In their rearranged game, the U16s battle for regional bragging rights on Wednesday afternoon when the East take on the West in the Ospreylian derby at Ysgol Bae Baglan, kicking off at 4:30pm.
With places in the combined squad up for grabs, the U16s have one last chance to impress the coaches in their final game of the season. It’s been a mixed season for both the U16 sides, with the East notching up two wins and two losses and the West claiming two losses a draw and a win.
The East began their season with an impressive 38-12 win on the road against the Dragons North, before falling just short the following week at home with a 21-26 defeat to the Scarlets West. The side picked up another away win up in North Wales, running in six tries against RGC to claim a 26-32 victory but a quick three day turnaround proved too much when they faced the Blues North at Merthyr RFC, which saw them the wrong side of a 34-12 scoreline.
The West put in some solid performances in the opening two rounds, but came up just short in both, falling to the Blues South 31-22 at the Arms Park and coming agonisingly close at home to the Dragons North at 24-29. In the third round, the West side held their own against an impressive Scarlets West side, and unlike their eastern counterparts managed to deny their opponents a win with the game ending 12-12. In their penultimate game of the season, the West side pulled a winning performance out of the bag to defeat RGC 34-17.
So with bragging rights on the line, both sides have it all to play for this week, and here’s how they line up:
Ospreys U16’s East
15. Lloyd Freeman
14. Joe Watts
13. Logan Phillips
12. Sam Jardine
11. Riley Henderson
10. Jac Tregoning
9. Elis Horgan
1.Morgan Creaber
2. Oliver Burrows
3. Kieran Stevens
4. Ioan Billingham
5. Trystan Davies ©
6. Kyan Lloyd
7. Mason Hughes
8. Morgan Hibbard
Replacements
16. Ben Owen
17. Tom Crockett
18. Dylan Rogers
19. Morgan Bennett
20. Dylan Samuel
21. Nathan Evans
22. Rio Davies
23. Alix Davies
Speaking ahead of the Ospreylian derby, head coach of the East side Paul Watkin said:
“The boys have dusted themselves down following our defeat against Blues North and we are going to give our all in tomorrow afternoon's game against the West.
“We’ve had some good wins and the boys have conducted themselves well in such a short space of time. We made some changes throughout the season but the boys performed well in all games regardless of the outcome. Hopefully it’ll be a great show of rugby from the both sides, and we can end the season with a win.”
Ospreys U16’s West
15. Iestyn Hopkins
14. Ryan Chappel
13. Callum Dodd
12. Joe Hawkins
11. Trystan James
10. Iestyn Morgan
9. Tom Davies
1.Lewis Jones
2. Drew Ullah
3. Louie Walters
4. Ben Snadden
5. Billy Moxey ©
6. Jordan Evans
7. Keiran Lewys
8. Matthew Hutchinson
Replacements
16. Lloyd Eaton
17. John Edwards
18. Morgan Thomas
19. Tim Perkins
20. Josh Rupersinghe
21. Lloyd Davies
22. Luca Scotto Smith
23. Ben Petherbridge
Also giving his view of the upcoming game, head coach of the West side Tom Snelgrove said:
“This week’s game is another opportunity on the player ID pathway. In all derby games when you play against your neighbours, there is that added motivation, so there is no need to motivate the players and Wednesday is no different.
“However, what we have emphasised to the players is that we need to stick to what we have done well over the last block which is ensure we are accurate in all aspects of our game.
The East have, like us, had some good perfornances and some indifferent ones , but we know they will come at us hard and we need to front up to that challenge. The management group believe that we have uncovered many players that will ensure the future of the Ospreys region is bright and that is what’s most important.”