>> Do Ospreys really need Liam Williams?
THEY ONCE boasted one of the strongest playing squads in Europe and were famously labelled the ‘Galacticos’ of Welsh rugby.
But why has the Ospreys’ past success – which brought them four league titles – been consigned to the history books? In professional sport the buck invariably stops with the head coach and while Allen Clarke has to take some responsibility for his team’s current malaise, the status quo at the Liberty Stadium can’t be put solely on the shoulders of the Northern Irishman.
The Ospreys have endured a horrific start to the season. They have won just one of their opening six PRO14 fixtures – a run which included an embarrassing home loss to the lowly Southern Kings last weekend.
Part of the reason for this alarming slump in form can be explained by a combination of stars being away at the World Cup and injuries, but the problems run deeper than that.
Following the collapse of their proposed merger with the Scarlets last season, Clarke addressed an Ospreys supporters’ forum where he said: “Our priority in recruitment is to strengthen our international window squad.”
He stated he wanted to sign a lock, back rower, a scrum-half, an outside-half, a centre and a backthree player who would be available throughout the season.
Only three of those recruitment targets have been met so far with South African nine Shaun Venter joining from the Cheetahs and No.8 Gareth Evans arriving from Gloucester.
Lock Ben Glynn was a late arrival once the new campaign was underway, but found himself on the injury list within minutes of his arrival. Fans of the region will point to the recruitment of Wales playmaker Gareth Anscombe, but he doesn’t come under the category of being available all season due to probable Test commitments.
The Ospreys’ strongest XV is good enough to compete with most sides in Europe, but their squad is extremely unbalanced with a lack of strength in depth during the international window. With this in mind, why wasn’t the boat pushed out to retain a proven PRO14 operator in Sam Davies instead of signing Anscombe who, even before a knee injury robbed him of a World Cup place, was going to be unavailable for most of the season anyway?
The Ospreys are close to signing Wales full-back Liam Williams from Saracens. On the surface it seems a stunning deal, but surely it would be better to spend the money being paid for Williams on two or three Super Rugby level players who would be available throughout the season instead of what is essentially a vanity signing?
It’s clear Clarke wants to strengthen, but there are problems further up the food chain holding him back. General manager Andrew Millward has been in charge of the business since 2016 and he has big questions to answer.
Since the former pub landlord took the reins as managing director from Andrew Hore, the region’s fortunes have plummeted. Millward is the man in charge of hiring and firing coaches and also has the final say on recruiting players.
It was all good when former Swansea City shareholder and now Ospreys chairman Rob Davies swooped in to save them from the Scarlets merger, but I’d be asking serious questions about how his money is being spent.
For any sporting organisation to thrive the culture has to be right from top to bottom. The Rugby Paper understands that behind the scenes there is real disharmony at the Ospreys with an off-field restructure over the summer months distancing the club from both hardcore supporters and the media alike. Coupled with the side underperforming on the field, the perfect storm seems to be brewing as the mood among Ospreys fans on social media darkens. The Welsh Rugby Union’s Professional Rugby Board (PRB) have already cut their playing budget by close on £1m to £6.3m – over a million less than arch-rivals the Scarlets.
Welsh rugby is scratching its head over how to bridge the funding gap between themselves and their wealthier PRO14 and European rivals. Rumours abound over the potential of two fully funded Welsh regions and two semi-skimmed versions which would be development teams.
All conjecture. What is certain is that the Ospreys are in a precarious position on and off the field.
“Better to spend the money being paid for Williams on two or three Super Rugby level players”