Jonathan Humphreys says that the coaches will be focusing on the performance and not the result after the Ospreys defeated Leeds Carnegie in the region's second pre-season fixture on Saturday.
Forwards Coach Humphreys was speaking straight after the final whistle of an entertaining game at a sun-kissed Headingley Carnegie, when he stressed that the most important factor for consideration is how the team are building as the new season edges ever nearer.
“To be honest, the result is not the main priority for us” he insisted.
“It was about the next step in the process of pre-season, it was about blooding some of the younger members of our squad, getting them on the pitch and allowing them to have game time against a particularly strong Leeds team. We were never going to judge this game on the scoreboard, we were going to judge against the things we’ve been working on in pre-season.
“There are a lot of pluses. We had a lot of young kids out there who did well and can really hold their heads high after the way they played. They showed real endeavour and great spirit to dig in and stick to the task when the game looked to be drifting away from them. They didn’t panic, they were disciplined and got their reward, which is fantastic.
“It was a young side, but we’ve always been willing to give our younger players a chance and I think it’s pretty exciting to look at team with the likes of Prydie, Walker, Owen, Bevington, King and Allen, and then some of the boys coming off the bench, it bodes well for the future of the Ospreys.
“I was particularly pleased with Jamie Nutbrown, I thought he did well there today. It was Dai Flanagan’s first game for us and he was very composed at 10, we had a young kid at six, James King, who went particularly well for us, there was plenty to be happy about. We’ve got senior players who are coming back from injuries like Ian Evans and that’s another game under their belt, so on the whole, it was a very positive experience all round.
“We won’t get carried away with that one win though, we realise that we are still a work in progress. The start of the season is still three weeks away and we’ve got some way to go yet. As much as we were happy with a lot of what went on, there was still plenty of mistakes, a lot of things to concern us as coaches, so we’ll pinpoint those areas over the coming days to really sharpen up before Gloucester next week, and before the Magners kicks off in Ulster at the start of September.
“We’ve learnt over the years that it’s important to build up a solid base in pre-season, and that’s what we are doing. We are heading in the right direction, but I’d expect big improvements all round over the next few weeks.”