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Allen Clarke on the fight to ensure his fate at Ospreys isn't similar to fellow Irishman Jackman at Dragons
Allen Clarke doesn’t hang about singing the praises of his current west Wales address. “Your home is your home,” said the Northern Irish man to RugbyPass, “but as a second option, I would highly recommend it to everyone, it is wonderful.”
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Let’s hope he keeps enjoying it while it lasts as the track record for Irish coaches seeing through to the finish a three-year deal in Wales isn’t all that encouraging.
Bernard Jackman – another old-time Ireland hooker – had been unveiled to great pomp and ceremony at the Dragons in summer 2017. Eighteen months was all he managed, poor results leading to the plug being pulled just halfway through the job he was contracted to do.
That same halfway house is what Clarke is now approaching and with recent results on the slippery slope, he could well wind up looking over his shoulder waiting for some bad news to be delivered mid-winter.
He was never meant to be the top guy at Ospreys. He arrived in summer 2017 as forwards coach but with Steve Tandy stepping aside the following January, Clarke took on running the show, initially on an interim basis before hands were shaken on a three-year deal in late April 2018.
(Continue reading below…)
It’s been a bit of a rollercoaster, to say the least. Everything from the frightening low of the Ospreys’ existence being threatened by merger talks to a European qualifier playoff win over rivals Scarlets.
Now they are back in the pit again, struggling after just one PRO14 win in six ahead of a Champions Cup campaign that begins on Saturday with the arrival of Munster in Swansea, a daunting fixture quickly followed by a trip to London to take on champions Saracens.
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As it stands, Clarke is just below break-even territory – 44 matches in charge divided by 21 wins and 23 losses in the league, Europe and Anglo-Welsh Cup. What is needed is the return of his Welsh RWC contingent led by talisman Alun-Wyn Jones, but in the meantime the hits just keep on coming, the latest being the dreadful home loss to PRO14 whipping boys, Southern Kings.
That should have been enough to make a strong man weep but Clarke is all stiff upper lip and spoiling for the fight, adamant that Ospreys are still heading in the right direction under his baton.
“You have used the word building foundations, we recognise we are in that phase,” he reasoned. “We have got world-class players, world-renowned individuals who are iconic in the game but we have got to build that squad and compete throughout the season.
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“Probably where we are at the moment is a reflection of our needs. There is a strategy now in place to ensure that we recruit well, we retain well and we add to our current player base. It’s not going to happen overnight, it is going to take some time but we have a realistic timeline in terms of really being in a position to challenge for trophies.
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Here is your Ospreys team to face @Munsterrugby in the @ChampionsCup on Saturday afternoon, K.O 5:30pm
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— Ospreys (@ospreys) November 15, 2019
“We’d a tremendous summer. We approached the season wholeheartedly, with a lot of enthusiasm, and morale within the camp is excellent, but we have taken a couple of really bad knocks injury-wise and we are having to cope with that.
“That is a challenge but it is also an opportunity for the young boys who are getting game minutes now. This time next year they will be experienced… it has been challenging but I get tremendous support, in particular from the player group but also from the board and everyone associated from the Ospreys.”
A European Cup winner with Ulster in 1999, Clarke’s post-playing career has seen him work for his native province as well as a stint heading up the IRFU’s age-grade system. He knows the steps that need to be taken to deliver on a long-term plan.
Effectively, despite years of change under EPCR, European rugby is back where it was under ERC as clubs are again playing for the Heineken Cup https://t.co/Q1TVczJL21
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 15, 2019
The question is, will he be afforded the allotted time to deliver now that the Ospreys have a future safeguarded following months of misery involving merger talks and whatnot last spring?
“I have admired the Ospreys for some time,” admitted Clarke, who parted company with Ulster during the ill-fated Les Kiss era. “Those values and characteristics are coming to the fore again. Honesty, fight, work ethic, togetherness, a good place to work but we challenge one another and support one about accordingly.
“It’s good. The Ospreys is in a strong position off the field. We’re looking to ensure that we replicate that on the field. There is no doubt that [merger talk] was extremely unnerving for players, management, everybody associated with the Ospreys, supporters, but to come through that, to get into European Champions Cup, it was a real testament to everyone involved.
“Of course it did (cause upset), not knowing if you had a budget and even if you did have a budget, not knowing you would exist and could recruit players for the team. We were behind the black ball in that regard. It’s important now – and we recognise it is important – that the need is there to be on the front foot, to do our research, to identify the players we want to recruit and to do that business early.”
The Welsh Rugby Union played its part near the end of last season, convincing skipper Jones to stick with a national contract that keeps him at Ospreys. Clarke believes there is now a far more coherent plan from the top aimed at rejuvenating the regional product.
“Not for one minute did I think Alun-Wyn would not be an Osprey. The absolute detail behind it I’m not sure, but obviously all of these things take time to go through the proper process.
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The obvious choices. Gatland missing anyone? #RugbyWorldCup #wales #england
“Certainly what I’m seeing now is Welsh rugby would be much more joined up and working as one therefore benefiting the player, putting the player central and that would benefit all the teams and ultimately your national team which is very much the drive in Ireland. It is top down and bottom up and you have got to have that cohesion throughout your pathway.
“Those high performance pathways, there is a real understanding that the future of Welsh rugby starts eight, ten years in advance of what you see on the field at international level and there is a real drive to align the management and the competition structures of age-grade rugby in Wales.
“Undoubtedly the success of any club team is based on your academy structures and it is absolutely critical to get those in place. That back-ends your squad and that is your future international quality players that come from your own resources, and you support that with good form and with recruitment.
The Saracens XV heading to play Racing in Paris is very different from the one that defeated Leinster in the final in their last European game six months ago https://t.co/jbPsbXlby6
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 15, 2019
“In Wales we are certainly looking to do that now. That takes some time. It’s not going to happen overnight, as I said, so what we need to ensure is we keep the best players within Wales at our club, at Ospreys, and we support them with good form and with good non-Welsh recruits.”
That’s the long-term view but, for now, it’s about Europe and taking on heavyweights from Ireland and England. “It’s the pool of death, really. It’s going to be a huge challenge. Munster at home, we’re not getting too far beyond that.
“We expect Munster to be at full strength. Obviously we are not going to be but we are a proud bunch of men. After that we are away to Saracens. You’re looking at two teams who have won Europe or been in the semi-finals over the last couple of years. It’s going to be really important we get off to a decent start if we are going to progress out of this group.”
WATCH: The Dragons Lair, the RugbyPass behind the scenes documentary on the Dragons when Bernard Jackman was in charge
Comments on RugbyPass
Hi, Dave here. Happy to answer questions 🥰
3 Go to commentsDon’t think that headline is accurate. It’s great to see Aus doing better but I’m not sure they’ve shown much threat to the top of the table. They shouldn’t be inflating wins against the lousy Highlanders and Crusaders either.
3 Go to commentsSuch a shame Roigard and Aumua picked up long term injuries, probably the two form players in the comp. Also, pretty sure Clarke Dermody isn’t their coach. Got it half right though.
3 Go to commentsOh the Aussie media, they never learn. It’s simple to see what’s going on. The Aussie teams are settled, they didn't lose any of their major players overseas. The Crusaders and Chiefs lost key experienced All Blacks, and Razor in the Crusaders case, and clearly neither are anywhere near as strong as last year (The Canes and Blues would probably be 3rd & 4th if they were). The Highlanders are annually average, even more so post-Aaron Smith and a big squad clean out. The two teams at the top? The two nz sides with largely the same settled roster as last year, except Ardie Savea for the Canes. They’ve both got far better coaches now too. If the Aussies are going to win the title, this is the year the kiwi sides will be weakest, so they better take their chance.
3 Go to commentsThe World Cup has to be the gold standard, line in the sand. 113 teams compete for what is the opportunity to make the pool stages, and then the knockout games for the trophy. The concept is sound. This must have been the rationale when the World Cup was created, surely? But I’m all for Looking forward and finding new ways for the SH to dominate the NH into the future. The autumn series needs a change up. Let’s start by having the NH teams come south every odd year for the Autumn/Spring series games?
3 Go to commentsWhat’ll happen when the AI models of the future go back in time and try to destroy the AI models of the past standing in their way of certain victory?
41 Go to commentsThanks, Nick. We (Seanny Maloney, Brett and I) just discussed Charlie as a potential Wallaby No 8, and wondered if he has truly realised how big he is in contact (and whether he can add 5 kg w/o slowing down). Your scouting report confirms our suspicions he has the materiel. No one knows if he has the mentality (as Johann van Graan said this week about CJ, Duane and Alfie B) to carry 10-15 times a game.
57 Go to commentsHe would be a great player for the Stormers, Dobbo should approach the guy.
3 Go to commentsGood article. A few years back when he was playing for the Cheetahs, he was a quiet standout for exactly the seasons stated here. I occasionally get to see his games in the UK, and he has become a more complete player and in many ways like an Irish player. His work ethic is so suitable to the Leinster game. I wonder if Rassie would have him listed somewhere.
3 Go to commentsResults probably skewed by the fact that a few clubs have foreign fly halves in their 30s, but most teams have young English scrum halves. Results also likely to be skewed by the fact that many teams rely on centres and fullbacks to provide depth at 10, whereas they will need to stock a large number of specialist backup 9s.
1 Go to commentsI really get the sense that when all is said and done, the path of least resistance will end up being a merger of Wasps & Worcester that essentially kills the Worcester Warriors brand and sees Wasps permanently playing at Sixways. I’m not saying that’s what should happen or what I want to happen. I just think it’s the easiest rout to take and therefore, will be what happens. Wasps will definitely return to play first, and I suppose it all depends on if they can find support at Sixways. If people turn up and support Wasps in that community, at that ground, I bet they drop the Sevenoaks plan and just remain at Sixways. Under the radar but not totally unrelated, it looks as though London Irish are going to be brought back from the dead by a German consortium and look set to return, likely to the remade Championship. It’s set to have 12 clubs next season with 14 in 2025/26, what do you want to bet those extra 2 are Wasps and London Irish?
3 Go to commentsThe shoulder is a “joint” with multiple bones. You don’t “fracture” a shoulder, you fracture any one or more of the bones that make up a shoulder.
2 Go to commentsOh dear, bones too suspect to continue?
2 Go to commentsBold headline considering the Canes and Blues are 1 and 2 and the Brumbies were soundly beaten by the Chiefs and Blues. Biggest surprise is Rebels 4 Crusaders 12 - no one saw that coming. If Aus are improving that’s great 👍
3 Go to commentsAnna, You are right, we need to have patience whilst the others catch up to England and France. Also it is the PWR that has been the game changer for England. the RFU put money into that initially at the expense of the Red Roses. I was sceptical at first but it has paid off in spades.
1 Go to commentsI think Matt Proctor became a 1 test AB in the same fixture. Cameron is quality and has been great this season, can’t believe’s he only 27. Realistically how would he not be selected for ABs squad this year. Only Dmac is ahead of him as a specialist 10. With Jordan out, it will come down to where and when Beauden Barrett slots back in, and where they want to play Ruben Love. Cameron seems an absolute lock in for the wider squad though. Added benefit of TJ-Cameron-Jordie combination at 9, 10, 11 too.
1 Go to commentsFarcical, to what end would someone want to pay to keep this thing going.
1 Go to commentsHavili, our best 12 by a mile, will be in the squad, if he stays fit. JB is the most overrated AB in the last 50 years.
61 Go to commentsWe had during the week twilight footy, twilight cricket, tw golf plus there was the athletics club. Then the weekend was rugby 15s plus the net ball, really busy club scene back then but so much has changed and rugby has suffered. And it was all about changing lifestyles.
6 Go to commentsIn the 70s and 80s my club ran 5 Senior sides plus a Vets. Now it is 2 sides with an occasional 3rd team. Players have difficulty getting to training now, not sure why and the commitment is not there. It seems to me more a problem of people applying themselves and not expecting to turn up and play whenever they want to.
6 Go to comments