Irish second row Conor McInerney talks about his move to the Ospreys from Leinster
As the players reported back for pre-season training at Swansea University on Monday, it provided Irish second row Conor McInerney with the first opportunity to meet up with his new teammates for the first time since signing from Leinster.22 year-old McInerney, a member of the Irish U20 Grand Slam winning side in 2007, and a former age grade captain of his country, signed for the Ospreys at the end of last season, and he says that he is looking forward to the "â¬Ëbig challenge"â¬â¢ that lies ahead for him: "â¬ÅI only moved over last week so I"â¬â¢m still finding my way around a bit but my first impressions of the place are great. Swansea seems a really friendly place to live and the set-up here is first class, that"â¬â¢s the one thing that stood out when I came over for a look around a few months back. "â¬ÅIt"â¬â¢s a big move for me, I"â¬â¢m leaving my comfort zone and family behind to come and play for the Ospreys and when you look at the quality players in the squad playing second row, then you realise what a big challenge I"â¬â¢ve got here. I"â¬â¢m excited more than nervous though, it"â¬â¢s a good environment to come into and from talking to the coaches it seems that if I put the hard work in then I"â¬â¢ll get my chance and that"â¬â¢s all you can ask for, I have to make sure I take the chance when I get it. "â¬ÅEveryone in Ireland seems to think very positively about the Ospreys, that it"â¬â¢s a great team to be part of as they"â¬â¢ve seen how Tommy Bowe"â¬â¢s career has kicked on since he came here. There"â¬â¢s plenty of hard work in front of me and I"â¬â¢ll have to knuckle down but if I put the effort in then hopefully the move will turn out be a positive one for me too."â¬Â