Following the Ospreys' unforgettable win over the DHL Stormers on the weekend, Simon Thomas recapped the game, including comments from Head Coach Toby Booth and the Player of the Match, Reuben Morgan-Williams.
Ospreys coach Toby Booth was all smiles as his team recorded another memorable victory at their Brewery Field fortress.
They followed up last season’s thrilling wins over Cardiff and Sale at the Bridgend ground by beating the Stormers 37-24 in another humdinger of a contest.
After holding firm on their own line through 20 phases of defending in the closing stages, they then went up the other end to claim the penalty try which brought them maximum points.
The game had been moved to the Brewery Field as their normal home of the Swansea.com Stadium was unavailable due to a clash with football.
In front of a passionate crowd, the Ospreys produced the goods once more, with skipper Jac Morgan crossing, along with half-backs Reuben Morgan-Williams and Dan Edwards, ahead of the jubilant finale.
“We play well here,” said Booth. “It’s a difficult place to come. It’s a bit of a fortress within a fortress, so long may that continue.
“We have always loved the crowd here. It’s fantastic. You know you can use the atmosphere and the proximity of the fans to the pitch to your advantage.
“It’s a really great ground for players and coaches to be around because it sort of represents us a little bit - sleeves up, prepared to do it tough.
“We might not be too aesthetically pleasing sometimes but we’ll get the job done, so I think it’s quite representative of us as a group.
“If we can get a four-try bonus point into the bargain, then all well and good!”
Booth was left with very contrasting emotions to seven days earlier when his team had let slip a winning position and suffered a last-gasp defeat against the Dragons.
“Obviously last week was very disappointing,” he said.
“But the sign of a good team is they learn quickly. All week we bounced back, we came out with a spring in our step despite the disappointment.
“We prepared really well and we challenged each other, which is fantastic. That’s how winning gets done.
“Sport teaches you a lesson every week and last week taught us the lesson that when you’ve got an opportunity to kill someone off in this league, you need to do that.
“The irony is before that last defensive set here, we were potentially in the same boat, but we came up with the answers this time and then we weren’t going to sit and wait, we were going to grab it and get the bonus point. So that’s a fantastic outcome.
“It shows they are a tight group that cares about each other because you lose those moments if you don’t.
“It shows a never-say-die attitude. It means you are going to finish strong and not go away. That’s a very attractive factor to have. We showed out there we are a good team.”
Summing up his post-match mood, Booth said: “It’s a little bit different to last week! The smile wasn’t around then.
“We got found wanting a little bit at the end last week when we didn’t put the Dragons to bed.
“The good thing this time is we created a lot of opportunities and took them. It was a great second half and a lovely moment at the end.
“This is an incredibly difficult opening block for us, but the train keeps on rolling.”
Player of the BKT URC Weekend - Reuben Morgan-Williams
The scrum-half marked his 100th appearance for the Ospreys in style with a Player of the Match display in the 37-24 victory over the Stormers in Bridgend.
He sniped over for one try and set up another, breaking through in midfield off a lineout and collecting his own chip ahead on the bounce before giving a one-handed scoring pass to half-back partner Dan Edwards.
“It was a great game and a brilliant team effort, to be fair,” said the 26-year-old.
“The boys put a hell of a shift in. There’s something about when we play the Stormers, the boys just turn up.
“It was just energy and effort. Late on in the game, we had some big defensive sets, but that’s the thing about this team, we always fight to the end. It was fantastic spirit from the boys and we just kept going.”
Commenting on the atmosphere at the Brewery Field, he said: “The crowd were brilliant. Every time we play here, we can feel them. They were singing Hymns and Arias and it just spurs the boys on.”
Giving his assessment of Morgan-Williams, Ospreys coach Toby Booth said: “He was an absolute stand-out performer. To see him deliver a performance like that in a very big game, on his 100th appearance, with his family here, that’s special and I am delighted for him.”
Next up at home its another South African showdown as the Vodacom Bulls visit the Swansea.com Stadium on October 12th.
