Head Coach Holley was delighted with the performance as the Ospreys secured an impressive win in Galway on Friday night.
Speaking after the final whistle at the Sportsground, Holley said:
“It was what you’d call a real ding-dong battle and some boys came of age out there I think. We showed a lot of character in difficult circumstances, against near enough to a full strength Connacht team.
“We stepped up well after last week’s performance against Leicester, in what was a higher intensity game, against a very experienced side. We were very tenacious and we showed a willingness to attack that was very pleasing. We missed two or three good opportunities to score having turned down kickable penalty opportunities, but we didn’t get despondent or try to rush things and we got our reward at the end.
“It was almost constant pressure from us in the second half and we forced our way over. A well executed lineout allowed us to score a deserved try, it was definitely a just reward for the tenacity and effort that we’d shown out there.
“It was an excellent lineout defensive display, we caused them a lot of problems in that area, and we covered the field well, defending where we needed to. We pride ourselves on our defence, and the fact that they didn’t score a try is particularly pleasing.
“This is always a very difficult place to come to, it’s not easy to win in Connacht with a full squad available as we’ve found out in the past. You have to come here and fight for everything. When you take away 17 players from your squad and you are playing against a full strength, much improved Connacht side in Galway, you know you are up against it. Despite that, we’ve come away with a positive result.
“We’ve shown last week and tonight that we do have strength in depth, and when we get it right, we can cause problems. The squad is healthy, the young players coming through are improving, and some of the old stalwarts have provided the experience and the guidance we hoped for.
“Only two players from our Magners Grand Final starting fifteen last season were involved tonight, Marty Holah and Jerry Collins, with just another two of our replacements that night playing here. I think that’s a fair measure of what this group has achieved with this excellent win tonight.”