A combination of youth and experience saw the Ospreys secure an Anglo-Welsh Cup win over Cardiff Blues on Friday night
- After a scoreless first half Reuben Morgan-Williams opened the scoring, finishing the first try of the match after a neat James Hook chip over the top to make space for Luke Price to catch and offload
- Reliable kickers shared the duties, Luke Price and Sam Davies collecting all but one available kick, from long range
- Despite being a man down, the Ospreys extended their lead following a string of phases down the wing, Morgan Morris and Luke Price offloading for Rhys Williams to score his team’s second try
It was the second round of the Anglo-Welsh Cup and both sides were looking for their first victory of the campaign following defeats to English opposition last weekend.
In a scoreless first half, Cardiff Blues had the majority of possession but couldn’t find their way through a strong Ospreys defence.
There were number of enforced injury changes throughout the opening 40, the first seeing Rory Thornton replaced by Bradley Davies in the first 10 minutes.
Will Jones made a try saving tackle, running back to stop the Blues running in a try after, the young flanker picking up a knock in the process. He managed to stay on but was subbed off for Morgan Morris at half time, after his partnership with Guy Mercer had blossomed, causing a stir at the break down.
As the Blues pressed, the referee issued a warning to captain Luke Price that if the Ospreys committed anymore infringements for ‘not releasing’ then somebody would have to go to the bin.
However, the visitors held on until the break without conceding, heading down the tunnel with their numbers intact.
HALF TIME: CARDIFF BLUES 0-0 OSPREYS
A combination of experience and youth came to the fore at the start of the second half as Reuben Morgan-Williams the first try of the match, a neat chip over the top from James Hook making space for Luke Price to catch and offload. Price converted.
The two sides then exchanged penalties, Sam Davies for the Ospreys and Steve Shingler for the Blues seeing the scoreboard moving to 9-10, the Ospreys leading by a point.
The third quarter saw injuries to both centres, Keiran Williams (leg) and Tom Williams (arm), departing the action.
After the Ospreys had been warned in the first half, Rob McCusker had to take one for the team and made his way to the sin bin after a string of offences.
The Ospreys dug in deep, another successful penalty from Davies taking them four clear.
With 10 minutes remaining the Ospreys looked to make the game safe, attacking down the left wing, Morris and Price combining for replacement centre Rhys Williams to score his first Ospreys try.
Davies kicked the conversion and then, with three minutes left added another penalty to make the game safe.
To the Blues credit they stuck at it and clever ball handling skills allowed centre Harri Millard to go under the posts in the dying minutes for the Blues only try of the game, converted by Shingler.
The final kick-of the game saw Sam Davies with another penalty to ensure a 10-point winning margin.
