{"id":393183,"date":"2026-01-05T13:31:19","date_gmt":"2026-01-05T13:31:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/393183\/"},"modified":"2026-01-05T13:31:19","modified_gmt":"2026-01-05T13:31:19","slug":"welsh-region-wary-of-chasing-the-wrong-things-after-reality-check","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/393183\/","title":{"rendered":"Welsh region wary of ‘chasing the wrong things’ after ‘reality check’"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Having been bottom of the table and \u201cembarrassed\u201d going into Christmas, the Ospreys<\/a> are now up to ninth after producing an \u201cexceptional\u201d display against Cardiff Rugby<\/a> to complete a festive derby double.<\/p>\n

They were down in 16th place in the BKT URC, with just one win from their opening seven league games, after losing 26-10 at home to Munster<\/a> a fortnight ago.<\/p>\n

But, since then, they have bounced back in style by recording bonus point victories over both the Scarlets<\/a> and Cardiff.<\/p>\n

Their skipper for the 33-22 New Year\u2019s Day defeat of Cardiff in front of a full house at Bridgend\u2019s Brewery Field was hooker Sam Parry.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cIf I am being honest, I think Munster embarrassed us really.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Cardiff Rugby <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Racing 92 <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cThey taught us a lesson on a few things that we pride ourselves on. That really stung us. When I looked at the table and saw we were bottom, it really hurt.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was our first time back here since then and as a group we were determined to put those wrongs right.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was something we spoke about that we needed to put on a big performance because Cardiff have been going very well, but also just to back up from last week against the Scarlets. It was massive.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am glad we are climbing up the table now. We are not where we want to be just yet, so we will keep going and keep trying to get as high as we can.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adding his thoughts, head coach Mark Jones<\/a> said: \u201cI am so pleased for the group.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe boys have put an awful lot of work into the first half of the season and the wins column hasn\u2019t always been as nice as we would like it to be.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I have always felt the performances have been progressive in the large part and that when we get our stuff right and execute really well we are a good side.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you play someone like Cardiff, who have amassed as many wins as they have, we knew we would have to be at our best to get anything out of the game and I thought we were exceptional. I just thought the full package was good.\u201d<\/p>\n

The former Wales<\/a> wing continued: \u201cThe derbies are so mentally and physically demanding and then you add in Christmas and New Year to it, there\u2019s a lot of distractions and you could make a lot of excuses for not winning or not performing.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur players have done none of that. They have come into work when we have asked them to and done really well and got the most out of each day. It\u2019s been tough because they have been tired and there\u2019s been lots going on, for individuals and the collective, with everything that\u2019s going on in the background as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe way they have stayed focused and been so energised and excited to play with their team-mates, with the shirt, in front of our fans, that\u2019s the bit that I have been so pleased with \u2013 how much they enjoy playing, which trumps everything really. It\u2019s great.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Cardiff, the festive programme brought two defeats \u2013 to the Scarlets and Ospreys \u2013 and a narrow win over the Dragons. That has seen them drop down to fourth in the league table.<\/p>\n

Their international centre Ben Thomas<\/a> said: \u201cWe all love playing the Christmas derbies and, ultimately, one from three is not good enough for us.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo we will look back hard at this and use it as a bit of a catalyst to get better for the second half of the season.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the loss to the Ospreys, he said: \u201cIt was a frustrating day for us. They were better than us in every facet of the game. They were on top in breakdown, attack, defence \u2013 every aspect.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou give a team that much dominance at the contact area, it\u2019s going to be tough to get your game going.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo there will be an awful lot for us to look back on.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut sometimes you need these games, you need a bit of a reality check and it will refocus us for the second half of the season. We will work hard to get better.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had three pretty intense derbies and sometimes after a loss like that you can get a bit emotional and start chasing the wrong things, so it will be good for us all to have a couple of days to reflect and then come back in and get ready to improve.\u201d<\/p>\n

United Rugby Championship <\/p>\n

P<\/p>\n

W<\/p>\n

L<\/p>\n

D<\/p>\n

PF<\/p>\n

PA<\/p>\n

PD<\/p>\n

BP T<\/p>\n

BP-7<\/p>\n

BP<\/p>\n

Total<\/p>\n

1 <\/p>\n

\"Stormers\"\/ <\/p>\n

8 <\/p>\n

8 <\/p>\n

0 <\/p>\n

0 <\/p>\n

36 <\/p>\n

2 <\/p>\n

\"Glasgow\"\/ <\/p>\n

9 <\/p>\n

7 <\/p>\n

2 <\/p>\n

0 <\/p>\n

34 <\/p>\n

3 <\/p>\n

\"Ulster\"\/ <\/p>\n

8 <\/p>\n

6 <\/p>\n

2 <\/p>\n

0 <\/p>\n

31 <\/p>\n

4 <\/p>\n

\"Cardiff <\/p>\n

9 <\/p>\n

6 <\/p>\n

3 <\/p>\n

0 <\/p>\n

31 <\/p>\n

5 <\/p>\n

\"Leinster\"\/ <\/p>\n

9 <\/p>\n

6 <\/p>\n

3 <\/p>\n

0 <\/p>\n

30 <\/p>\n

6 <\/p>\n

\"Munster\"\/ <\/p>\n

9 <\/p>\n

6 <\/p>\n

3 <\/p>\n

0 <\/p>\n

30 <\/p>\n

7 <\/p>\n

\"Lions\"\/ <\/p>\n

8 <\/p>\n

4 <\/p>\n

4 <\/p>\n

0 <\/p>\n

21 <\/p>\n

8 <\/p>\n

\"Benetton\"\/ <\/p>\n

9 <\/p>\n

4 <\/p>\n

5 <\/p>\n

0 <\/p>\n

19 <\/p>\n

9 <\/p>\n

\"Ospreys\"\/ <\/p>\n

9 <\/p>\n

3 <\/p>\n

5 <\/p>\n

1 <\/p>\n

18 <\/p>\n

10 <\/p>\n

\"Edinburgh\"\/ <\/p>\n

8 <\/p>\n

3 <\/p>\n

5 <\/p>\n

0 <\/p>\n

17 <\/p>\n

11 <\/p>\n

\"Bulls\"\/ <\/p>\n

8 <\/p>\n

3 <\/p>\n

5 <\/p>\n

0 <\/p>\n

16 <\/p>\n

12 <\/p>\n

\"Connacht\"\/ <\/p>\n

8 <\/p>\n

2 <\/p>\n

6 <\/p>\n

0 <\/p>\n

16 <\/p>\n

13 <\/p>\n

\"Dragons <\/p>\n

9 <\/p>\n

2 <\/p>\n

5 <\/p>\n

2 <\/p>\n

16 <\/p>\n

14 <\/p>\n

\"Sharks\"\/ <\/p>\n

8 <\/p>\n

2 <\/p>\n

5 <\/p>\n

1 <\/p>\n

14 <\/p>\n

15 <\/p>\n

\"Zebre\"\/ <\/p>\n

9 <\/p>\n

2 <\/p>\n

7 <\/p>\n

0 <\/p>\n

11 <\/p>\n

16 <\/p>\n

\"Scarlets\"\/ <\/p>\n

8 <\/p>\n

2 <\/p>\n

6 <\/p>\n

0 <\/p>\n

9 <\/p>\n

In the other Welsh derby on New Year\u2019s Day, the Dragons continued their resurgence as they claimed an emphatic 28-5 bonus point victory over the Scarlets at Rodney Parade.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s now three wins from their last four matches in all competitions for the Gwent region, with the Player of the Match award going to try-scoring hooker Oli Burrows<\/a> who said: \u201cIt was a big effort from 1 to 23.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe momentum we\u2019ve had the last couple of weeks, particularly at home, we carried that through into the new year and it\u2019s just a hell of a way to start the year really.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s probably been coming since the start of the season. It was a case of breaking that duck, getting that monkey off our back and, once you get that win, it\u2019s amazing what a little bit of momentum does for you.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve not been a million miles off and one or two things have started to click. We have got a brilliant group here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Co-captain Angus O\u2019Brien added: \u201cIt\u2019s massive and it\u2019s just testament to the work we are doing. We had some tough results at the start of the season, but a lot of the performances have been there, we just haven\u2019t played 80 minutes.<\/p>\n

\u201cGetting that win a few weeks back against Lyon, you could see the belief with a big win against Connacht. We had a narrow loss last week at Cardiff, but we showed the confidence to come back.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the victory over the Scarlets, during which he converted all four tries, full-back O\u2019Brien said: \u201cIt wasn\u2019t perfect. The first half was a tight game, but in that second half, we were foot on the throat, we were clinical and we came away with five points, so we are delighted.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cThe fans are massive. The way we play at Rodney Parade, they are a focal part of that, the energy they drive for us as a team, the way they support us, it\u2019s amazing. So, happy new year to them.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Having been bottom of the table and \u201cembarrassed\u201d going into Christmas, the Ospreys are now up to ninth…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":393184,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[567],"tags":[64,63,760,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-393183","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-rugby","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-rugby","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/393183","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=393183"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/393183\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/393184"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=393183"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=393183"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=393183"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}