Freebird: Ospreys's Paul James went over for two tries against Scarlets

Prop Paul James scored both his side's tries as he helped send the Ospreys to victory in a hard-fought west Wales derby against the Scarlets at Parc y Scarlets on a scoreline of 21-14.

Man of the match James scored in each half to condemn the hosts to their seventh defeat from nine outings. But the Scarlets did sneak a losing bonus point at the death with Johnathan Edwards going over in the final minute.

The Scarlets enjoyed territorial advantage in the first half and they deserved to go in at the interval with a 9-7 lead. It was a typical derby with no quarter given – and a lack of Christmas friendship, with tempers often overflowing – but the cards stayed in referee Nigel Owen's pocket.

While the Scarlets had the bulk of possession, they found it hard to break down the Ospreys defence as Alun-Wyn Jones, Jerry Collins and Ian Gough put in some big hits. The Scarlets opened the scoring in the sixth minute with a penalty goal for Stephen Jones after Ricky Januarie was caught in possession.

The Ospreys had a chance to level matters with their own penalty attempt but Dan Biggar was wide of the target – his first miss in 19 attempts in the last three matches. But it mattered little for the Ospreys, who scored from their first genuine attack. First Tommy Bowe and Biggar made good ground and, from a loose ball at the subsequent line-out, James went over unopposed for his first try.

The Scarlets responded well at the end of the first half. First Rhys Priestland put over a penalty from the halfway line and, in injury-time, Stephen Jones gave his side a two-point lead at the break with his second penalty. But three minutes into the second half James, out on the right wing, went over for the second try.

The Ospreys, boosted by the appearance of Lee Byrne coming on for his first rugby for two months, then opened up an 18-9 lead with two Biggar penalty goals in the space of five minutes.

The Scarlets twice threatened the Ospreys line with concerted attacks, but five minutes from time Biggar planted a third penalty. Edwards' consolation try came from the final play of the game.