We welcome Leinster to the Liberty Stadium, this afternoon, and I make no qualms about saying that playing the best will be a real challenge and a test for us but it will also be a good gauge of where we are.
It’s another chance to see how far we have come and have far we have to go.
Leinster are the benchmark in the Guinness PRO14 and, of course, have been the same in Europe for a while now, but we are excited by the challenge facing us.
This new era at the Ospreys is a journey and we know it’s not a straightforward one, on and off the pitch. I hope seeing young players getting opportunities encourages us all and although not perfect, they are giving a good account of themselves and bring bags of energy to the team.
We are certainly making progress culturally and physically as witnessed in our desire to dig in and our refusal to lie down to the bitter end. That level of effort and character is what we all want to see in the jersey representing our people.
All of the games we have played so far have been close affairs and the character we have shown in all of them has been there for everyone to see. The challenge for us is to deliver a level of consistency in our performances and this will help us to turn narrow losses into wins.
There were some bruised egos and pride in the dressing room after the manner of the defeat to Zebre out in Parma, but we haven’t dwelt on that, it’s ancient history and we need to keep moving forward, keep adding to and improving the fundamentals of our game.
Some of our younger players gained invaluable game time out in Italy and there are no regrets around the decision to play them at all. It’s all part of the learning process for younger players and I have made no secret of my intention to blood young Ospreys.
The challenge for all young players is to deliver a consistency of performance through a run of games. We have some exciting young talent at the Ospreys and we need to show faith in them and allow them to learn their trade and allow their self-belief to grow.
Nobody said this was going to be easy or that there were quick fixes but the attitude and appetite of the group to learn and to improve has been first class throughout.
The transfer of what we are doing on the training pitch into game situations is always a challenge, when you are building new systems and introducing new principles, but the more we play, the more those ideas are embedded.
We have a lot of work to do, there is no question about that, but the work ethic, the effort and the commitment to the cause are all there to see.
The team thanks you for your continued support.
Toby
This article, and much more, can be found in our official matchday programme.
