Davy Lake scored four excellent tries as the Ospreys kicked off their Challenge Cup campaign with a hard-fought 43-34 victory over an impressive Benetton side in Swansea.

Toby Booth’s side had their work cut out for them against an impressive Benetton side who pushed them to the limit, but the Ospreys had enough power to overtake them. The Welsh team gave Lake a good start, attacking from close range and Owen Williams adding the extra.

Historically, Benetton have been seen as a strong team who perhaps lacked finesse behind the scrums, but that is ancient history as their early effort was beautiful. A superb pass from Jacob Umaga, who has been a great signing for Wasps, freed Edoardo Padovani, who picked off the last defender to set up Onisi Ratawe for the try.

But the locals responded by continuing to put pressure on the Benetton team. Both Owen Watkin and Jack Morgan came close to breaking through, but Wales defender Gareth Thomas finally made it.

Benetton clearly intended to play, as they rejected two shots at goal and opted to fight. And it paid off when Ignacio Brax replaced Ratave at the second attempt and Umaga converted from the touchline.

But the Ospreys began to flex their muscles with a series of powerful teasing lines and Lake finally got over the line on the second attempt. Williams added the extra, but Benetton responded.

The Italian team had difficulty stretching the Ospreys defense trying to find the wings and after passing the ball from one side to the other, Sebastian Negri headed for a corner after a good pass from Malakai Fekitoa. Once again, Umaga converted an onside kick and soon afterwards scored a penalty to give Benetton a 24-21 half-time lead.

The Ospreys bunch started to increase their lead after the break and after going through the phases, Lake crossed for the third try and Williams converted. But the Ospreys were unable to shake off Benetton and were their own worst enemies as they botched the layup in the 22nd, leading to Paolo Odogwu scoring from a corner.

The Ospreys then took control of their driving scheme, allowing Lake to score on fourth down. Benetton tried to get back into the game, but the Ospreys sealed the victory with a late try from Morgan Morris. Umaga converted a penalty but Jack Walsh disallowed it, depriving the visitors of the missed extra point.