After scoring all of the Ospreys points in their 27-16 defeat to Northampton yesterday, Dan Biggar admitted to a feeling of disappointment but has called for a positive response to the setback.
Biggar kicked three penalties as well as scoring and converting a second half try as the Ospreys looked to claw their way back into the game after a disappointing opening, but his valiant efforts weren’t enough to spark a memorable comeback for the region.
Speaking shortly after the final whistle, he was asked what the overriding emotion was?
“Naturally, it’s one of disappointment” admitted Biggar.
“This is a very difficult place to come, they’re a good team, one of the best in England, so we knew that we were always going to be up against it. We showed plenty of effort and endeavour, and I think that if we’d played like we did today last week then we’d have picked up a win in the first game.
“That perhaps makes it more disappointing this week. When you lose your two opening games you can’t take too many positives, but it was a gutsy effort. We were found wanting at times, they turned the screw a little bit in the first half with the quality players they’ve got here and took advantage of our mistakes. We’re disappointed that ultimately we’ve come up short again.
“We conceded two soft tries at the start and that meant it was always going to be an uphill struggle no matter how hard we fought. You can’t give good teams that kind of start.
“The first one was incredibly soft, the second wasn’t much better and it came just as we’d started to find a way back into the game. We’re 17-6 down and they’ve taken away all our momentum. It’s always going to difficult here however well you start, never mind when you are allowing them to build up a lead without really having to work at it.
“We were always playing catch-up from then on. We had that spell after half-time, we scored a try and perhaps should have scored again when we were on their 22 but we didn’t take our chance and they’ve gone straight up our end and scored. That’s a big swing and took the game away from us.
“We were sticking to our game plan, sticking to our procedures, and working hard to get back into it. I think we were building momentum again. But, we turned it over again, that was the story of the day, and they punished us. With quality players like they have, they struck when they had the opportunity and there was no way back for us.
“It’s disappointing. We’ve left ourselves an absolute mountain to climb now but we must get a minimum of eight points from our next two games. It’s as simple as that. If we do that, we give ourselves a chance for the final two rounds when Northampton come to the Liberty. There’s a lot of rugby to be played between now and then though, starting with the Dragons on Friday, so there’s no time for us to dwell on today, we’ve got to kick on from here.”