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The Ospreys (Welsh: Y Gweilch), formerly the Neath-Swansea Ospreys (Gweilch Tawe-Nedd), are a rugby union team from Wales, playing in the Celtic League, EDF Energy Cup and the Heineken Cup/European Challenge Cup. At the start of the 2005-2006 season, they dropped Neath and Swansea from their name to become simply the Ospreys, although the company is still Neath-Swansea Ospreys.
The Ospreys Shirt is made up mainly black (the colour of Neath RFC), white (the colour of Swansea RFC), with some grey bits to add anti-aliasing and is currently manufactured by Kooga. The Shirt's primary sponsor is npower renewables, with secondary sponsorship including Worthington's, Trade Depot, Persimmon, Taylors Regional Food, The Trade Center Wales, Solo Service Group, John West Food Ltd and Cuddy Group. The Ospreys jersey is currently the second most popular by sales figures throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland, behind Munster.[2]
[edit] History
The Ospreys are one of the five original clubs of the Welsh Regional Rugby Era. The club came into being in the summer of 2003 when the WRU controversially elected to reduce the current top tier of Welsh professional rugby from nine clubs into five regions, attempting to mirror the successful formats in Ireland and the Southern Hemisphere countries of South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.
The Ospreys represent the whole of the Neath and Swansea areas in western Glamorgan, including areas of the Upper Swansea Valley, also encompassing Port Talbot and Aberavon. They were initially created as a partnership between the area's two most successful clubs - Neath RFC and Swansea RFC - who still retain ownership of the club on a 50:50 basis.
In the summer of 2004, due to the liquidation of the Celtic Warriors region, Neath-Swansea Ospreys had their borders extended to cover much of the Bridgend and Ogmore areas to the east. However, for logistical reasons, it was decided that no "home" games would be played at Bridgend RFC's Brewery Field.
After initial teething problems, which were inevitable given the storied historical rivalry between the two clubs, the Ospreys have settled down and claim to be Wales' 'one true region' thanks to the demise of the Celtic Warriors. Presented with initially one of the weaker squads (especially in depth) they performed admirably in their first year, earning by right a place in the 2004/05 European Rugby Cup. In 2004/5 they won the Celtic League.
In April 2006, it was announced that noted former New Zealand All Blacks scrum half Justin Marshall had signed to play for Ospreys. In November 2006 when it became apparent that Wales 'A' would not be able to face Australia midweek during their November tour, the Ospreys became the first Welsh region to play a major international side since regional rugby was introduced, a match they won 24-16.[3]
The Ospreys won the Celtic League during the 2006/2007 season, topping the league by a single point and taking the title with an away win at Borders. Winning the Celtic League for a second time meant the Ospreys were the first team to have won the Celtic League twice. In February 2008, the Ospreys provided 13 of the starting line-up for Wales in their Six Nations match against England, setting a new record for the number of players from one region playing for their national side. During the 2007/2008 season the Ospreys reached Quarter-final of the Heineken Cup for the first time but unexpectedly lost to Saracens. The following week they won the EDF Energy Cup beating Leicester Tigers at Twickenham. On 16 May 2008, head coach Lyn Jones, who to that point had been Ospreys' only coach, resigned.[4]
The term Ospreylia[1][2][3] has been adopted by the region and its supporters as a description of the geographical area covered by the region, with supporters known as Ospreylians. Peter Black, Assembly Member for south west Wales has declared himself as AM for Ospreylia on his own blog.[5]
[edit] Ospreys A
On the 23 February 2007, the Ospreys played their first 'A' team match, against Newport-Gwent Dragons 'A' at Bridgend, which was the first 'A' match fixture for any of the Welsh regional sides. They lost the match 22-10.
They since went on to play Worcester 'A' in April, a game which they lost 24-23 to an injury-time penalty.
[edit] Home ground
In their first two seasons, the Ospreys shared their home games between Swansea's St Helens ground (home of Swansea RFC) and Neath's The Gnoll ground (home of Neath RFC). For their third season, 2005-2006, they moved to the newly-developed Liberty Stadium in Landore, Swansea which seats over 20,000, double the St Helens capacity. They have sold this stadium out against an international side (Australia, 1 November 2006[6]) and against local rivals the Llanelli Scarlets.[7] The Stadium is also home of Swansea City FC
[edit] Management
| Officer |
Position |
| Andrew Hore |
Elite Performance Director |
| Vacant |
Head Coach |
| Sean Holley |
Assistant Coach |
| Jonathan Humphreys |
Forwards Coach |
| Alex Lawson |
Fitness Coach |
| Damian Karauna |
Video Analyst |
| Chris Towers |
Physiotherapist |
| Daloni Lucas |
Physiotherapist |
[edit] Current Squad
[8]
[edit] Notable former players
[8]
[edit] Results and statistics
| Season |
Pos |
Played |
Won |
Drawn |
Lost |
Bonus |
Points |
| 2007-08 |
7th |
18 |
6 |
1 |
11 |
11 |
37 |
| 2006-07 |
1st |
20 |
14 |
0 |
6 |
8 |
64 |
| 2005-06 |
7th |
22* |
11 |
0 |
9 |
3 |
55 |
| 2004-05 |
1st |
20 |
16 |
1 |
3 |
10 |
76 |
| 2003-04 |
5th |
22 |
11 |
1 |
10 |
9 |
55 |
* Includes 2 "Free Weekends" which equated to 4 points each.
| Season |
Round |
Match |
| 2003/2004 |
1st |
Leinster Lions 35 - 21 Neath-Swansea Ospreys |
[edit] Club honours
- Celtic League - 2004/05, 2006/07
- EDF Energy Cup - 2007/2008
[edit] Notable former coaches
[edit] See also
[edit] Footnotes
[edit] External links
Ryan Jones
