Ospreys 23-7 Aironi

Normally I would ask if anyone else went, but seeing as though it felt I was the only one there, I won't bother.

They gave the official attendance as 5,500 but I have never seen the stadium to empty before, to be serious if there was 2,000 I'd of been amazed. The loudest noise during the game was everyone laughing when they announced the attendance to be fair.

To be fair the effort the Ospreys put in wasn't bad, considering the players missing. Hibbard was a beast and it was probably the best I have seen him play, he seemed determined to flatten the entire Aironi team on his own and had a dam good time trying to do it.
It was a bit like watching Scotland though, plenty of effort and ideas, but they simply couldn't finish anything off. They spent half the game in the Aironi 22 with ball in hand, but always seemed to balls up the act of scoring. It did start to get very frustrating in the second half with many fans walking out of the stadium in the 75 minute when the Ospreys spent the whole half attacking only for Aironi to get the try, luckily we got one at the end to put a bit of gloss on it.

If we show this attacking intent in future games then we have hope for the future, but we will need to be a lot more clinical.

We did seem very light in the back row last night with Tom Smith, Sam Lewis, Joe Bearman, going against Italian internationals Bergamasco, Favaro.

It was great to see young Joe Rees, giving Romano such a hammering in the scrums, winning penalty after penalty. Aironi brought on Salvatore Perugini to change it, but Rees gave him a good beating in the scrums too!

I will say I thought the referee was the most consistent and fair I have seen so far this year in the Rabo Direct, I would be happy to see Marius Mitrea back at the Liberty stadium, he didn't look old enough to have gone through puberty but he controlled the game, was consistent. let it flow and sorted out any problems that occurred. He might be one to keep an eye on for the future.

Alyn:

If the Ospreys could not get a bonus point in that game they will never get one this season. I was offered a free ticket but I am glad I had a better offer i.e., take my wife to the hairdresser. I think the Ospreys have a big problem attracting crowds losing all the creative players, in Wales it is not enough to win games, you must entertain as well

glamorganalun wrote:Alyn:

If the Ospreys could not get a bonus point in that game they will never get one this season. I was offered a free ticket but I am glad I had a better offer i.e., take my wife to the hairdresser. I think the Ospreys have a big problem attracting crowds losing all the creative players, in Wales it is not enough to win games, you must entertain as well

They really did try, but I think not having a ball carrying option to tie defenders in killed us, we created no gaps and any time we made a break the player was swamped normally resulting in a loss of control and lost possetion. I think with the new style Tandy is likely to bring and players like Ryan Jones taking the ball up we may be a good team.

There's nothing the Ospreys can do about losing big name players. They just don't have the finances and neither do the rest of the regions.
We have to rely on home grown talent with a sprinkle of average foreigners. No more superstars.
We will either see success from it in the future or not where the regions will then end up being developmental tools which i personally think will happen.

I was at the game. I thought it was one of the most awful games I've witnessed. Rubbish like that will not attract the crowds. And more rubbish like that will see the crowds dwindle further.

Nine years ago, at their inception, the Ospreys owners decided to give an inexperienced, youthful coaching team a chance. I wonder why all businesses don't give managerial positions to inexperienced staff? What happened? The Ospreys never got a home draw in the quarters of the HC, never got to a sem-final of the HC, and failed to reach the QFs in the last two years.

Now Steve Tandy, who gave 100% as a player, is given a head coach position, despite being inexperienced.

This current government thinks that austerity is our only saviour. Result: recession or flat economic growth, dramatic increases in unemployment, and a need to borrow an additional 160 billion to pay for the extra people joining the dole queue.

Sometimes, you have to invest for the future, especially to grow. The Ospreys owners should have got an experienced coaching team to start with. Now, as I see it, they are repeating the same mistake ...

What may ease the salary cap is what P Thomas quoted on BBC teletext, if Wales has the players they pay their wages! of the players. I have always thought his statement should be the case as up until last year the Ospreys provided the bulk of the internationals but received nothing extra in compensation. It the WRU paid the wages when on Wales duty or injured during Wales duty the WRU should pay, this may mean the teams be able to afford the internationals in the future.

Ospreydragon:

Well said, the problem was the region pumped money at the players and not the coaching, the Ospreys were better under Lyn Jones. They thought they had employed top coaches in the form of Johnson and Hore but they have been found out, they may be popual with some players when with Wales but you need coaches that do a job for the region.

glamorganalun, I think Roger Lewis, the WRU CEO, is on Real Radio next Thursday between 6 - 7 pm.

I think the funding model needs to change. All regions should get a basic level of funding, but regions should also be compensated for the number of players they develop for the Wales squad. If Ospreys have 17 players in the squad, they should be paid an amount for each player. Therefore, there should be a variable element of funding and that will mean some regions will get more than others.

Ideally, the WRU should also support each region that has world or top class players who should remian playing in Wales, to help to attract crowds. And the structure of the season and the fixtures/times need to be looked at.

I expect a lot of people will phone in to ask R Lewis a number of questions!

glamorganalun, There's plenty of raw rugby talent in Wales. You have to start from the top -- with an experienced, proven coach at the head and a talented coaching team (especially one that can coach and develop young players).

Ospreydragon:

Totally agree, it is a shame this model for funding was not applied 5 years ago as it rewards responsible ambition not shown by all regions. I must remember to listen to Real Radio, the problem with Lewis it is like listening to a political party leader, all talk no action apart from setting up games that make money for the WRU balance sheet e.g., Wales V Baa Baas in June.

Bear in mind though Alyn that the WRU balances are partly used to fund the regions ... The WRU and the regions need to work together more. The administration of the game needs a complete overhaul.

I'm not really sure how Ospreys V aironi ended up as the Welsh finances topic in only 10 or so posts, I guess it was a really bad game then!

I think Welsh rugby will become like New Zealand to be honest, we will keep of the very important big players but fringe players who arent in the Welsh squad or players who are not first choice, i.e. they get 5 caps or so when their younger and dont really progress will be the ones who leave.

AlynDavies, If I heard it correctly, it was just reported on the BBC1W news that Peter Thomas of Cardiff Blues reported as saying that, given the regions' dwindling revenues, they will soon have to stop paying the wages of players when on international duty (and, no surprise, Martin Williams will not be offered a new contract).

Ospreydragon - you heard correctly:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/17073410

Re: the game, I'm glad that the O's won. I just hope that Tandy does a good job. I guess all coaches have to start somewhere...

Alyn:

It was my fault for the slight diversion, I thought it relevant as the Os have lost so many players chasing the money and P Thomas saying the WRU should pay the players wages during internationals, if this was the case the Ospreys would be better off and may still have some of their better players. Not for the first time we have been mixed up due to our similar first name.