A spirited Ospreys West U16s went down fighting to a strong Blues South side at Llandarcy while the East enjoyed a romp against the Dragons in Bridgend
- Tries from Louis Rees, Dillon Caulfield, Dan Hiscoks and Luke Butler and conversions from Declan Thomas and Iestyn Morgan put Ospreys West back into the game after they had trailed 21-5 in the first half
- Despite the Eyasses fighting their way back to take the lead early in the second half, the young Blues proved too strong, scoring three late tries in five minutes to win the game
- East run in six tries against the Dragons to maintain their unbeaten record
Ospreys West U16 24 – 42 Blues South U16
Both teams looked ready to kick-start their second block of the season at a cold Llandarcy Academy of Sport last night.
Gaining good ground in the Blues South half, the Ospreys looked to control the early stages after pressure from wing Louis Rees, charging down a clearing kick denied the Blues any ground. With a scrum to the Blues from a knock on, the Ospreys set-piece secured turnover ball.
It was picked up by the forwards, and a quick offload to fly-half Declan Thomas whose chip over the defence was nicely read and picked up by Rees, the wing flying over for the game’s first try.
Kicking into the wind, the conversion was slightly wide but the Ospreys were 5-0 ahead.
But only two minutes later, the young Blues hit back. Taking advantage of penalties going in their favour, the Cardiff side worked their way into the Ospreys 22 and a driving maul from the forwards put them over the line to equal the scores. With a successful conversion from Ioan Davies, the Blues edged ahead at 5-7.
Keen to keep their momentum going, the Blues were on the attack again, pushing deep into the Ospreys half, and their flanker Craig Miller broke through to score. Another successful conversion from Davies put the Blues South ahead at 5-14.
With a nine-point deficit, the Ospreys were dealt a blow, Jacob Hopkins leaving the field with a shoulder injury.
And the Blues weren’t taking their feet off the gas anytime soon. After a penalty for an offside went against the Ospreys, the Blues kicked into touch deep in the Ospreys 22. Another gutsy forwards effort and a quick offload saw wing Jack Dixon go over for their third of the game. A successful conversion by Davies took the score to 5-21.
Despite a steep hill to climb, the young Ospreys weren’t about to give up.
A good run from the restart brought them well into the Blues half. Putting in powerful carries, the Blues were forced to scramble their defence, and a penalty for going in at the side gave the Ospreys a chance to gain more ground with a kick to touch.
Lineout secured, and an offload to Dillon Caulfield saw the forward power over the line to put the Ospreys into double figures. Declan Thomas’ conversion narrowed the gap to nine points.
A good driving maul from the forwards and an offload to skipper Dan Hiscoks secured his side’s third try of the game. Iestyn Morgan struck the conversion beautifully and brought the Ospreys back to within two points at half time.
HALF TIME Ospreys West U16’s 19 – 21 Blues South U16
The young Ospreys looked to take the lead at the start of the second half, and with it, secure the bonus point try.
A break from fullback Cameron Clayfield followed by good interplay from the backs saw the ball worked out wide to Luke Butler who went over in the corner for the Ospreys fourth. The conversion was just wide but the Ospreys were ahead at 24-21.
They led going into the final 10 minutes but the visitors slowly began to dominate and it came as no surprise when another forwards effort sent the Blues number 8 Aron Churchill over the line to put his side back ahead at 24-26, the conversion putting them four clear.
Another driving maul put them over the line once more with hooker Joel Coughlin crashing over for a converted score, before the Blues then scored their sixth try of the game through the hands of replacement hooker Harry Fry. The conversion brought the final scores to 24-42 thanks to three tries in five minutes.
Next up for the Ospreys U16’s West is a trip to Ystrad Mynach’s CCBC Centre for Sporting Excellence where they face Dragons North U16 on Monday 6th February, K.O 7:15pm.
Elsewhere Ospreys East U16’s triumphed over the Dragons North U16 in a 38-5 victory. Scott Ryall and Cory Taylor crossed over the line twice, with Sam Costelow and Teo Fillis bringing the try count to 6, conversions from Costelow and Jack Evans brought the final score to a well-earned 38-5.
Next up for the Ospreys East side is a trip to the Lewis Lloyd Ground, Narberth, where they take one Scarlets West U16 on Wednesday 8th February K.O 19:15.
