Ryan proud of his Ospreys

Apr 14 2008 Western Mail

OSPREYS skipper Ryan Jones said he was proud of the way his team had bounced back from their Heineken Cup heartache to claim the EDF trophy.

After lifting the cup at Twickenham, Jones declared himself delighted with the players’ response to their shock European exit against Saracens.

“I am extremely proud of the guys,” said the Wales captain. “There was a lot of soul-searching by individuals after last week. We realised that we got it wrong and had to put it right.

“We all knew how hard last week was and that we’d measure the group by how we responded to it.

“To a man, everyone answered those questions. The way the guys performed was extremely pleasing.

“We made a lot of mistakes last week, which was uncharacteristic. We stood up and rectified that. The way in which we executed was very professional. There was a real desire and work ethic.

“Leicester are an extremely physical team. They’ve got a fantastic pack and play very direct rugby. There’s only one way to counter that. You can’t afford to sit back and let them run riot.

“There were some fantastic performances. Guys like Paul James and Richard Hibbard were superb and I thought James Hook showed fantastic composure.”

For the Ospreys, it was sweet revenge for last year’s 41-35 EDF Cup final defeat to the Tigers at the same ground.

“We learned from that and we have taken a huge step forward from last year,” said Jones. “You don’t get many chances to win silverware. This will be a fantastic memory for me.

“Four years I have waited for this moment. We’ve won a couple of Magners League titles along the way, which is great achievement in itself. Now we have won some major silverware against one of the best teams in Europe.

“We have got the calibre to be one of the best teams in Europe ourselves. We have got to a Heineken quarter-final this year and we will be a different team if we get there again. I don’t think we would make the same mistakes again in a quarter-final.”