With places in the Ospreys combined squad up for grabs, the U16s had one last chance to impress the coaches and earn their place at a very windy Ysgol Bae Baglan last night.
- After an impressive seven try win away to RGC last week Ospreys West had momentum on their side, whilst the Ospreys East looked to return to winning ways after their unbeaten run ended at the hands of Blues North.
- A strong first half from the East saw Daniel O’Sullivan, Tom Bending, Scott Ryall and Sam Costelow get the bonus point try before half time.
- Tries from Dan Hiscocks, and Alex Thomas, converted by Declan Thomas, brought the West back into it but the East held on for the win
The East were first off the mark ,earning a scrum in the West half and, after a period of pressure, eventually Daniel O’Sullivan sliced through the East’s defence to score the opening try of the game. Sam Costelow’s conversion put the East side ahead 0-7 with only five minutes played.
The West side tried to gain some territory out of their own half, but the East stole line out ball to put them back in possession.
Powering their way through the phases, a chip through from Costelow saw the ball sail towards the corner and good pressure from the East’s backs left the West side no choice but to take the ball into touch.
Securing the lineout, good interplay from the backs saw an offload out wide to find Tom Bending, giving the winger a try in the corner that went unconverted.
The West side were finding it difficult to exit their own half, the strong wind in their face a telling factor in how the half was playing out.
Under pressure in their own 22, a box kick from the West’s Dan Hiscoks was charged down and collected by East prop Scott Ryall who went over for his sides third of the game, Costelow adding his third conversion.
Looking for their bonus point before half time, a lovely break from Costelow saw the fly-half slide between the posts for the fourth try before slotting his own conversion.
Half Time: Ospreys East U16s 0-26 Ospreys West U16s
The wind grew even stronger as the second half got underway, both sides struggling to make any headway via a kicking game which meant it was down to a battle between the forwards to make any ground.
Carrying the ball well into the East’s 22, a break from fullback Cameron Clayfield almost gave the West their first try only for the East’s defence to reach him just in time, a knock forward seeing the ball turned over.
A quick break from Hiscoks sent the West scrum-half gliding through the defence to score his sides opening try with Declan Thomas nicely slotting the conversion, despite the swaying posts.
The West looked to go again, taking advantage of a penalty, quick work from the backs took them into the 22 and after the initial attack from the forwards, quick ball sent Alex Thomas over the line for the second try for the West, Thomas with the conversion to narrow the scores 14-26.
With a potential comeback looking on the cards, but deteriorating conditions meant neither side was able to gain the momentum to score again in the final minutes.
