Ospreys are improving every season -Booth
Toby Booth has his eyes on a prize for his ever-improving Ospreys this season and if he achieves his ambitious goal it will scratch an itch that has been with him for almost 20 years.
Twice before in his coaching career Booth has been involved with teams that have reached what is now the EPCR Challenge Cup final. On both occasions his side fell short.
The first time was when he was at London Irish in 2006, when the Exiles lost 36-34 in extra-time to Gloucester at the Twickenham Stoop. The second time was at Bath, when the west countrymen went down 30-16 to Northampton Saints at Cardiff Arms Park in 2014.
Could it be third time lucky with the Ospreys this season? With the final being played at the Principality Stadium there is certainly huge incentive for the best of the four Welsh regions.
“We reached the knockout stages in a European competition for the first time since 2010 last season by reaching the quarter-finals before losing at Gloucester,” said Booth.
“That came on the back of doing the double over French champions Montpellier in the Champions Cup and beating English champions Leicester Tigers at Welford Road the previous season.
“It is sometimes difficult to compete over a whole season in the URC without having the strength in depth of the Irish sides or the greater athlete resources of the South African sides. So, in many ways it makes sense to try to turn into a good cup team.
“We have shown progression in Europe year on year and the Challenge Cup will be a good focus for us this season, especially with the final being played in Cardiff. Those wins over Montpellier and Leicester really gave us belief and last year’s run to the quarter-finals showed we are a side that is moving forward and pushing for a place at the top table.”
Booth has consistently improved both performance and results during his four seasons to date at the Welsh region and has won the Welsh Shield, played for between all four regions in the URC, twice. Last season was no exception, when the Ospreys became the first Welsh side to make the knockout stages in six years.
His time in Swansea hasn’t been easy with Covid and financial problems bedevilling the game in Wales. But his mantra of “we’ll find a way” has been enthusiastically adopted by young and old at the club.
Last season was a far cry from the 2019-20 campaign when Allen Clarke’s side finished bottom of their Conference, behind both Zebre and the Dragons, with only two wins and two draws to their name.
“We had a good season in 2023-24 and we are moving in the right direction. We have a good culture at the club, players believe in themselves and each other, and they show on and off the field they care about each other,” added Booth
“Success can’t always be measured in trophies and we’ve created a number of international players for Wales in recent years. It’s not by accident that our coaching team is filled with people who have strong development backgrounds.”
Hooker Dewi Lake, flanker Jac Morgan, joint captains of Wales at last year’s World Cup, centre Kieran Williams, locks Rhys Davies and James Ratti and prop Gareth Thomas have all been capped during Booth’s time in charge. He’s also seen hooker Sam Parry and centre Owen Watkin resurrect their Test careers.
Next in the pipeline are lock James Fender and back row man Morgan Morse, with full-back Max Nagy also on Warren Gatland’s radar. It’s no secret that most are forwards, but that is Booth’s real area of expertise.
“The big difference I found coming from England to Wales was there wasn’t the same attitude to tight five forwards. With good forwards up front it is a very hard game to play,” added Booth.
“The Springboks won back-to-back World Cups on the back of their front five forwards and I make no apology for working hard in that area. When I took over I wanted to create a visible style of play, and one with which we could score more tries.
“We’ve done that and I also asked the players to replicate the work ethic of the people they represent. On top of that we needed to become more consistent, and we’ve done that.”
