Everything about Ospreys Rugby Team totally explained
Ryan Jones
| caps =
Barry Williams (101)
| top scorer =
Gavin Henson (773)
| most tries =
Shane Williams (39)
| league =
Magners League
| season = 2007-08
| position = 7th
| url = www.ospreysrugby.com
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| pattern_la2=_blackshoulders| pattern_b2=_ospreysa| pattern_ra2=_blackshoulders| leftarm2=ffffff| body2=fffffff| rightarm2=ffffff| shorts2=ffffff| socks2=ffffff|
}}
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.
Strip
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.
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' wouldn't 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.
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.
The term Ospreylia
(External Link
)(External Link)(External Link) 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.
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.
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) and against local rivals the
Llanelli Scarlets. The Stadium is also home of
Swansea City FC
Management
Current Squad
Notable former players
Results and statistics
| 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.
Club honours
- Celtic League - 2004/05, 2006/07
- EDF Energy Cup - 2007/2008
Notable former coaches
Lyn Jones (2003-2008) Further Information
Get more info on 'Ospreys Rugby Team'.
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