OSPREYS: ‘We lost some leadership’: why Jones turned to Australia after Lake and Morgan left

Mark Jones says the experience lost when Dewi Lake and Jac Morgan left the Ospreys shaped a summer recruitment drive that has put three Australians in his side for Saturday’s United Rugby Championship opener.

Liam Wright, Lawson Creighton and Lalakai Foketi all make their competitive debuts against the Sharks in Durban, and the head coach explained what each was signed to provide.

“Obviously we lost some leadership in the building last year, with Dewi and Jac leaving,” he said. “Part of the recruitment was to try and bring some experience into the building, and also bring some skill sets as well, and we feel it with those guys.”

Wright driving the line-out

Wright, a former Wallabies captain, has impressed most away from the spotlight.

“Liam has made a really big impression at the club with his professionalism, and the way that he’s driving the line-out, and the work that he’s doing. His diligence around his craft is very high,” said Jones.

His arrival has also changed the shape of the back row, with Ross Moriarty named at openside in a role Jones described as hybrid.

“You look at world rugby at the moment, some teams are operating with the traditional seven, the shorter, harder over the ball guy in the ruck, the fetcher if you like, in old language, but a lot of teams like South Africa and France use these taller, more line-out based back rowers,” he said.

“With Jac going out of the building and bringing Liam in, Liam’s much more of a line-out, forward-orientated set-piece player. Jac Morgan was much more of a ball-carrying, tackling type player, and I think Ross probably gives us another option, with Harri Deaves there, in that sort of mould of a ball carrier and a defender.”

‘With a ten you’re the quarterback’

Creighton takes the fly-half shirt, a position Jones sees as the hinge of everything the side does.

“Lawson has come in as a ten, and with a ten you’re the quarterback really, aren’t you, to use the NFL term. Everything goes through the ten pretty much, and how they interact with the group is really important,” he said.

“He’s done a really good job with that, coming in, understanding how we try to play the game, and also trying to bring to the team what he’s good at as well.”

Foketi picked despite a broken pre-season

Foketi’s preparation was interrupted by a shoulder problem, but he still gets the nod alongside co-captain Owen Watkin.

“Lalakai had a little bit of an issue in pre-season, just with his shoulder at one point, keeping him out. I think it was the Coventry game that he missed, so we’d like to have got a bit more game time into him,” said Jones.

“But he’s impressed, and we just felt, with the four very good centres we’ve got available on the trip, that for this game those two, Owen and Lalakai, were the best to go this week.”

Koroibete left behind by a paperwork hitch

The fourth Australian, wing Marika Koroibete, is not in South Africa at all, after a visa problem on the day the squad flew.

“Marika was due to travel. Unfortunately, through no fault of his own, there was a bit of a paperwork hitch on the day of travel, and it looked like he couldn’t travel,” Jones said.

“We had pre-booked 35 spots, and we wanted to make sure, with a couple of little niggles we had, that we had enough cover on the trip, so we decided to leave him behind and not risk him not getting in country.

“We took Harri Houston, but as typical, before we flew, his visa came through and he was good to go. So just due to cost really, he will remain in Wales, because we’ve filled up our quota, and if anything happens, or we get any niggles, we’ll have to fly him out.”

Jones said the wing had settled well regardless, and that game time on this trip had always been unlikely given how late he arrived at the club.

‘They’ll have to earn those shirts’

The head coach has been struck by how the group has taken to the new arrivals.

“They’ve settled in really well. First and foremost, really good people, very humble considering the level of rugby they’ve played and the competitions they’ve played in. They’ve fitted in really well with our group and the boys really like them as men,” he said.

“We’ve been pretty impressed with what we’ve seen on the training field and in some pre-season games. We haven’t got into the nitty gritty yet, so we’ll see what it’s like when the bullets start flying, so to speak.

“We’ve made it pretty clear that just because they’ve come in and they’ve built good careers for themselves, they’re going to have to make sure they earn those shirts, and the Welsh players are up for that challenge 100%.”

Author

Richard Bond

Swansea-based sports journalist.
Twitter: @RichBond00
Email: RichardBond@swanseabaynews.com