ALLEN CLARKE, THE Ospreys head coach, has defended his decision to field a weakened team for the Guinness Pro14 clash with Munster last Friday night, stressing the need to hold back his front-line internationals for certain games this season.
The Welsh region travelled to Musgrave Park without a host of their big names, as the likes of captain Justin Tipuric, Alun Wyn Jones, George North and Aled Davies were given the weekend off.
Clarke’s ‘risk’ didn’t pay off as he watched his young side — a number of academy players included — slump to a heavy seven-try defeat in Cork, as Munster’s returning internationals and new stars produced a performance brimming with aggression and precision.
After home wins over Edinburgh and the Cheetahs in the opening two rounds, it was a disappointing evening for the Ospreys, but Clarke — in an honest post-match appraisal — accepted full responsibility for the result, adding that it’s important the club blood young players to develop squad depth.
“We came here with a realism that we were up against a really good Munster side,” he said. “There is a frustration that we didn’t control the controllables; two sin-binnings as well and Munster I think put 35 points on the board during that period. But the real evidence of the selection tonight will be what we do with this down the line and how we progress as players.
“For us as a club it’s important that we’re not two teams, it’s important we do manage our players like you do in Ireland, like we’ve done in Ireland, manage the players that are going to be on international duty because you can’t put them out week on week because if you do, you risk blowing out at the end of the season or you risk reducing their career in terms of years. So we knew the risk.”
Clarke, who made 12 changes in personnel for the meeting with Johann van Graan’s side, with only Tom Davies, Tom Williams and Tom Botha retained, reiterated that in a World Cup year the Welsh Rugby Union [WRU], like the IRFU, have tightened their player welfare policy, thus reducing the minutes his key players will spend on the pitch.
The former Ireland international has experience of the system in this country having started his coaching career with Ulster, and referenced how the IRFU carefully manage someone like Johnny Sexton as the ultimate point in case.
“Around certain players there are a set number of games that they can play throughout the season so we try to cherry-pick those games,” he added.
“If you look at Johnny Sexton, I think he’s played one game outside of Ireland in our domestic league in the last number of years. We’ve got players of that esteem; you look at Alun Wyn Jones who rolls up his sleeves every week if you ask him to but we want to ensure that when he performs, he performs to his absolute optimum and he’s not feeling exhausted towards the backend of the season.
“Are we targeting certain games? There’s no doubt about that but it won’t always be in this regard. We have to prepare for selections that will go towards Wales in the Autumn internationals and in doing that, you’re looking at the injury profile of the other three squads in Wales, as well as our own and trying to predict what the likelihood is of that selection.
“As a result of that, when we play Connacht and when we play Glasgow in those Autumn international periods, we’ve got to ensure that the boys going into those games have some Pro14 rugby behind them and that they have played together as a group.”
With a round four clash against a resurgent Benetton outfit at the Liberty Stadium next Saturday, the Welsh region are set to be bolstered by the return of many of those who stayed at home last weekend.
“We’ve got our performance targets as a club and don’t get me wrong,” Clarke added.
“I didn’t come here to throw a game, we didn’t come here to throw a game, I didn’t come here to concede 49 points, nor did I expect to but that’s the reality of what happened tonight. I’m not going to persecute the players for that. It’s on me and as head coach, what I believe is best for the team.
“It’s about the season and we have to get enough wins throughout the season while managing our player group without having two squads within the squad if you like, that’s not what we’re about.
“The boys are disappointed, there’s no denying that but like I said, we’re not going to get hijacked by the scoreboard. I’m not judging them on that. Our effort was excellent, our execution wasn’t good enough.”
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