Ospreys Finish With a Win
On Sunday 24th January 2010 the Ospreys U18’s played their final match of the U18 Women’s Regional Championship against the Dragons. The fixture took place at Banwen RFC where conditions were cold and windy.
After narrowly losing their last match against the Scarlets the Ospreys were determined to finish their season off with a win.
The Dragons were out of the blocks immediately and applied continuous pressure from the whistle. This caught the Ospreys sleeping and after just four minutes Dragon’s No. 8 Cery Hale picked up from the base of the scrum and ran in under the posts for the games first points. Dragons Centre Alexia Evans extended the lead to seven points with a successful conversion.
The first half developed into an exciting match with both teams having their fair share of possession and territory. Ospreys Fly-Half Chloe Mastaglio couldn’t take advantage of two penalty kicks but the Ospreys kept chasing down the Dragons which eventually paid off and at the end of the half Ospreys captain Carys Phillips led by example and crossed the line for the home side’s first points. Mastaglio was unsuccessful with the conversion and the half finished Ospreys 5 – 7 Dragons.
The second half saw both teams try to play an open game of rugby but the Dragons were trying their best to slow down the Ospreys quick ruck ball and the penalty count increased. Mastaglio missed a further penalty chance but Captain Phillips took charge at the next Ospreys penalty and steam rollered over the Dragons try line giving the Ospreys the lead at sixty minutes. Mastaglio passed the kicking duties onto Scrum Half Delyth Davies who missed the conversion.
Mastaglio sustained a heavy knock to her knee and was sidelined for the remainder of the match, but substitutions April Kelly and Jess Smith made a big impact for the last twenty with Smith breaking through the Dragons defence and running in from 60 metre’s. Davies made a successful conversion and added the two points.
The closing stages of the match saw both teams trying hard to gain more points but the score remained unchanged and the Ospreys came out victorious.
Final score: Ospreys U18’s 17 – 7 Dragons U18’s
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Scarlets Edge Win Over Ospreys
On Sunday 06th December 2009 the Ospreys played against the Scarlets in a very close match at Llandarcy Academy of Sport.
The days leading up to the match had brought some terrible weather and the field was soft under foot. Match day conditions were slightly better as the rain had held off in the morning but there was a stiff cold breeze. The match had the makings of a mud bath, but both teams had turned up with high spirits and with the title at stake both teams needed to play a high standard game to win.
From the Kick-Off the Ospreys applied all the pressure and after a number of tight exchanges they opened the scoring with centre, Delyth Davies touching down after only three minutes. Chloe Mastaglio added two points with a well struck conversion.
The Scarlets re-grouped and responded with some nice touches. This enabled centre, Rebecca De Phillipo to cross the line with a well worked try after eleven minutes. Unfortunately No. 8 Rebecca Norris missed the conversion leaving the Ospreys in front.
With the field cutting up and both teams wanting to compete for everything, mistakes were inevitable. This allowed the Scarlets to have a penalty within kicking distance and Norris took the opportunity and gave the Scarlets a one point lead.
Half Time Ospreys 7 – 8 Scarlets
The Ospreys were quick to regain their lead after the interval with a well supported try scored by wing Angharad Jones seven minutes in. Mastaglio was unable to convert from the touchline but the Ospreys were back in the lead.
The Scarlets managed to gain some territory and returned the favour with a try scored by center Rachel Rees on the 55 minute mark, the conversion attempt went wide by Norris which left the Scarlets with a narrow one point advantage.
The game had a pendulum effect with both sides wanting to use the ball and created a match that despite the conditions had plenty of opportunity. Both coaching teams had done their homework and managed to produce game plans that were enjoyed by all the supporters.
The match could have gone either way but the Scarlet’s had the edge and came out victorious.
Ceri Wyatt Ospreys Head Coach commented: “All credit must go to the players, both squads played with a high intensity that is expected at regional level. In poor conditions they put on a display that showed Women’s rugby is rapidly developing into a highly contested and exciting game not only to play in but to watch as well.”
Final Score Ospreys 12 – 13 Scarlets
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Ospreys Soar Into North Wales
On Sunday 01st November 2009 the Ospreys played their second match of the U18 Women’s Regional Championship against Gogledd Cymru. They took the 5hr coach journey to a very wet and windy Colwyn Bay RFC.
After losing their first match against the Cardiff Blues and hearing of the great performance that Gogledd Cymru put in against Newport Gwent Dragons the Ospreys had to be on top of their game.
The Ospreys immediately stamped their authority on the match. They applied continuous pressure from the whistle and with great ‘go forward’ the cracks started to appear in Gogledd Cymru’s defence. Good link work between forwards and backs helped Chloe Mastaglio cross the whitewash for the Ospreys opening try after 15 minutes played. With conditions deteriorating Chloe was unable to convert her try. The Ospreys played a very structured game and it was clear that they had put a lot of hard work in on the training field. This produced a further three tries before half time with Chloe claiming her second and Delyth Davies and Jess Smith also crossing. Delyth managed a conversion in the swirling wind which gave the Ospreys 24 unanswered points. Gogledd Cymru continuously battled and showed great determination; they produced some excellent continuity and managed a converted try before the interval by stretching the Ospreys with good support play.
Half Time Gogledd Cymru 7 – 24 Ospreys
The Ospreys were quick out of the blocks in the second half and Rosie Fletcher crossed for a try after just 7 minutes in. Chloe Mastaglio slotted the conversion to increase the point’s difference. The Ospreys continued to play some mouth-watering rugby and full credit must go to the forwards, they worked extremely hard to provide a solid platform in very poor conditions. This hard work enabled Jess Smith and Delyth Davies to take their opportunities and score two further tries. Conditions prevented the goal attempts from going over and they were pushed wide.
Gogledd Cymru could have thrown the towel in during the game but with strong team spirit they dug deep never allowing the Ospreys to relax and even though they failed to score again they made it a tough match right to the final whistle.
The Ospreys have found their form from last season and are looking forward to their remaining two home fixtures, first up will be Newport Gwent Dragons at Llandarcy on the 22nd November which should be an interesting encounter.
Final score: 7 – 41
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Donna Crossman Stands Down As U18’s Team Manager
Unfortunatley we have to say goodbye Donna. She has had to make some tough desicions lately and one of her toughest was to stand down as the Ospreys U18’s Team Manager.
She has asked that the following statement be published:
”It is with a very deep regret and after a lot of soul searching that I would like to inform you of my decision to stand down as Ospreys U18 Team Manager with immediate effect.
As most of you know i’ve been happily juggling both the Wales Team Manager Job with the Ospreys U18 role and I thank you for your understanding and patience in me not being able to attend all sessions with you thus far. In addition to this I have an extremely busy full time role at the South Wales Fire & Rescue Service as well as a part time role with UK Sport and although I have tried to be flexible in delivering in each role it has become more and more difficult over recent weeks.
The Wales Women Team have an extremely busy schedule over the next year with the forthcoming Autumn Internationals followed by the Six Nations and culminating with the World Cup next August. It is this role that now needs to receive my full attention.
I am not lying when I say that this is a really heartbreaking decision for me as I have thoroughly enjoyed working with you all and feel that we have so much more to achieve as a region. You are a fantastic group of both players and staff and you have such an amazing enthusiasm and desire to succeed that you will go on and be extremely successful. You should be extremely proud of your achievements so far and long may it continue.
Ceri has kindly agreed to take on the Team Manager role alongside that of Head Coach to enable you all to experience as little disruption as possible. I will never be far away and am always here should you wish to ask for any help, advice or guidance and I will be keeping my eye on each fixture with anticipation.
Please keep in touch and I look forward to seeing you all in the future. Good luck with the rest of the season.”
We are obviously disappointed to loose a person of such a high caliber and will miss having Donna in our management team. We wish her all the very best for the future and hope that she goes from strength to strength in the Wales job!
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Tough Start For Defending Champions
The opening game of this year’s regional tournament was a tough encounter for the Ospreys U18’s.
In the first half they came up against a well organised, new look, Blues side that had the majority of possession. This enabled the Blues fullback Chloe Smith to run in a hat-trick of tries against an Ospreys side that wasn’t firing on all cylinders.
The second half saw the Ospreys settle and get back into the game. Captain Carys Phillips started to lead by example with some very direct running which enabled the Ospreys to go forward and create opportunities. Rosie Fletcher made a big impact off the bench and started to ask questions of the Blues defence. Eventually, with a lot of support from all players Centre Jess Smith crossed the line for the Ospreys.
The Blues never gave up and substitute Dela Anderson crossed for another try.
Final score Blues 22 Ospreys 5