Scott Baldwin said that the Ospreys “ground it out” in Boxing Day’s derby win over the Scarlets.
The hooker paid tribute to his team for their efforts in securing a victory on the road but admitted that they need to improve their discipline if they are going to build on this in in back to back home games in the PRO12 against the Dragons and Leinster.
“We didn’t have the best of starts to the season but we’ve gone on a bit of a run in the league now and the boys are enjoying it” said Baldwin.
“At the same time, this is just another game to us although it means a lot to the supporters. We came down here with a plan to get four points and we ground it out in the end. I think we’re still making a few too many errors, especially defensively, which we need to sort if we’re going to get where we want to be, both in the league and in Europe.”
“It’s a day off on Sunday now, get the body healed, in on Monday and it’s probably going to be pretty light, then we’ll focus on the Dragons.
“Like Steve said in the changing room, there’s no point beating the Scarlets down here to go and drop points at home to the Dragons and Leinster. We’ve got to back this performance up and we’ve got to improve on our defence.”
Baldwin admitted to getting that sinking feeling when Steven Shingler lined up his last minute kick that would have won it for the Scarlets had he scored.
“He’s nailed a couple of last minute kicks this year so it was hands in head time but, thankfully for us, he’s missed it” said Baldwin.
“We shouldn’t have put ourselves in that position to be fair. I thought we played a lot of good rugby, there were a few errors which potentially stopped us from getting the bonus point try. I think we put ourselves in a good place.”
The Ospreys now face three home games on consecutive weekends, against Newport Gwent Dragons on New Year’s Day (KO 2.00pm) and Leinster on Friday 8th January (KO 7.45pm) in the PRO12, before the huge Champions Cup clash against Clermont Auvergne on Friday 15th January (KO 7.45pm).
You can buy tickets for all three games now at ospreysrugby.com/buytickets, or during opening hours in person at the Liberty Stadium Ticket Office and via the Ticket Hotline on 0844 815 6665*.
*Please note calls to the above number are charged at 7p per minute plus standard network charges.