After five weeks build up, Ospreys Women finally took to the field against Cardiff Blues at Ystrad Mynach on the weekend, recording a 41-5 win on the opening day of the new season.
- Ospreys Women score seven tries in a convincing win over Blues Ladies on the opening day of the new season
- Keira Bevan, Siwan Lillicrap, Amy Price, Courtney Howe, Carys Phillips, Charlie Mundy and Adi Taviner touch down with adding three conversions
- Next up is Dragons in October
After receiving the kick off, the Ospreys went on the attack going through the phases in the Blues 22. Scrum half Keira Bevan broke through the defence for the first try.
After the restart the dominant Ospreys pack gained control again, picking holes in the Blues defence. Blindside flanker, Siwan Lillicrap, carried from outside the 22, beating three defenders before touching down in the corner for the second try of the day after just six minutes.
The Ospreys defence held firm as the Blues came back into the game before Amy Price broke away to score try number three under the posts which was converted by Courtney Howe to make it 17 – 0 after 25 mins.
With half time approaching both sides had periods of possession which ended in Rafique Taylor breaking from deep inside her own half after a scintillating run finished in the corner to get the capital city region on the scoreboard, making it Ospreys 17 Cardiff Blues 5 at the break.
The second half started as the first half finished with both sides having possession but, thirteen minutes into the second half, great work from the Ospreys forwards led to the ball going through the back line with full back Courtney Howe on the end to score in the corner.
Next, openside Kelsey Jones broke through but, with the tryline in sight, she was denied a score. It was the Ospreys forwards who were quickest to the breakdown, hooker Carys Phillips picking up the ball and driving over the line for a score that was successfully converted by Howe to make it 29 – 5.
Going into the last quarter the Ospreys continued to enjoy the majority of possession, finishing the game off with two more tries. The first came from second row Charlie Mundy, hacking a loose ball forward before displaying the pace of a sprinter to win the foot race, nudging the ball over the line to make it 34 – 5.
The final try of the afternoon came from captain, Adi Taviner, just reward for her centre partnership with Shona Powell Hughes, the skipper’s first try of the season converted once again by Howe, making it a final score 41-5.
After the game, Head Coach, Jonathan Hawker said: “It was nice to finally get on the park after a short pre-season. The Blues played well today and defended doggedly all through the game and we had to use all our experience to break them down.”
Forwards Coach Adam Park added:
“We had a few injuries going into today but everyone that started and came on today had a really positive impact and the players coming back into the squad in the coming weeks will have loads to offer and we are already looking forward to game two against the Dragons in October”