An Ospreys U20 team suffered defeat at the hands of an experienced North Wales side containing eight Canadian internationals at Maesteg RFC.
It was the first game for a development team predominantly selected from the Afan Nedd, Bridgend and Swansea District U19’s teams, with a handful of U20 players just out of youth rugby, as part of the Ospreys ongoing player identification programme.
It was a difficult afternoon for the young Ospreys, who went down 71-10, with two tries from Mike Powell and Trystan Herdman, but Age Grade Development Manager, Steve Tandy, said that despite being a one-sided affair it had been a worthwhile venture with much to be happy with:
“It was a difficult afternoon for such a young team, finding themselves up against a much older team that included a number of players vying for a spot in the Canadian Rugby World Cup squad, but all credit has to be given to the players involved.
“They were gutsy and brave, and really kept going to the end, showing some great character when up against it. This was a side that had never played together previously, and was mainly U19 District players, and most of them had also played for their clubs the previous day, so looking at things in perspective, it was a difficult task for them but they certainly didn’t shy away from the challenge.”
Ospreys U20 squad:
Backs
Chad Punchard
Lewis Harrhy
Andrew Claypole
Will Hodnett
Mike Powell
Josh Austin
Tom Barry
Jackson Seabo
Arron Jones
Rhys Bevan
Forwards
Luke Myatt
Ryan Curtis
Ian Williams
Luke Joseph
Jon Davies
Tom Carney
Sean Derrick
Richard Smart
Alun Rees
Gareth Thomas
Trystan Herdman
Ben Jones