It was a tough afternoon for the Ospreys Development team, when they travelled to Parc y Scarlets to face local rivals, Scarlets A.
- A red card for prop, Jordan Walters proved costly as the young Ospreys battled against the extra man for 30 minutes of the game.
- Two great tries from Callum Carson and Cameron Lewis, with conversions from Josh Thomas and Phil Jones put the scores on the board for the visitors, but the Scarlets took advantage of the full contingent to claim the derby win.
- Next up for the Ospreys Development Team are the Cardiff Blues A at the Morganstone Brewery Field this Friday (13th September) K.O 7:15pm.
Kicking off round three of the Celtic Cup, the Ospreys faced their first Welsh opponents of the tournament, making the short trip across the Loughor bridge to take on the Scarlets.
The hosts applied the early pressure in the Ospreys 22, and made use of an early penalty to gain the ground closer to the line. Prop, Steff Thomas drove over from close range to open the scores for the Scarlets, with Ioan Hughes converting to make it 7-0.
From the restart, a blitzing run from Ospreys Callum Carson saw the centre slice through the Scarlets defence. With an advantage in hand, Josh Thomas lined up a penalty just shy of the half-way mark. Despite a valiant effort, the penalty made the distance but just skimmed the wrong side of the posts to deny the side the points.
With the Scarlets, back in possession a solid attack made its way into the Ospreys half. A strong tackle from Ben Cambriani on the wing halted them in their tracks, but a penalty against the Ospreys for holding on allowed Hughes to slot the three to go 10-0 ahead.
In a bid to put their names on the scoreboard, the Ospreys defended valiantly with Morgan Strong securing the penalty for the side just in their half. But the Scarlets were quick to reply, winning a penalty for Osprey hands not releasing to secure the lineout back in the Ospreys 22.
Despite their efforts, the driving maul from the Scarlets proved too strong, with Shaun Evans emerging from the lineout drive to crash over for the try. Hughes converting to make it 17-0.
Firmly in control of the game, the Scarlets utilised their pack well and another huge drive from the pack allowed Daf Land to pick up and ground over the line. Hughes adding the extras to extend their lead 24-7.
Just before the half-time whistle, tempers began to flair around the pack. A brawl between the two props resulted in the referee awarding a yellow card to Scarlets Steff Thomas and a red card to Ospreys Jordan Walters.
HALF TIME – SCARLETS A 24 - 0 OSPREYS DEVELOPMENT TEAM
Coming out for the second half, the Ospreys were first out of their blocks and made a strong start.
A good take from Dewi Cross, allowed the fullback the clean break through the Scarlets defence. A chip was strongly supported by scrum-half Connor Tantum, who had the pace to outrun three Scarlets to gather the ball inside the 22. With the cavalry quick behind him, a swift offload to Callum Carson sent the centre over for the Ospreys first try of the game. Josh Thomas slotting the extras brought the scores to 24-7.
Trying to build momentum, the Ospreys tried to build another attack before the Scarlets returned to their full contingent. Battling against the men in red, the young Ospreys built up the phases before a loose pass handed it back to Scarlets hand.
With the Scarlets back to their full squad, they soon made the one-man advantage count. Javan Sebastian driving over for the try!
Denying the Ospreys any opportunity at an attack, the Scarlets spied the gap in defence with a break from Tomi Lewis followed by strong support allowed Aron Hemmings to ground the try. Hughes adding the two points to go 36-7 ahead.
Making hard work and dominating with the extra man, the Scarlets soared over the line twice through Harri Doel and Jac Morgan with Hughes converting both.
But the Ospreys weren’t ready to just roll over, still putting in a huge effort a beautifully timed interception from Cameron Lewis saw the back race with ease from the halfway line to ground the second try for the Ospreys. Phil Jones converting bringing the scores to 50-14.
However, the Scarlets were able to plough back and have the last say of the game, with Harri Doel signing off the game out wide to bring the final score to 55-14.