interventions from Morgan, who always makes an impact. Quieter than usual, perhaps, but does the business.

Lezana did his work nicely as a link-man for Davies' score. Lively, but a little loose in places.

Morgan Morris 8 v 7 Sione Kalamafoni

Morris saved Webb's blushes by powering over after the scrum-half ignored a try-scoring pass to Cuthbert. Did the hard work even when the Scarlets were on top.

Kalamafoni just carries like few else. Helpless in the second-half as the team tired dramatically but never stopped hammering away.

Replacements

Sam Parry 6 v 6 Daf Hughes

Parry had the final say with a try of his own. Hughes replaced Elias fairly early into the second-half, but had his work cut out with the Ospreys pack on top by then.

Nicky Smith 7 v 6 Rob Evans

Smith was brought into the game early and forced his way over for the opening try. Evans showed some nice touches with ball in hand, but had the odd issue at the scrum.

Tom Botha 6 v 5 WillGriff John

Even when Botha replaced Francis, the Ospreys pack didn't exactly lose any of its dominance.

Rhys Davies 6 v 5 Morgan Jones

Little time for either to make too much of an impact.

Ethan Roots 6 v 6 Aaron Shingler

Both put in a shift in their limited time on the field.

Reuben Morgan Williams N/A v 6 Kieran Hardy

Morgan Williams arrived too late to make any impact. Hardy dropped a pass just before Collins' try, but took his try very well.

Stephen Myler 6 v 6 Rhys Patchell

Despite plenty more tries flowing, the result was largely decided by the time both arrived.

George North 7 v 5 Steff Evans

North was brought back just before half-time after a year out. Mix of carrying and footwork was like he'd never been away. Evans made little impression after replacing Baldwin.

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