A game where friends become enemies, an opportunity for players to go head-to-head with their countrymen and send their supporters into work with the bragging rights.
The Boxing Day West Wales Derby has been a momentous occasion for as long as its existed, so we went back into the archives to give you a mini match report of the first West Wales Derby between Ospreys and Scarlets.
As is often the case in derbies, the game began as a tight one and didn’t see its first score until the 28th minute when Gavin Henson was able to knock over a penalty. Henson was able to slot over another penalty around the 30 minute mark to give the Ospreys a 6-0 lead.
It was the Scarlets who would score the first try though. A lineout inside the Ospreys’ 5 opened up a scrappy maul that allowed Jon Mills to sneak over to give the Scarlets a 7-6 lead, following Gareth Bowen’s conversion.
The Scarlets lead was short lived though, as a moment of brilliance from Shane Williams on the halfway opened up an opportunity for the Ospreys pack to showcase their ballhandling skills and put Barry Williams over for the try.
HALFTIME OSPREYS 11, SCARLETS 7.
The second half would belong to the Ospreys.
Rewarded for his quality work to set up the first try, a trademark sidestep from Shane Williams ripped open the Scarlets defence and allowed him to put the ball down for the try. 16-7 to the Ospreys.
It was the forwards turn to score next. A well worked set piece from the lineout saw a maul come just short of the line but a quick pick up from James Bater was crashed over for the try. 21-7 Ospreys.
It was Shane Williams who would close the scoring for the Ospreys. Some solid work from the pack in the Scarlets’ 22 beckoned Williams from his wing and another trademark step opened up a gap for the try. Matt Jones was able to convert.
FULLTIME OSPREYS 28, SCARLETS 7.