Blog Banner

Cardiff Blues A 42 Ospreys Development 17

13th October 2018


Cardiff Blues A will have to wait and see if they've done enough to book a place in the Celtic Cup final, after securing a bonus point victory over Ospreys Development at the Cardiff Arms Park.

The win sees Wales’ Capital Region overtake Scarlets A on top of the Welsh conference, but the West Wales outfit host Dragons A at Llandovery on Sunday.

If Scarlets fail to win, Richie Rees’ side will face Leinster in the final next week.

Cardiff Blues A built a commanding 21-10 lead at half time, after an Alun Lawrence brace was followed by a Shane Lewis-Hughes try.

The hosts sealed the bonus point shortly after the restart, through Cam Lewis, with Corey Howells and Ioan Davies adding further scores.

The hosts started brightly, and nice interplay in midfield saw them develop an early attacking opportunity. 

Ospreys, under pressure, conceded a number of penalties, with Cardiff Blues opting to scrum from close range. The decision paid off as captain Lawrence eventually powered over, following strong carries from Max Llewellyn and Harri Millard.

Ospreys replied with a Joe Thomas penalty, but the home side continued to look dangerous with the ball in hand. 

Dan Fish was pulling the strings from full back, putting Cam Lewis in space on the left hand side before making a half break of his own on the edge of the 22. However, his attempted offload to Corey Howells was deflected into touch from an Ospreys hand.

This allowed the powerful Cardiff Blues A pack to assert their dominance once again. A period of pressure on the Ospreys line saw Lawrence drive over for his second try of the afternoon.

A strong Ospreys driving line-out gave them the opportunity to cross for their first try of the game. Jamie Williams snuck himself free from the set piece, and a clever offload to Matthew Aubrey allowed the scrum half a squeeze over at the corner.

Thomas converted, but discipline continued to be a problem for the visitors. A penalty inside the Cardiff Blues half allowed Shingler to find touch inside the Ospreys 22.

Once again the drive proved effective, as Lewis-Hughes added his name onto the scoreboard on the verge of half time.

Rees’ side ran in for the break with an 11-point advantage, but picked up where they left off when play restarted.

A clever Shingler kick opened up the Ospreys defence, with centre Lewis winning the footrace to secure the bonus point, before Howells added a fifth for the hosts.

A period of sustained pressure on the Ospreys line eventually allowed Fish to ship wide to the wing, how displayed his power to get over the whitewash.

Replacement Ioan Davies showed his turn of pace to get over in the corner for Cardiff Blues A’s sixth try, but Reuben Morgan Williams got over in the final moments for a consolation score.