Gloucester big guns blast seven past Ospreys
GLOUCESTER Academy boss Richard Whiffin says competition for places is rife at Kingsholm ahead of the resumption of Premiership action in a fortnight.
Five second-half tries gave an experienced Gloucester the spoils against Ospreys but not before the young but doughty Welsh team gave them a scare.
“To a man from 1 to 23 everyone played well and this has given them an opportunity to don that shirt for the Leicester game,” said Whiffin.
Ben Vellacott and Matt Scott provided fresh impetus for Gloucester off the bench. Billy Burns was patchy off the tee, but mixed up his game smartly at fly-half to give the Cherry and Whites dynamism when they had ball in hand.
The Gloucester pack had the measure of the Ospreys scrum from the off, and when the hosts did get the ball out wide wing Ollie Thorley was a handful.
Ospreys skills coach Tom Smith was pleased at how his raw side stuck to task. “It was a competitive game for 55 minutes and hats off to a young team for going up against a fully loaded Gloucester side,” he said.
After stout defending by the Welsh side, hooker Richard Hibbard eventually opened Gloucester’s account by polishing off a lineout drive.
Gloucester touched down again seconds later, with Henry Purdy and Callum Braley combining to put Mark Atkinson over for a superb score initiated by a fizzing, flat pass from Burns.
A no-arms tackle by David Halaifonua forced flanker Will Jones off the field, but prop Alex Jeffries’s low drive got Ospreys on the scoreboard just before half time.
Within three minutes of
the resumption the scores were level when Braley failed to deal with a chip by impressive opposite number Reuben Morgan Williams, who pounced.
Luke Price missed the conversion, but the skipper soon kicked Ospreys into the lead with a penalty.
The lead was short-lived, however, with Braley darting over from the base of a ruck. Tries by Thorley and Henry Trinder took the game away from the visitors, whose frustration was shown when Morgan Morris and Llloyd Ashley were both yellow-carded for tackling Vellacott without retreating 10m.
Ospreys scored a late consolation through Ifen Phillips either side of tries by Ben Morgan and Matt Scott.
Ospreys flanker Guy Mercer said: “It was a shame to leak those points at the end and I don’t think the scoreboard was a fair reflection of how well some of the young boys played.”