Ahead of the Ospreys and Scarlets big derby clash on Friday, the under-18 teams did battle in a derby match of their own last night at Llandarcy last night.
The Scarlets took home the spoils in a tough encounter against the Eyasses which they edged 17-11.
Tom Evans’ try wasn’t enough to help his Ospreys team claw their way back from 14 points down. The Scarlets had scored two tries with Craig Woodhall and Josh Helps crossing early in each half for the visitors.
Both sides started the game with great intention and they each looked to gain the upper hand in the early exchanges. Early Ospreys pressure resulted in an easy three points for Luke Price and this settled the home team down.
The young Ospreys were starting to gain the upper hand in the match but a lapse in concentration gifted the Scarlets the lead when centre, Woodhall, touched down beneath the posts. Outside half, Jack Maynard slotted the extras.
The next 20 minutes saw both teams attempt to break each other down but the defences held firm. Ospreys second row, Adam Williams, was sent to the sin bin when he was adjudged to be killing the ball at a ruck. This presented Maynard with a penalty opportunity and he duly converted.
After the referee brought the first half to the close, the Eyasses were seven points and a man down leaving themselves with a lot of work to do.
The situation worsened for the Ospreys youngsters early on in the second half when Helps scored the visitors’ second try of the game. After the Ospreys valiantly absorbed a lot of Scarlets pressure, the inevitable happened when Helps crashed over the whitewash. Maynard added the two-pointer.
With the Ospreys back to their full complement of players, they started to gain yards with every carry and were recycling quick ruck ball. After a number of phases and some slick hands, Evans finished a brilliant Ospreys move to score out wide. Luke Price missed the difficult conversion.
The Eyasses had their tails up and continued to threaten the Scarlets defence. Throughout the final 10 minutes, the Ospreys dominated possession and were looking threatening with the ball in hand. A solid defensive effort from the Scarlets thwarted the Ospreys effort.
The Ospreys continued to pile the pressure on but had to settle for a Luke Price penalty kick to conclude the scoring. The Scarlets grabbed their first win of the season whereas the Ospreys are still searching for their opening victory.