This is South Wales -- THE Ospreys pack have been warned they must toughen up or risk starting the RaboDirect Pro12 season with a defeat to Treviso. An inexperienced Ospreys side were overpowered by Bath as they suffered a 27-10 friendly defeat at The Rec on Friday. The scrum was a particular area of concern, where the Ospreys' experimental front row were overwhelmed by their Aviva Premiership opponents who were at full strength. Steve Tandy's men begin their Pro12 campaign on Friday with a trip to Treviso, who pride themselves on their forward strength. And Gruff Rees, the Ospreys' assistant coach, has warned his players that a repeat of their performance at The Rec could spell disaster against the Italians. "We've got to fast-track to a certain degree because we can't be on the back foot for long periods like we were against Bath," he said. "Treviso have got a driving game to match anyone in Europe so we know we're going to have to deal with it more effectively than we did against Bath. "That's also a credit to Bath, who've developed their power game, but in terms of ourselves we've got to have a sharp training week and get in better condition for Treviso."
Reported by This is 9 hours ago.
This is South Wales -- THE Ospreys pack have been warned they must toughen up or risk starting the RaboDirect Pro12 season with a defeat to Treviso. An inexperienced Ospreys side were overpowered by Bath as they suffered a 27-10 friendly defeat at The Rec on Friday. The scrum was a particular area of concern, where the Ospreys' experimental front row were overwhelmed by their Aviva Premiership opponents who were at full strength. Steve Tandy's men begin their Pro12 campaign on Friday with a trip to Treviso, who pride themselves on their forward strength. And Gruff Rees, the Ospreys' assistant coach, has warned his players that a repeat of their performance at The Rec could spell disaster against the Italians. "We've got to fast-track to a certain degree because we can't be on the back foot for long periods like we were against Bath," he said. "Treviso have got a driving game to match anyone in Europe so we know we're going to have to deal with it more effectively than we did against Bath. "That's also a credit to Bath, who've developed their power game, but in terms of ourselves we've got to have a sharp training week and get in better condition for Treviso."
Reported by This is 9 hours ago.