'Ospreys on verge of being best in UK'

Mar 31 2008 by Phil Blanche, Western Mail

FORMER Lions centre Jeremy Guscott believes the Ospreys could become the “biggest and best club in the UK.”

The Welsh region – with most of Wales’ Grand Slam-winning line-up to call on – have a huge fortnight ahead of them with a Heineken Cup quarter-final date against Saracens on Sunday and an EDF Cup final showdown with Leicester Tigers six days later.

Saracens’ Kiwi star Glen Jackson has already compared them to New Zealand’s Crusaders, the current Super 14 leaders, after the Ospreys brushed aside the top English outfit 30-3 in the semi-final of the EDF Cup.

And now Guscott insists that Heineken Cup glory would create an Ospreys legacy which will benefit the region for years to come.

“The Ospreys are on the brink of a huge breakthrough – something absolutely magical – that could lead to them becoming the biggest and best club in the UK,” said the 65-times capped ex-England star.

“All they have to do is win the Heineken Cup...the Ospreys players must create a legacy that will transform the Neath-Swansea amalgamation into a club with a real identity, one to rival the likes of Leicester and Munster.

“They must seize the chance to make the Liberty Stadium as much of a fortress as Welford Road or Thomond Park, so teams are immediately at a psychological disadvantage when they draw the Ospreys.”

Guscott enjoyed great success at Bath during his career and he admits that trophies at club level can be more satisfying than those won in international rugby.

“As a player, it is one thing to win a Grand Slam, but to win silverware with your own club can be more rewarding,” he said.

“These are the guys you pretty much live with for nine months of the year.

“The ability of the Ospreys players cannot be questioned, but can they lift themselves to perform as they have done at Test level?

“From my own experience, it is tough after playing for your country and even harder after you’ve won a Grand Slam.

“The attention from the media is less intense, you have not been locked up in the team hotel for weeks and a different coach wants you to deliver in the same manner as at Test level.

“It is how successfully players adapt to these changes that will make the team win or lose.

“It’s never easy, but the great club teams of the past decade have managed to do it consistently at the highest level.

“Wasps and Leicester have had stacks of players involved in winning Grand Slams and World Cups and those guys were able to put that to one side, pull on the club colours and win again.”

Having lost in-form Wales scrum-half Mike Phillips to ligament damage, Guscott pinpointed the presence of Justin Marshall as the Ospreys having the necessary strength in depth to succeed in Europe.

But it is the pack, he says, that could be the key to the Ospreys realising their double dream.

“The front five of their pack play for Wales and the suggestion that it has a soft underbelly is rubbish,” Guscott wrote in his Sunday Times column.

“To get the better of an Irish pack at Croke Park requires guts, and the back row contains two fine ball-carriers in Ryan Jones and Jonathan Thomas, alongside Kiwi Marty Holah, who is arguably the best openside in the competition.

“The quality ball they provide gives a star-studded backline room to move, and a midfield trio of James Hook, Gavin Henson and Sonny Parker is a handful.

“Henson is playing the best rugby of his career, making good decisions on a consistent basis..and then you’ve got Shane Williams, who you expect magic from every time he gets the ball in his hands.”