Wing Carrick McDonough scored a superb hat-trick of tries as Dragons Under-18s defeated Ospreys Under-18s 38-24 in a high-scoring and entertaining Regional Age Grade Championship clash at Aberavon RFC on Wednesday evening.
Wales Under-18 ace McDonough sealed his treble with a late brace and added to tries from Che Hope, Joe Coope-Franklin and Connor Chapman.
Fly half Joe Westwood chipped in with four conversions as Dragons produced a solid performance away from home in a ten-try open game that was played at a frenetic pace.
Wing McDonough crossed for the opening try on seven minutes and further score from hooker Chapman sent Dragons into a 14-5 lead after 34 minutes.
However, back came Ospreys and tries from Jordan Evans and Josh Carrington edged them 17-14 ahead just after half-time in Port Talbot.
Dragons, though, eased clear with Hope and Coope-Frankln both going over in the space of five minutes and despite a late rally from the hosts it was McDonough’s late brace that wrapped up maximum points.
Timeline:
07m McDonough t Westwood c 0-7
29m Dodd t 5-7
34m Chapman t Westwood c 5-14
38m Evans t Hawkins c 12-14
46m Carrington t 17-14
53 Hope t Westwood c 17-21
57m Coope-Franklin t Westwood c 17-28
59m Carrington t Hawkins c 24-27
65m McDonough t 24-33
68m McDonough t 24-38
Dragons Under-18s: Evan Gregg, Morgan Mohring (Anderson 69), Oli Andrews (Stephens 63), Oli Andrew, Jack Maloney, Joe Westwood, Che Hope (Lloyd 52); Aaron Dowse, Conor Chapman, Adam Williams, Joe Cooper (Stansfield 49), Joe Peard (Langdon 41), George Young, Joe Coope-Franklin, Ben Moa (c)
Replacements: Pacey Smith, Jamie Strachan, Jack Powell, Ben Langdon, Lewis Stansfield, Morgan Lloyd, George Stephens, Hamish Anderson
