As the Ospreys travel to Italy this weekend looking to build on two wins from two home games at the start of the new season, Duncan Jones believes that so far it's a case of good but can do better.
The experienced loosehead has been a key figure in the wins over Leinster and Edinburgh, but as the team prepare for Saturdays game against Benetton Treviso at Stadio Comunale di Monigo, he says that having secured a brace of wins at home the onus is on the whole squad to up their game to keep the run going.
Reflecting on the two victories he commented:
Its been a story of two different types of games really. We got off to a great start in the Leinster game then had to show a lot of resolve and dig in defensively in the second half, while I think against Edinburgh it was a pretty tough 80 minutes really.
We made a lot of mistakes but showed good character to come away with the win in the end. We certainly would have liked to start the season with two home wins in the first two weeks before a difficult trip to Treviso this weekend. We havent been perfect in either of the games, far from it, theres a lot of room for improvement across the board, but well take the start weve had as a good place to build from.
In terms of putting right the areas that the team havent got right so far this season, Jones stressed that its a collective effort that will bring success to the Ospreys:
The focus through pre-season has been on controlling the things that we can control, concentrate on our own game and make sure we are on top of what we want to do. A lot of the issues weve experienced in the first two games have been about us not doing things properly, not being as accurate as we want to be, as much as theyve been about good play by the opposition.
We understand that we have to do our jobs individually and collectively, we have to get our roles right. Its well documented that weve lost a lot of players to the World Cup, the same as plenty of other teams, but at the Ospreys we look at it as a positive thing.
Theres genuine excitement about the place, a lot of boys are seeing it as their chance to wear the shirt and really challenge for a permanent spot by putting us in a good position over the first six weeks of the season. The better we perform as a team, the better position we can obtain in the league, the better it is for the Ospreys.
Jones was part of the squad that returned from northern Italy with a valuable bonus point back in February after a Nikki Walker hat-trick of tries helped the Ospreys to a 34-18 win, but he has warned his colleagues not to expect an easy afternoon:
We won well out there last season but we know that we cant take anything for granted. We achieved that win by all doing our jobs properly. We know that its going to be a tough afternoon. Theyve got a very well organised pack and like last time they will certainly make us work hard if we want to get anything from the game. Were expecting nothing less than a very difficult game.
I know its a cliché but we have to take every game as it comes. Weve got two wins from two, we are going away from home this weekend trying to get a result and then we come home to the Liberty for two games against Irish sides. We wont set any targets, only focus on getting things right as a team and everyone playing their part in a team effort.