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Ospreys V Darlington. Sunday 25th January 2026
Emma Benson28 Jan - 23:40
17-8 final score, Fantastic effort from talented Ospreys moving them up to third in the league.
Availability was good this week for the Ospreys' home match against the undefeated, top of the table, Darlington.
Recent matches between the two teams have seen a 10-10 draw in the final match of last season and a 36-40 away defeat for the Ospreys at the start of this season's campaign so on paper there is little between the two sides.
Prior to the match the home side took time to sit down and discuss the day's game plan around attack, defence and transition and the players were vocal in terms of their strategy and intent. This focused approach then translated into the warm up which was done at speed, with slick handling and organisation. The contact prep had high tempo and gave an insight into the physicality that the lads would be taking into the match.
The opening exchanges were brutal, with both teams eager to get a good foothold in the game and exert some early dominance. Unusually for the Ospreys, nearly a quarter of the match passed before the first score, which was testament to the relentless defensive efforts of both sides. It was Darlington who crossed the line first and despite it being under the posts the conversion was missed due to the strong wind that was blowing down Bassenthwaite and straight across the pitch for the duration of the afternoon.
8 minutes later, Darlington found themselves back in the Ospreys territory and a momentary lapse of discipline awarded them a penalty. The away team elected to kick and whilst it extended their lead to 8 clear points the home team noted Darlington's lack of ambition to kick for the corner or take a quick tap and go in pursuit of the 5 points.
Spurred on by this the Ospreys had a dominant period before half time where, were it not for the final pass and a some decision making under pressure, there could have been a couple of try's. The home supporters needn't have worried, however, as Darlington gave away a penalty which Max took quickly, catching the Darlington defence off guard, as the ball was passed wide to Matthew Megan in space to beat the final 2 defenders and score in the corner.
The score at half time was 5-8 and during the break there was talk of the importance of keeping the momentum and getting early points on the board. The Ospreys didn't have to wait long as Jamie Black, no stranger to the try line, crashed over to put the Ospreys 10-8 and ahead for the first time.
What ensued next was half an hour without any score, but end to end rugby with both teams being denied points due to their opposition's dedication to their defensive effort. Special mention must go to Alfie Wright and Man of the match, Josh Doran for their line speed and contact dominance and to Max for an intelligent kicking game that gave the Ospreys territory gains and ensured that they were playing in the right areas of the pitch. This week we had the luxury of a bench and Alex Needham and Ollie Muller had a positive impact when they entered the field of play, upping the tempo and applying pressure to a tiring Darlington Defence.
The final quarter felt attractional and the Ospreys physicality didn't wain. During this period both teams lost a few players to injury but despite the close nature of the score the Ospreys players and coaching team felt that they had the upper hand.
With 5 minutes left to play Max kicked the ball deep into Darlington's 22 and after a fumbled attempt at a catch the replacement full back for Darlington failed to effectively exit with a miss-kick that put the majority of his team in an off side position whilst Max was able to catch the ball on the move. The defence couldn't reorganise and deal with Max's pace as he rounded the last man and deservedly celebrated from 10m out as he scored the final try. Joe Tyson then kicked the only conversion of the afternoon.
A huge cheer went up minutes later when referee, Ben King, blew the final whistle giving the Ospreys team a fantastic 17-8 win which moves them to 3rd place in the league.
Next Sunday the Ospreys hope to continue their good form when they travel to Billingham.
Recent matches between the two teams have seen a 10-10 draw in the final match of last season and a 36-40 away defeat for the Ospreys at the start of this season's campaign so on paper there is little between the two sides.
Prior to the match the home side took time to sit down and discuss the day's game plan around attack, defence and transition and the players were vocal in terms of their strategy and intent. This focused approach then translated into the warm up which was done at speed, with slick handling and organisation. The contact prep had high tempo and gave an insight into the physicality that the lads would be taking into the match.
The opening exchanges were brutal, with both teams eager to get a good foothold in the game and exert some early dominance. Unusually for the Ospreys, nearly a quarter of the match passed before the first score, which was testament to the relentless defensive efforts of both sides. It was Darlington who crossed the line first and despite it being under the posts the conversion was missed due to the strong wind that was blowing down Bassenthwaite and straight across the pitch for the duration of the afternoon.
8 minutes later, Darlington found themselves back in the Ospreys territory and a momentary lapse of discipline awarded them a penalty. The away team elected to kick and whilst it extended their lead to 8 clear points the home team noted Darlington's lack of ambition to kick for the corner or take a quick tap and go in pursuit of the 5 points.
Spurred on by this the Ospreys had a dominant period before half time where, were it not for the final pass and a some decision making under pressure, there could have been a couple of try's. The home supporters needn't have worried, however, as Darlington gave away a penalty which Max took quickly, catching the Darlington defence off guard, as the ball was passed wide to Matthew Megan in space to beat the final 2 defenders and score in the corner.
The score at half time was 5-8 and during the break there was talk of the importance of keeping the momentum and getting early points on the board. The Ospreys didn't have to wait long as Jamie Black, no stranger to the try line, crashed over to put the Ospreys 10-8 and ahead for the first time.
What ensued next was half an hour without any score, but end to end rugby with both teams being denied points due to their opposition's dedication to their defensive effort. Special mention must go to Alfie Wright and Man of the match, Josh Doran for their line speed and contact dominance and to Max for an intelligent kicking game that gave the Ospreys territory gains and ensured that they were playing in the right areas of the pitch. This week we had the luxury of a bench and Alex Needham and Ollie Muller had a positive impact when they entered the field of play, upping the tempo and applying pressure to a tiring Darlington Defence.
The final quarter felt attractional and the Ospreys physicality didn't wain. During this period both teams lost a few players to injury but despite the close nature of the score the Ospreys players and coaching team felt that they had the upper hand.
With 5 minutes left to play Max kicked the ball deep into Darlington's 22 and after a fumbled attempt at a catch the replacement full back for Darlington failed to effectively exit with a miss-kick that put the majority of his team in an off side position whilst Max was able to catch the ball on the move. The defence couldn't reorganise and deal with Max's pace as he rounded the last man and deservedly celebrated from 10m out as he scored the final try. Joe Tyson then kicked the only conversion of the afternoon.
A huge cheer went up minutes later when referee, Ben King, blew the final whistle giving the Ospreys team a fantastic 17-8 win which moves them to 3rd place in the league.
Next Sunday the Ospreys hope to continue their good form when they travel to Billingham.
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