Steve Tandy paid tribute to the team effort that saw the Ospreys through to the RaboDirect PRO12 final in a fortnight in such stunning style on Friday night, but issued a warning to his players that they need to remain focused and remember that they've won nothing yet.
Head Coach Tandy had watched on as his charges ran in five tries against European giants Munster at the Liberty Stadium on a fantastic night for the region, and addressing a busy media room following the game Tandy stressed that there’s a lot of work still to be done before anyone can start celebrating.
Asked for his view on the performance, he commented:
“The boys have been great, they’ve worked really hard in training and we saw the results of that on the field tonight. I thought our defence was outstanding apart from that first lapse when we went seven nil down. Our execution when we turned the ball over was very impressive. Like we just said in the changing room now though, it’s great to have a semi-final win but we haven’t won the tournament yet so it’s important now to regroup and get ready for the final against Leinster or Glasgow.
“The turning point I think was the try at the end of the first half, it was a big boost for us. It was a great counter from us. I did feel we’d put ourselves under a bit of pressure in the first half; we didn’t execute some things like we would have wanted to, we didn’t go to plan a little bit on that but we made up for it in our defence. Some of the tackles tonight were unbelievable and we were really accurate when we turned the ball over which is something that we are really pleased with. It’s just about enjoying the night now, the weekend, then coming back in on Tuesday and refocusing because it’s another massive game coming up.
“These boys are really tight and you can see them in the changing rooms, they are happy in each others company. There’s all smiles on faces, but when we need to focus in to do their work they really do. It’s a great place to come to work.
“It’s about the team tonight, not just 1-23, it’s the core guys who’ve played right throughout our campaign and put us in such a good league position with an excellent start to the season during the World Cup, it’s everyone behind the scenes who’ve worked hard to prepare this team. It was something special and we’re really proud of everyone’s performance.
“I thought the support tonight was unbelievable as well. The noise they were making was fantastic. It really helps the guys and you could see that in the performance. We’ve got a young group but we’re developing something in the team that’s really exciting for us, for now and going forward.
“We’ll pay full respect to whoever we play in the final, Leinster or Glasgow, the are two terrific teams, but I want it to be about us. The focus is going to be on our performance and how we try to impose ourselves on the final, whoever the opposition may be.”