Jonathan Humphreys has spoken about his pleasure at a solid performance that secured a home Magners League semi-final, but he warned that the Ospreys still need to be more clinical.
Speaking to the media after the Liberty Stadium win over the Dragons, Humphreys said:
“We wanted to start this game positively and build a score. We wanted to dominate possession, take the points that were on offer to us, and that’s what we did. We talked a lot this week. We didn’t want to be disrespectful and talk about scoring tries, we felt that if we got in front and built a score, the tries would come, as they did. We came in at half-time 16-3 and we weren’t too concerned. We’d done everything we wanted, we just needed to up the tempo a little bit and finish off some of those chances.
“I think we need to be more clinical, we had umpteen opportunities out there and when we didn’t take them we got a little bit nervy out there and tried to finish things a bit too early. But saying that, the basis to our game was exactly what we had talked about. We were dominant in just about every department out there, it was just a case of needing to finish off our chances.
“We didn’t talk about a bonus point, we hadn’t spoken about anything other than the performance we needed. We were playing against a team that had nothing to lose, were very dogged, and made it difficult for us, but everything we’d talked about we did so I’m happy about that.
“We knew exactly what was going on at Parc Y Scarlets, they scored their fourth try just before we did, so we were well aware. We were just about to throw into the line out, so we didn’t need to get the news onto the pitch as the ball was already in the air and we scored in that possession, so we were fine.
“I think the win was based on an extremely solid performance up front, we dominated the set-piece, and that allowed a platform for us to play some good attacking rugby and to create the chances we did.
“Ever since the disappointment of the Biarritz defeat, we wanted a home semi to finish off the season at home with a big crowd behind us. We’re delighted to be at home, we’ve been away for the quarter-finals in Europe three years on the bounce now so we understand what home advantage gives you. It doesn’t give you everything or win the game for you, but it does give you an advantage if your supporters turn up in their droves and back you, which we hope they will.
“We don’t mind who we face, whoever we play it’s going to be extremely tough. We know it’s on a Friday, we know we’ve got some work to do, some recovery and preparation, but we’re looking forward to going out with a bang.”