Walker glad to be back on the try-trail

Eli Walker grabbed his first ever try double on Saturday as he helped the Ospreys to a bonus point win over Edinburgh, their first of the new season.

 

Speaking post-match at the Liberty, the young winger said that improving the number of bonus points was a target for the team this season so to have picked up a five-pointer in the first home game of the campaign was particularly satisfying.

“The coaches have spoken about us needing to turn four point wins into five” said Walker.

“That’s something we didn’t do enough last season so it’s pleasing that we didn’t let up at any stage today. When they had a spell early in the second half we dug in and got our reward.

“It’s great to be able to get a win like that home. I always enjoy playing at the Liberty and it was a great crowd, so it was nice to be able to reward them with a big win.

“I missed the first couple of games last season and then missed the last few months, so I want to make up for that and get a full season under my belt. I think started slowly but I’ve felt better game after game and it was good to get the ball in hand and be able to have a go out there. The more of that I get, the quicker I’ll get right up to speed.”

Eli and his Ospreys team-mate, Canadian Jeff Hassler, came out on top in a tough battle against Edinburgh’s more physical pairing of Tim Visser and Nikki Walker, and he says it’s now become par for the course to find himself up against bigger and stronger opponents.

“I try and stay away from the big lads as much as I can” he laughed.

“It’s pretty standard these days isn’t it? There are a lot of big wingers about in Wales and across the league as well. I like to think I bring a different aspect to the game, and I really enjoyed the contest.

 “When we were down to 14 we worked hard. It’s down to keeping the ball, making the right decisions and making as few errors as possible. I think Biggs played really well to control things and put us in good positions. How we played at that point shows what we’re about.

“I thoroughly enjoyed it though, and I’m looking forward to next Saturday in Connacht. It is a hard place to play, the conditions always seem to be very difficult, but if we keep improving week on week as we have been, we can go there and be positive on the pitch.”