A dominant performance from the Ospreys Development Team saw the side pick up their first win of the Celtic Cup competition against Cardiff Blues A.
- A try from Travis Huntley and double from Ben Cambriani saw the young side race out in front against their Welsh rivals.
- Josh Thomas securing the extras, rounded off the victory for the young side ahead of next weekend's visit of Leinster A to St Helen's.
A strong start from the visitors saw pressure turn into points, with lock Teddy Williams crossing the try line for the opening score. No conversion, but Cardiff Blues took the early 5-0 lead.
But the Ospreys reply ensured those were the only points their visitors would be leaving the Bridgend Ravens stage with.
Securing a penalty within kicking range, Josh Thomas slotted the three points to narrow the scores at 3-5.
From the restart, the Ospreys switched on a blistering attack. Shifting the ball from one corner to the other, Ben Cambriani dived over the line for the first of his two tries. Unconverted, but the Ospreys edged ahead at 8-3 with a quarter of an hour on the clock.
Firmly in control of possession, fullback Phil Jones launched an attack from deep to charge over the line, only for the referee to call it back for a knock on over the line. In a clinical position, the Ospreys continuously asked questions against their opponents, but the Cardiff Blues held firm. A slight error from the Ospreys allowed the visitors to kick deep and reach the Ospreys 22 for the attack.
But a huge defensive effort from the Ospreys saw them capture the ball, with Will Jones picking up and crashing his way through two defenders to send the ball out wide for another ferocious attack.
With the Blues still trying their luck, a solid effort from the pack secured them the turnover! But their luck ran out when an error needed no invitation from Cambriani. The young wing gathering the loose ball to run it wide for his second try of the game.
Thomas adding the extras to hand the Ospreys the comfortable 15-5 lead at the break.
HALF TIME – OSPREYS DEVELOPMENT TEAM 15 – 5 CARDIFF BLUES A
Coming out for the second half, the Ospreys wasted no time in holding on to their half-time lead. A dominant scrum in the Blues 22 won the hosts the penalty and Thomas to slot the three to go 18-5 ahead.
Continuously asking question, the Ospreys suddenly found themselves with the lineout 10m out. But Cardiff Blues had a tight grip at the line, and they held their defence well to secure the ball and clear up field. Still in a good position Thomas and Cameron Lewis both did well to break their way through their opponent’s defence only to be penalised for holding on to deny them a try-scoring opportunity.
But their efforts weren’t in vain, after a penalty for the Cardiff Blues going in at the side of the ruck allowed Thomas to kick the three to extend the lead.
With a brand-new front row coming on for the Ospreys, the replacements set the pack up nicely to win the penalty for Thomas to have no difficulty kicking. Taking the scores to 24-7 as the game entered its final 10 minutes.
Denying Cardiff Blues any territory out of their own half, Ospreys continued to dominate possession and kept digging their way up field and hammering their opponents defence.
With the clock running red, there was time for one last try for the Ospreys! A valiant team effort saw the young Ospreys work the ball well through the phases eventually resulting in Travis Huntley grounding the ball over the whitewash. A rare miss from Thomas at the sticks, but a superb performance from the Development Team earned them the 29-5 victory.
Next up for the Ospreys Development Team is the visit of Leinster A to St Helen’s on Friday 20th September, K.O 7:15pm.