The Ospreys age-grade sides were all in action yesterday, here’s a roundup of the three sides
- The U18s came up just short against the Scarlets at the Gnoll on Wednesday evening
- The U16s West claimed two wins, a loss and a draw in the super six festival at Ystrad Mynach on Wednesday afternoon
- Whilst the East side ended the festival unbeaten with two wins and a draw
- The season for all three age-grade sides will commence next Wednesday
Ospreys U18s 7-12 Scarlets U18s
The Ospreys U18s faced the Scarlets U18s in a friendly at the Gnoll on Wednesday evening, and new head coach Chris Davies named a 33-man squad to take on our local rivals. With the game played in three 25-minute periods, the squad were all giving an opportunity to run out in an Ospreys jersey before their season kicks off next week.
The first period of play saw both sides struggling to gain the upper hand on the other, with the clock running into overtime before the initial points were scored. They came from an overlap out wide to the Scarlets wing who crossed the line in the corner. No conversion, but the Scarlets edged ahead 0-5 going into the second period.
The Ospreys held their own well in the second period but struggled to turn on the attack against their visitors. Similarly, the Scarlets struggled to gain any headway against a solid Ospreys defence, keeping the scores 0-5 to the Scarlets as the second period drew to a close.
With conditions getting worse as the rain hammered down, players struggled to keep hold of the ball and gain any momentum.
The Scarlets managed to gain some territory in the Ospreys half, and another pass out wide to their wing saw them ground another try! The conversion on target, extended the Scarlets lead 0-12 with just over 10 minutes left on the clock.
But the Ospreys weren’t ready to throw in the towel just yet. Conjuring up an attack of their own in the Scarlets 22 a powerful run from Joe Hawkins saw him reach just shy of the line before being brought down. But shrugging off a tackle, the centre broke loose to score the try! Converting his own try brought the scores to 7-12 with no time left on the clock for the Ospreys to go again.
U16s - East
The east side claimed a draw in their first game against the Scarlets East at Ystrad Mynach on Wednesday with a try from Luke Weaver and conversion from Will Bevan equalling that of their rivals to bring the final score to 7-7.
In their second game against the Dragons, tries from Sam Johnson and Kian Jones kept the scoreboard ticking over, but the boot of Euan Rees proved the decider between the two sides with the Ospreys side claiming the win at 14-10.
In their final game against the Scarlets, the young Osprey side were relentless, denying their opposition any points on the board! Two tries from Kyan Lloyd and one each for Lennon Reynolds and Cory Jenkins saw the Ospreys storm ahead with Rees’s conversion sealing the 17-0 win for the side.
U16s West
The U16s West faced the Scarlets West in their first game of the afternoon, and despite their efforts with a try from Llyr Davies, Scarlets were able to double the try count to claim the 5-10 win.
In their second game, the Ospreys learnt from their mistakes in the opening game to take on the Dragons Red. Tries from Brandon Jones, Dan Edwards, George Dunn and Carwyn Sion left the Dragons struggling to stay in the game despite a consolation try. The final scores gave the Ospreys their first win at 20-5.
With a win and a loss to their name, the West side took on RGC U16s in their third game. Both sides were evenly matched and struggled to take advantage of the other. Tries from Dylan Scott and Dan Edwards and a conversion for the Ospreys were equalled by two tries and a conversion from the North Walians leaving the final scores a 12-12 draw.
In their final game of the afternoon, the West side faced tough opposition against the Blues U16s North who went into the game unbeaten. But the Ospreys were quick to get off the mark, with Oscar Muxworthy crossing the whitewash to claim the early lead, the conversion taking them 7-0 ahead. The Blues side were quick to answer back with a converted try of their own to equal the scores. But the Ospreys proved the stronger of the two sides with two powerful tries towards the end period through Rhys Harris and Troy Davies. A conversion secured the 19-7 victory for the Ospreys, ending the Blues U16s North side’s unbeaten run.
The U18s and U16s sides will begin their season next week.