There was no disguising the disappointment in the Ospreys camp after Saturday night's defeat at the hands of Munster at Thomond Park.
Speaking after the final whistle Head Coach Sean Holley acknowledged that the performance had been below par.
“We defended valiantly in the first half” he said:
“To go in at half time just 3-0 down was probably a bonus for us but we didn’t capitalise on that in the second half.
“We were ill-disciplined, and we’ve seen a performance that isn’t what we expect from an Ospreys team so I’m very disappointed.
“We didn’t have enough possession really. We lost the race at the breakdown. We didn’t get the rub of the green with the decisions and we didn’t get any territory. It’s very disappointing. The only thing that we can perhaps take away is that it’s early in the season and we’ve got plenty of time to improve.
“We are the champions of this competition, we know we’re a good team, but we’re just not quite there yet. We’re a little bit inaccurate and are clearly undercooked, but we’ll work hard to put it right.”
Meanwhile, skipper Alun Wyn Jones, who tasted defeat on his first day as captain, was honest with his assessment of where it went wrong for the Ospreys:
“We had a quite outstanding defensive session in the first half. Obviously they had quite a few penalties that were missed but we deserved to come out of that just 3-0 down. When you are defending that long you are going to be a different team coming out for the second half.
“Looking at it, I suppose we left it too late to get back into the game, the pressure we exerted in the scrums when we got that try, I think that was the first bit of rugby we played with a bit of possession.
“Our inaccuracies told today, we weren’t able to keep the ball for long enough. I think we need to sort our contact out soon; it’s becoming a bit of a trend with our discipline and holding onto the ball in the tackle.
“It’s something we want to get rid of and it’s not helping our game at all. We hold our hands up and any flak we take this week we thoroughly deserve.
“We need to take a look at ourselves this week. As I say, the emphasis is going to be on those inconsistencies we have around the contact area.”