The aim of the Young Osprey teams in the Reebok League is to finish in one of the top two places in order to qualify for the Reebok Cup Final. Then when you get to that Final hit peak form; yesterday (Friday) the under 18 team achieved that goal.
They met a Blues team at Llandovery RFC who had already beaten them twice in league matches this season, however, the games were such that the team (picture courtesy www.aosportsphoto.com) went to the fixture confident that they could win. In horrendous weather conditios (wind and rain) they played some effective attacking rugby that must have satisfied coaches Phil John and Gethin Watts. Also forwards coach Andrew Millward must have been extremely pleased by the way in which his pack has developed throughout the season and for the first time had the better of the Blues at both the scrum and contact areas. If you are going to win big matches not only do you need the team to fire on all cylinders but also for certain individuals to have huge impacts on the performance. In the Young Osprey team back row forwards Justin Tipuric (pictured) and Rory Pitman made bone shuddering hits on a number of their opponents. Then in the backs outside half Daniel Biggar showed maturity in controlling the game and in particular in the second half by ensuring that the game was played in the Blues half. Centre Ashley Beck made a number of incisive breaks and full back Chris Lewis led a counter attack that the Blues couldn't contain. Tries for the Young Ospreys were scored by wing Liam Osowicz, Beck and Lewis, while Biggar added a penalty and two conversions. The Final Score was 22 points to 15 in favour of the Young Ospreys and the first of their trophies successfully defended. Next up for the squad will be a fixture with a Regional District XV at Dunvant on Wednesday 3rd January, kick off 2pm. The purpose of the game is to offer opportunities for late developers to be added to the squad for development in 2007.