Speaking after the win over Edinburgh on Friday night, Forwards Coach Jonathan Humphreys was clearly delighted with the Ospreys performance, which helped to cement the region in second place of the PRO12.
A tight, evenly balanced game was won in the end by a moment of magic from Hanno Dirksen, but Humphreys insisted the victory was down to hard work and determination.
“We’re delighted with our performance and the result” he said shortly after the final whistle.
“I thought we were truculent in attitude and belligerent in defence which enabled us to secure a valuable win despite having to absorb a lot of pressure, particularly in the closing stages.
“We showed good urgency in the right areas of the field and were very disciplined in what we did, with real patience in our delivery. There was a touch of genius from Hanno Dirksen for his try, very much the opposite of our first one, which was a muscular effort and all about controlled power to push our way over from a lineout on 5m.
“There was a lot to be pleased about tonight, not least the sterling team effort to hold them out in the final quarter, and the way we held our shape and discipline to make sure they didn’t get a sniff in those final seconds.
“Both teams were missing a lot of players but it was a really good game with lots of quality on both sides, so we can be really pleased to have closed this one out. Visser and Talei were dangerous throughout, real threats, and we had to be alert to them right to the final whistle.
“We are targeting a home semi-final and we’ve been up there in the top two all season, but it’s getting closer to the end of the season now when positions really matter so it’s good to be able to win today and ensure a little bit of breathing space. There are eight games left and we’ll be targeting winning them all, but I think four more should be enough. Whatever it takes, we’ll be giving it everything to end the season on a high.”