Toby Booth: Tough telling players I was leaving Ospreys
Toby Booth admits telling his Ospreys players that he would be leaving at the end of the season was one of the hardest things he has had to do in his career.
Booth has been in charge of the Swansea-based team since 2020 but will be replaced by Mark Jones, who will be promoted from defence coach, a role Justin Tipuric will himself take over once he calls time on his own playing career at the end of the season.
In a co-ordinated club announcement, Booth – alongside chief executive Lance Bradley – outlined the exit plan, as well as the long-term coaching strategy.
However, there are still questions that linger for many outside observers.
No Deal
Talks of a new deal for Booth – whose contract runs out in the summer – had been mooted since before Bradley joined the Ospreys in January 2024, but no new deal was offered.
“I understand why people are asking the question and that people are looking for angles and reasons,” said Booth.
“Of course you wrestle with decisions, you don’t invest four years of yourself, this will be the fifth year, into any project with any view of going.
“People know how committed I am to the whole thing, the Ospreys, my people, my players and the environment.
“The legacy part of any coach’s tenure is measured in different ways. For me, it’s what we’ve done with the people.
“From where we’ve come, that era of poor performance where things were not clear, we were inconsistent, had cynicism and players having to look over their shoulder all the time.
“Compared to where they are now, where players are supporting each other, challenging each other to be better in a protected environment that looks like high performance, if it all finished tomorrow, I would have done what I needed to do.”
Transformation
Booth has transformed the Ospreys in recent years, re-establishing the club as a force again within the Rugby United Championship.
And in much the same way that Jürgen Klopp alerted all and sundry to his departure last season from Liverpool months in advance, Booth hopes by announcing his exit ahead of the new season it will allow everyone at the club to focus fully on on-field matters.
Booth said: “I want that on record, I’ve just been compared to Klopp! He said he was tired, I’m not tired. That said, it’s fundamental that you have that focus purely on the season. It’s out there now and it’s done.
“It was probably one of the most difficult days of my coaching career. I had to stand in front of a group of players and give them that news. It was important, though, to be up front and honest, which are some of the values we talk about.
“I’m not going to get into the minutiae detail, but I wanted to do what’s right for the team, which was to give them the information. I also want them not to be distracted in the season, which is the main thing.
“Everyone knows where they are, what’s going on and I wanted to be involved in the succession side of it.
“My input is it should be internal, they don’t need wholesale change, and my job will be to help that transition be as smooth as possible and pass the baton onto the people who will take it forward.”
Popular Figure
Ospreys supporters will be sad to see Booth depart, given his efforts and his popularity among the fan-base.
“What I will say is, I’ve been completely touched by the reaction,” continued Booth.
“There’s been a couple of firsts in the last ten days where for the first time in my career, I got a round of applause at a supporters’ evening.
“It was lovely when a genuine supporter grabbed the microphone and thanked me personally for reinstalling and initiating hope in a group of people and fans.
“My job is done in that respect. To reinstall hope and ambition into a failing organisation, so I’m pretty comfortable that I will leave the Ospreys in a better place.”
Focusing on the season
And rivals should note Booth’s comments, insisting he will not allow his final swan-song to end on a low note. After last week’s win at Exeter he added: “Did that look like a side who were just going to let things fall off ?
“There’s a lot to play for this year. It’s my last year, it’s Tips’ last year and it’s Jac Morgan’s first year as captain.
“We’ve got a young group who are ambitious, don’t have the scar tissue and who want to move forward. And if you’ve got the right people on the bus, the right people driving the bus and the right people in the right seats on the bus, the bus normally ends up at its destination.
“Whether it ends up in the destination while I’m still on it, we’ll wait and see. But, ultimately, I don’t see any reason for the deviation of that.”
