Ospreys: From brink of extinction to playoff-bound in a season?
After the 2018/19 Guinness PRO14 playoffs were an all-Irish, Scottish and Italian affair, it’s fair to say it was a season that Ospreys and other Welsh regional fans will not look back on fondly.
The Scarlets looked well off their title-winning and table-topping form in 2016/17 and 2017/18 respectively, the Cardiff Blues had their moments but ultimately fell short, and the Dragons were warily watching their back, as they finished just four points above the Southern Kings in Conference B.
The Ospreys had the most to celebrate, as they beat the Scarlets in the qualifier for the 2019/20 Heineken Champions Cup, ensuring that they would be the only Welsh side in the top tier of European competition this coming season.
Discounting the adrift Dragons, Wales’ three other regions posted a combined record of 32 wins and 31 losses in the PRO14 last season, accurately portraying their positions as mid-table teams. They were all capable of taking scalps, but none had the consistency or depth to flourish across the entire season and challenge the competition’s established powerhouses.
Unfortunately for the Ospreys, celebrations over the positive trajectory of their season were short-lived, as stories broke that the WRU were looking to merge the region with their local rivals, the Scarlets.
After a startling back and forth that seemingly could only take place in professional rugby, the Ospreys confirmed that they would not be merging with the Scarlets, something which was backed up shortly after by the Professional Rugby Board.
Whether just a stay of execution or long-term salvation, the Ospreys will at least be around for the 2019/20 season.
Throw into the mix the regions’ inability to budget for the upcoming season until late in the 2018/19 campaign and the consequent effect that had on extending contracts and recruiting from outside Wales, and it’s been a challenging summer for all four sides, some of whom have lost key players in the financial uncertainty.
That said, for all the struggles, the Ospreys have assembled a pretty handy group of players for the upcoming season.
The region’s two big losses come in the form of Scott Baldwin, who has headed to Harlequins, and Sam Davies, who will attempt to resurrect the Dragons.
Wales U20 captain Dewi Lake will endeavour to step into Baldwin’s shoes at hooker and was one of, if not the most consistent performer for Wales at age-grade level over the last seven months, whilst a better replacement than Gareth Anscombe for Davies would have been all but impossible to find.
Having lost Dan Biggar in 2018 and then Davies this summer, being able to go out and snap up Wales’ starting fly-half is a coup for the Ospreys and a statement signing if ever there were one. The depth is not overflowing behind Anscombe, with Luke Price the only established option unless they want to use James Hook there, but if Anscombe can be managed in the Champions Cup, where the Ospreys may struggle to be competitive this season, he could be a difference-maker for the region in the PRO14.
The arrival of Shaun Venter from the Cheetahs brings valuable experience at scrum-half and will help them survive the loss of Aled Davies to Wales, as well as mentoring bright prospect Reuben Morgan-Williams.
The promotion of Tiaan Thomas-Wheeler and Kieran Williams from the academy should be exciting for Ospreys fans, with both offering high ceilings and differing skill sets to the current options at the region’s disposal. Alongside Hook, Owen Watkin, Scott Williams and Cory Allen, the Ospreys may very well have the deepest and most versatile midfield in the competition.
Rory Thornton’s departure is disappointing in the second row, although with Alun Wyn Jones signing on for another two years and Adam Beard coming to prominence over the past two years, opportunities were limited for the former Wales U20 captain.
If there is one area of the squad, on paper, where you would be critical, it’s arguably among the props. Although there are PRO14-calibre options there who can help the Ospreys have a productive season, the depth is thin behind them and a couple of key injuries could create plenty of problems for the region.
Despite that, the Ospreys do look in a good place to build upon their 2018/19 season and push forward in 2019/20.
Often the trend in Welsh rugby is of losing established players to better money on offer in England and France and plugging those gaps with promising academy players or bargain signings from abroad. This keeps them competitive but prevents them from being able to build and genuinely challenge the stranglehold that the Irish provinces have on the competition.
The Scarlets and Glasgow Warriors have both had their moments over recent years, but it’s hard to escape the fact the competition has had an Irish winner in five of the last seven seasons.
With the Ospreys being able to welcome up their academy promotions as reinforcements this year, rather than simply replenishing the player pool, the Swansea-based side look to be a strong candidate for the playoffs this coming season. By being drawn in a conference with Leinster, Ulster and Glasgow Warriors, they will certainly be battle-tested, should they make it.
As four-times champions of the competition, the Ospreys are somewhat of a sleeping giant and whilst that conference will surely push them to their limits, there are signs that they may be beginning to rouse.
If their squad can escape the Rugby World Cup relatively unscathed and they can make the most of their considerable depth in the back row and midfield, the Ospreys could be one of the teams to watch over the next 10 months.
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Comments on RugbyPass
Wasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
3 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
3 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
30 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
3 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
30 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
30 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
30 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
30 Go to comments