The Eyasses got their pre-season off to a flying start with a win over the Northampton age grade side at Franklin’s Gardens on Friday evening.
The last few weeks have seen the Ospreys age grade side training hard and their efforts paid off last night with a great win over the Saints.
A large training side had made the journey over the bridge, as the coaches looked to test the young players with a challenging game as part of the build-up to the new season and to aid the final squad selection process.
It was a high scoring, fast paced and exciting game but it was the Eyasses that came out on top after some impressive play, the two sides sharing nine tries as the visitors raced into a half time lead before holding off the Saints second half challenge.
After a tit-for-tat start that saw the lead change hands several times the young Ospreys got their noses in front at the midway point of the first half and never left go of that lead. The first 40 saw centre Gareth Thomas, winger James Davies and prop Sam Matthews cross the line, James Davies only missing one of his conversion attempts.
Before half time he made up for his one missed kick, racing over for a try of his own before quickly converting, as the Eyasses led 26-12 at the turnaround.
The second half saw a number of replacements for the young Ospreys, and as the home side rallied they defence was tested to the full. That didn’t stop replacement Llyr Davies touching the ball down, fellow replacement Phil Jones slotting it between the posts for the conversion to ensure the victory.
Full Time: Northampton Saints 22 – 33 Eyasses
Team Manager, Graham Court, said after the game:
“We brought the boys to Northampton as we wanted them to face a tough and different challenge in the shape of an Aviva Premiership age grade team. They really stepped up to the plate and did some impressive work. There are certainly things to work on before next week and looking further ahead to the start of the season, but we’re really pleased with their efforts to secure the win”
The Eyasses are in action on Wednesday (20th August) at the regional training base at Llandarcy where they will be taking on the Worcester Warriors U18s.
Kick-off is at 2pm and supporters are welcomed along to support the future of the Ospreys.