"They could have given up towards the end but they showed a lot of fight"
The young Ospreys side didn't get off to the best start in this year's LV=Cup as they were defeated by the Leicester Tigers 39 -16. However Head Coach, Steve Tandy was pleased with certain aspects of the game:
"The boys have only been together a week and for some of them it was their first week with us so the effort they put into the match is pretty pleasing. There were some decent individual performances and they could have given up towards the end but they showed a lot of fight and effort which is great as it's what we expect as Ospreys. It will have been a huge experience for the young lads to go up to Welford Road and play against some of the players Leicester have, but one that they can really learn from.
I thought the first half of the game went okay. At 14 - 9 we could have been closer but we were fairly happy. But in the second half we just couldn't get any ball and to only have 12% possession through it was disappointing. We couldn't get a foothold in the game and then we kept conceding penalties and Leicester kept the scoreboard ticking over. Obviously you can't go to Welford Road, let them do that and then win".
With two yellow cards for the Ospreys and a number of penalties against them, Steve Tandy remarked on their discipline:
"It was a build up of pressure. It wasn't just the original yellow but a build up of us giving away some cheap penalties. We gave Leicester easy territory and the momentum built, then we couldn't break the shackles and get out so as we kept giving the penalties away the referee obviously had to give the yellow card.
Opinions seemed to differ around the stadium and the wider rugby world as to whether the penalty that was given against Boris Stankovich for his late and high tackle against Joe Rees in the first half was the correct sanction. The Head Coach commented on the matter:
"I don't know if the penalty was enough, it was late, it was high and you often see yellows and sanctions around such tackles. It was off the ball and we lost a player early on in the set piece and all we got from it was the 3 points so it is possibly a bit harsh on us. Obviously the most important thing to us though is that Joe was ok after the game".
Next up for Tandy and his young team is the derby LV=Cup match against Cardiff at the Liberty Stadium on Friday 15th November, kick off 7.30pm. Make sure you come along and support the next generation of the Ospreys for just £15 for adults and £5 for O.A.P.'s, students and children.