Looking for their first win of the British and Irish Cup, the Ospreys Premiership Select travelled to Irish Independent Park in Cork to take on defending champions Munster A on Friday night.
- A strong first half performance from Munster, left the young Ospreys fighting to stay in the game, going in at the break 20-0 down.
- A dogged second half from the visitors limited their opponents opportunities, but the Ospreys left with nothing
Up against a well drilled, experienced team, the young Osprey side looked to improve on the last time these two sides met back in October.
Defending well in the opening stages of the game, the Ospreys fought well against a dominant Munster attack but, despite preventing Munster from turning their dominance into points, the visitors struggled to match their strong defence in attack.
It wasn’t until the 20th minute of the game that a driving lineout powered its way through the Ospreys defence, leaving hooker Mike Sherry to drive his way over the line to open the scores with a try. Bill Johnston slotting the extras took the hosts 7-0 ahead.
With momentum building for Munster, a penalty allowed Johnston to slot another three points to take them 10-0 ahead.
And it wasn’t long until Munster found themselves attacking in the Ospreys half once more. A dominant scrum by the hosts forced a penalty against the young Ospreys with Johnston opting for the posts, to extend their lead further ahead at 13-0.
With less than five minutes left of the first half, the Ospreys tried to break their way out of their own half, but Munster’s attack was relentless. Finding their way into the Ospreys 22, another powerful drive from the pack saw Sherry crash over for his second try of the game. Johnston kicking the conversion to take the hosts comfortably ahead at half time.
Half-time Munster A 20 - 0 Ospreys Premiership Select
As the second half got underway, the Ospreys did well to keep the Munster attack at bay, the defending champions made to fight for everything.
A strong scrum from the Ospreys, saw them make headway into Munster’s half, and a clean line break from Harri Morgan created an opportunity but Munster were quick to regather their defence and steal the turnover.
A break from the Munster pack and another driving maul allowed Gavin Coombes to cross over for Munster’s third try, Johnston with the extras to take them 27-0 ahead with just under 20 minutes left on the clock.
Still battling hard, the Ospreys dug in deep to try and conjure up an attack, battling their way upfield to try and come away with some points. But experience eventually prevailed, with Munster stealing the ball to kick out for the full time whistle, leaving the young Ospreys scoreless despite a valiant effort!
The Ospreys Premiership Select willend their campaign when they face Nottingham in the rearranged fixture on Friday 9th March at the Lady Bay Stadium, Nottingham, K.O 7:45pm.