Tom Isaacs picked up the man-of-the-match award on his first Ospreys start and he said he wants to use the performance as "a springboard" towards establishing himself as a regular in the starting line-up.
The 23-year former Newport RFC scrum-half signed ahead of last season with a view to converting into a midfield position, but after a promising start with Swansea in the Premiership, injury hindered his progress, and since returning to full fitness last autumn he has had to remain patient as he found himself restricted to three appearances off the bench prior to Sunday’s game against London Wasps in Bridgend.
A constant threat with ball in hand throughout the 80 minutes, and strong in defence, Isaacs said he enjoyed his afternoon, showing signs that he is developing into a centre to be reckoned with.
“I thoroughly enjoyed it, definitely” he said after the game.
“I appreciate being given the chance to get a run in a position that’s still quite new to me, that I’m trying to adapt to, both in training and with Swansea. It was a good run-out for me, a good 80 minutes.
“I’ve been working hard on the angles that centres have got to cut and I feel like I’m adapting more and more when I run now, I’m definitely getting there. Like I said, I definitely enjoyed it today, I’m chuffed with the performance, my own and the team's as a whole. It was a good win for us that we can definitely take something from going forward.
“They brought a very strong team with them, the backline especially was pretty daunting if you looked at it on paper. We’ve worked hard here though with the internationals away and credit goes to the coaches, Filo, Steve and Gruff, who’ve worked us pretty hard, and it’s paid off for us.
“Unfortunately we won’t go through but the competition has definitely been a beneficial experience for the Ospreys, and for the younger players in particular. There’s a lot of us have been playing in the Premiership, especially the early part of the season, and the LV= has given us a chance to step up and show what we can do at this level, against some good sides. We’ve given a decent account of ourselves I’d say, beating Leicester, Cardiff and now Wasps. The boys have shown what we are capable of given a chance and now, hopefully, we can push on from this and maybe some of us will be able to claim a more regular place in the team off the back of this.
“Personally, I’ve really enjoyed being involved so heavily these last few weeks, and there are some big Magners League matches to come now, so hopefully I can use today’s performance as a springboard to up my Magners involvement as well.”