Long wait goes on for Ospreys trio
THEY were part of the phantom 23, picked by the Ospreys to face Racing 92 in a Heineken Champions Cup encounter that may never now take place.
Head coach Toby Booth will be disappointed that Saturday’s game in Paris was called off on Covid grounds as he’d been looking forward to welcoming back Keelan Giles, Keiran Williams and Dewi Lake after injuries.
The trio make up an important part of the Ospreys’ plans for the future.
Once considered one of Welsh rugby’s most promising players, Giles hasn’t started a competitive game since the Guinness PRO 14 clash with Glasgow Warriors last March.
Injuries have hammered him, but he’s still only 23, with time to regain the kind of form that saw Wales draft him into their senior squad as an 18-year-old.
Booth is delighted he’s in the mix once again. “He’s been very unlucky with injuries,” said the region’s head coach.
“As we’ve done with others like Gareth Anscombe and Alex Cuthbert, we’ve taken a methodical approach. But Keelan’s now completed his full return to play without any repercussions, which makes him available.”
Williams has also had more than his share of ill fortune.
But he is a player who has the ability to achieve go-forward and his tackle-busting power makes him an asset. The Ospreys were trying to develop his all-round game before his latest lay-off, which resulted from a particularly painful problem.
Booth said: “He had a rib injury and those can be difficult to settle. It’s about pain management because every time you breathe up and down with your diaphragm, it affects your ribs and around that area.”
Williams will offer the Ospreys something different, with there being no other player quite like him in their squad.
The availability of the two young backs is timely as the Swansea-based team prepare for the Christmas derby period. They play the Dragons at home on Boxing Day and the Scarlets in Llanelli on New Year’s Day.
Equally welcome for them is Lake being available again.
Like Giles, the ex-Wales U20s captain has been sidelined since March.
But if the Ospreys can tap into his full potential they could have a huge talent at their disposal.
“Young players are important to the lifeblood of the team,” added Booth said. “Growing them and trying to make them future Ospreys and future Welsh internationals is massive and what we are committed to.”