Ospreys head coach Mark Jones has firmly rejected accusations that his side manufactured injuries to avoid uncontested scrums against the Sharks, insisting medical evidence exists to support both loosehead prop withdrawals that disrupted the closing stages of their 21-17 URC win.

The controversy centres on the timing of replacement loosehead Garyn Phillips' withdrawal, which came shortly after the Sharks introduced Ox Nche and Vincent Koch and proceeded to overpower the Ospreys scrum, forcing a Welsh feed. Phillips' departure triggered a roughly eight-minute stoppage as referee Mike Adamson, both management teams and match officials worked through World Rugby's uncontested scrum protocol — ultimately settling on 14 players for the Ospreys.

Jones was direct in addressing the integrity questions. "There's a suggestion that Garyn Phillips wasn't injured. It would be quite easy for me to produce his scans if you'd like. We are more than happy to share that, but it's not my scan; it's Garyn's and that's his private information."

Phillips sustained the injury while scoring a try and attempted to play on before his condition became visually apparent. "He tried to get into a couple of scrums, and you can clearly see from the scrums that he's just unable to function," Jones said.

Starting loosehead Gareth Thomas was removed earlier after failing his HIA 1 assessment. Jones confirmed Thomas passed his follow-up HIA on Monday morning and remains in contention for Friday's Welsh derby against Cardiff. "Gareth Thomas failed his HIA 1 test by a doctor and was unable to continue; therefore, we weren't in a position to field a front-row," Jones stated.

Starting tighthead Tom Botha is also a doubt for the Cardiff fixture with a neck complaint that forced his substitution against the Sharks, leaving the Ospreys with significantly reduced front-row options heading into a critical play-off push.

The scrum controversy has run alongside the wider furore over Luke Morgan's challenge on Ethan Hooker, which has attracted the heavier share of public attention since the match.