We welcome Sale Sharks to the Swansea.com Liberty, this afternoon, as we mark our return to Europe and to kick-off our Heineken Champions Cup campaign.
Sale will provide us with a massive physical challenge, very similar to what we have experienced in the recent wins against Munster and Ulster in the United Rugby Championship.
Alex Sanderson, the Sale Director of Rugby, has taken a lot of what he would have used when he was with Saracens and has made them a very hard team to beat.
They are a big, physical and abrasive side, with a major South African influence, and have been one of the dominant sides in England in recent seasons.
We know what’s coming and we have to meet that challenge.
One of the measures of every team, and the Ospreys are no different, is to be a Champions Cup side. After all the challenges of last season, on and off the field, particularly with the Covid-19 Pandemic, it was a real reward to gain qualification for European rugby’s top table.
We know we made significant strides forward last season, as a playing and coaching group, but Champions Cup qualification was something tangible that we could all hang our hat on.
It’s an acknowledgement of how far we have moved from the baseline where we began our journey. Being a Champions Cup team is a mark of our progress together.
We know Europe will expose us to the quality and strength in depth of teams regularly in this tournament, but this is why we play this game and it’s where we want to be.
You are not comparing apples with apples in European rugby, when it comes to resource, but ultimately it is still 23 players against 23 players on any given day.
We may not have the squad depth of some of the bigger and more expensive squads but this team has shown it likes pitching itself against the best, especially when people don’t give us a chance, and we do like to rise to a challenge.
The wins over Munster and Ulster, two sides who have traditionally done well in Europe, should give us some confidence and confirmation of how hard we have to work in Europe to get a result.
Playing in the URC certainly gives us a good understanding of teams from different countries, with different playing styles and different refereeing interpretations.
The breakdown is a great example of that, with every nation having a different interpretation of that area of the game and how the law is applied.
It should prepare our younger players to what they can expect in Champions Cup rugby. Our more experienced players will know what the price of entry is to play in Europe’s top tier.
When our backs against the wall, this team has found a way to win and that resilience and determination are big attributes to have at this level.
To keep breaking boundaries, we need to keep challenging ourselves physically and mentally to keep progressing and setting new standards in our performance.
Producing performances against the big sides in Europe will only enhance our belief in what we can achieve.
The Ospreys supporters played a key role at the Swansea.com last weekend when they recognised the effort being put in by the team towards the end of the first half against Ulster.
The supporters could see we were under extreme pressure, and they fed off the fact they could see the team working hard for each other and the jersey.
The noise generated really lifted the team, giving is some real momentum and would have had a detrimental impact on our opponents too.
The team thank you for your continued support.
Toby