The Ospreys were expected to be among the high fliers in the Heineken Cup but they have yet to start flapping, failing to score a try in their first two games.
Wales's leading region may mix the bulk of the national side with a supplement of Test players from overseas, but having signed up an array of individual talent, the management keeps banging on about the overriding importance of the team ethic. The directors' programme notes on Saturday were stuffed with corporate jargon, clotted with words such as core, values, transparency, honesty, trust and loyalty.
The aim is to establish an esprit de corps, but there is no joie de vivre. Players who are expressive for Wales seem constrained, lacking swagger. There were mitigating factors against Perpignan, with a number of backs injured and opponents happy to concede penalties. But even when they had a man advantage, on three occasions, the Ospreys lacked invention.
Like Wales they are run by a New Zealander, but while Warren Gatland is the head coach at national level, Andrew Hore has an overseeing role at the Ospreys and comes from a conditioning background, rather than coaching. He has built a model of rigidity, exemplified in the two-match ban given to Gavin Henson this month for skipping a training session. Henson's ban ended early when he was recalled to the bench on Saturday morning after a back spasm forced out James Hook. The Ospreys did not have another fit and registered back but Henson remained on the sidelines throughoutthe match, even though his side only took the lead for the first time with 11 minutes to go.
Perpignan led for 22 minutes either side of half-time, after Jérôme Porical kicked his third penalty, despite losing two players to the sin-bin in the third quarter, which reduced them to 13 men for two minutes. In stoppage time Viliami Vaki crossed the line for what would have been the winning try, only to be called back for a forward pass.
The Ospreys prop Paul James was fortunate to remain on the field after flooring the Romanian hooker Marius Tincu with a punch, while the home coach, Sean Holley, was concerned at marks around the eyes of some of his players. "It is the second week in a row this has happened," he said, in a reference to the 12-6 defeat at Leicester. "I am not saying it is eye-gouging, but it is something that has increased in the game in the last year or so."
At one point, the Ospreys captain, Ryan Jones, pointed at his eyes and looked at the referee after the replacement lock Ian Gough had, as it were, pointed the finger at the flanker Gerrie Britz for skulduggery at a ruck. Was Jones suggesting the referee needed to see an optician or that Gough had been gouged? "No comment," he said, repeatedly.
The Ospreys need to pull their collective finger out. Five penalties from the 19-year-old fly-half Dan Biggar secured victory here, but the virtually silent reaction from the crowd at the final whistle told its own story. They have in Holley probably the most enterprising young coach in Wales, but he does not wield the clout of Gatland in a top-heavy region.
Ospreys: Byrne; Vaughton, Bowe, A Bishop, Williams; Biggar, Webb; James (D Jones, 53), Bennett (Hibbard, 75), A Jones,
AW Jones (Gough, 72), Evans, R Jones (capt; Smith, 80), Holah, Tiatia.
Pens: Biggar 5.
Perpignan Porical; Plante, Sid, Manas, Candelon; Mélé (Durand, 11), Cusiter; Freshwater (Pulu, 59), Tincu (Guirado, 59), Mas (capt; Freshwater, 70), Olibeau (Guiry, 62), Kairelis (Vilaceca, 59), Perez (Vaki, 73), Britz, Chouly.
Pens: Porical 3.
Sin-bin: Plante, 29; Perez, 40; Vilaceca, 76.
Referee: W Barnes (England). Attendance: 10,761.
