Head Coach Sean Holley says that the hard fought derby win over the Scarlets was exactly what the Ospreys needed before they open up their Heineken Cup campaign in the south of France next week.
There was just three points in it at the final whistle, and Holley said that the result will stand the region in good stead ahead of next Saturday’s game against last season’s Amlin Cup finalists Toulon.
Reflecting on the victory, Holley told the media that he is pleased that the team is heading in the right direction.
“It was really close, a great battle” he said.
“I think it was a great crowd and a fabulous night. We just came out on top in the second half and perhaps just deserved it in the end.
“They started with a bang and it took our courageous defence to hold them out, that’s been a factor of our season so far. I think perhaps they needed to score in the first half, and then second half all credit to our boys, they came out fired up, they showed a huge desire and I think the bench contributed hugely. We scored two fine tries, and it’s hugely pleasing that we are going in the right direction and it’s excellent preparation for next week.
“The officials had a very difficult night tonight, but over the course of a season you get some decisions, some you don’t. There was a question mark over our first try apparently. Arguably we should have had a penalty try from the scrum. It didn’t go our way, but they tend to balance out.
“We had a couple of chances and we took them well. That’s the thing with derby matches, we know it’s a fine line. The Scarlets will be disappointed that they didn’t put a few points on in that first half and build up a bit of a lead but we defended pretty well.
“We said at half time that we didn’t want to spend the whole of the game tackling, defending, we needed to keep the ball and not just kick it back aimlessly which we were doing first half. We played with a bit more intent second half and it paid off.
“We try to time it right, some times it’s not an exact science or an art, but it’s important that we build momentum through the season and peak at certain times. We’re certainly not there yet but we’ve gone a long way towards hitting some sort of form in advance of next week, and I think probably the most important thing we got out of tonight was that we’ve been able to get more players out onto the park.
“It was tough, and it was exactly what we needed going into next week. Coming away and winning ugly was something we talked about in the changing room, it’s important that we can grind those results out. To come here, where the Scarlets have been going really well is particularly pleasing. We realise how important this game is to our fans, who follow us everywhere. Okay, it’s only just down the road tonight but they were brilliant again out there and the boys really appreciate it so this win was as much for them as anything.”