Yet Steve is the first and only Coach to have a perfect/maximum haul of points in the Group Stages of a European Competition. As well as Webb being unavailable due to injury, so were the following:: Dmitri Arhip – Shoulder Dan Baker – Broken nose Hanno Dirksen – Knee Ma’afu Fia - Knee Jeff Hassler – Achilles Dafydd Howells - Shoulder Ben John – HIA Dan Lydiate – Knee Rob McCusker – Ankle Brian Mujati - Shoulder Sam Parry - Neck James Ratti – Shoulder Eli Walker – Back Owen Watkin – Knee
Come on Taff, are you saying the Ospreys have progressed under Tandy? Performances on the pitch have been boring for most of his tenure. We've made no impact in the Champions Cup and always seem to bottle it when the crunch time comes. Like with those injured players, there's no world class players there, other than Webb (Lydiate is finished now I think). Tandy hasn't got the ability to tactically change things mid game. It showed v Stade and again v Munster.
But Valley - aren't you partly answering your own question? There are very few world class players available to him. The days of the Galacticos have gone
Rugy is different to football Taff, teams win rugby games not individuals. Imo Taff, we can't use injuries as an excuse for that performance because we fielded a very good team, with only one true weak link imo. Webb was a loss but he was replaced by Brendan Leonard an All Black. Outside Leonard we had Bigger, who was useless, Beck who looked limited, Fonotia who didn't get into the game, Giles who wasn't utilised and Habberfield the weakest link in the backs. These were backed up by our star FB Evans. That wasn't a make-shift backline by any stretch of the imagination and they should have matched Munsters backs but they didn't. In the pack we had Welsh internationals Baldwin, AWJ, Davies, Tipurik and King, abley supported by N Smith, Sam Underhill. Ollie Cracknell is a decent enough player to make Kings substitution not a worry. R Jones was the only weak link in the pack yet Munsters pack stood off us and didn't dominate us, only at the scrum were they completely in top. We had a good team on that field yet with the ball we plodded around, playing a slow, ponderous, unimaginative one pass rugby and in defence we were too passive yet, amazingly, we were still in the game right up to Zebos try after which we handed our shorts to Munster and gave up. If we played with any zest or showed any agression in the game the result could have been so different because Munster were nervous in front of their own crowd and if we were a little more intense the cracks would have shown. But we weren't, we were passive and submissive and played like we'd already lost the game in the changing room before kick-off. Our defeat wasn't down to injuries at all but was down to a low key, poor performance.
But Stumpy, whilst Ronaldo & Messi are two fantastic individuals who can turn a game, I would respectfully suggest that without their other 10 team mates they would not win.... So football is as much a team game as Rugby. I would agree that, on paper we had a decent enough team, but it could have been stronger still without the injuries. Munster have greater strength in depth - numerically & quality wise given the higher level of Governing body funding. Anyway, we lost - lessons have to be learnt, as they were at the end of last season!
my honest opinion of the Ospreys is they have far better players than their results show. At some point in the season they get things right and murder sides that is when they actually try and play some attractive rugby but then we end up in big games reverting back to the forward orientated stagnant round the side rugby. There is a need for a happy medium and to play each game somewhere in between, I am not sure whether Tandy can bring this together. Until for me we get a coach who has a bit more to offer, the Ospreys will be as per usual the nearly men.
The Directors of Ospreys Rugby Limited have revealed that accounts for 2015/16 show an operating loss of £73,000. The business incurred an operating loss of £73,000 during financial year 2015/16 Although the Rugby World Cup in autumn 2015 has a significant impact on all areas of the business, the board report increased commercial, sponsorship and ticketing revenue with crowds also up year on year Discussions continue with a number of parties, including WRU, to secure additional long-term funding to close the gap on competitors Overall business performance was extremely encouraging with increased commercial, sponsorship and ticketing revenue. A number of leading Welsh businesses, such as Symltech, Ledwood, and Morganstone, entered into partnership with Ospreys Rugby during this period, while OSTC extended their front of shirt sponsorship. Ticketing revenue saw a small increase over this period despite the first part of the season clashing with the Rugby World Cup in England. The decision of the Guinness PRO12 not to delay the start to the season impacted significantly on crowds across the competition in the opening seven weeks of the season, teams weakened considerably by the absence of international players. Combined with what was, ultimately, a disappointing season on the field as the team missed out on both the PRO12 semi-finals and Champions Cup qualification, it made for a challenging scenario so we can take great satisfaction from the continued rise in ticketing revenue. However, direct costs have also increased, with the inflation of salaries across the sport continuing to be a major challenge, particularly given the well-documented funding gap compared to other nations. A number of one-off exceptional items resulted in an overall trading loss of £511,000. Ospreys Chairman, Roger Blyth, said: “As was predicted in the 2014/15 report, this year proved to be a challenging one for the business. In particular, the Rugby World Cup had a major impact on all areas of the business and, although there were robust plans in place to deal with the specific challenges a World Cup year brings, its impact was felt in several ways. “The combination of improved off-field performance and continued tight financial management meant that the business continues along the path we’ve been on since 2012. We are projecting a similar outcome for 2016/17 with the business operating at close to break even. “While we continue to grow our own revenue streams, the ongoing financial imbalance in the game continues to have an effect. English and French clubs continue to enjoy the benefits of lucrative broadcast and commercial deals while, within the PRO12, our Irish, Italian and Scottish counterparts benefit in terms of greater governing body support. “As such, we continue to be in regular dialogue with various parties, including the WRU, to secure replacement and additional long-term funding and remain hopeful that these discussions will help produce a positive outcome for the business.”
Injuries to key players do make a big difference, But with the size of the squad they have they should have performed much better than they did, Questions must be asked about the medical staff also. Tandy is a good coach and has nothing to prove but he needs to look at his coaching staff maybe.....Far too many injuries in the end spoiled what could have been a winning side.....Hopefully the Scarlet's will do Wales proud.....
It is great that a Welsh side has won the PRO12. Hopefully, the Ospreys will rise to the challenge next season.