The WRU have today published their decision on the future of elite rugby in Wales following the month-long consultation where the OSC engaged positively throughout the whole process.
We are extremely disappointed with the outcome which will mean one less professional club in west Wales whilst two remain in south-east Wales, resulting in uncertainty for staff, supporters and players alike.
Top level rugby has been played in the Ospreys region for 154 years and with a population size in excess of 500,000, the thought of no professional rugby being played in this area is unthinkable. Ospreys are Wales’ most successful and decorated professional team with four league titles and one Anglo-Welsh trophy, not to mention the 1,648 Welsh caps won by Ospreys players since the inception of the region in 2003 – contributing more international caps than any other professional team in Wales. In addition, Ospreys have had 22 British and Irish Lions tourists – more than any other professional team in Wales. This success has resulted in Ospreys being a world recognised and respected rugby brand.
Off the field, Ospreys have a fantastic and award winning community programme and the plans laid out for St Helen’s for further engagement and collaborative working with Swansea University, the Local Authority, community clubs and the local community as a whole, mean an exciting outlook for rugby and sport in the Ospreys region. To ignore these facts when choosing where professional rugby should be played would be inexcusable and unforgiveable.
We appreciate supporters’ frustration with the constant uncertainty, but we would encourage supporters to continue to come together off the field to show strength and unity to ensure that professional rugby is kept in the Ospreys region for future generations and for many years to come.
The Ospreys are the only Welsh team to provide players to every British & Irish Lions tour since the creation of regional rugby in in 2003. The Ospreys have been represented a total of 22 times in the touring party (if a player has appeared on three tours, he’s counted three times).
The Ospreys club has been represented in the senior Welsh national team by its players 1648 times since 2003, significantly more often than any other Welsh club.
70 different players have represented Wales whilst at the Ospreys, only topped by Cardiff with 72. However, with two new call ups into the Autumn International squad in Morgan Morse and James Fender, that could soon change.
The Ospreys are by far the most successful Welsh region in the various versions of the league competition, with four titles in the Celtic League and Pro12 era.
Through strong league performances, the Ospreys have qualified for the top level European Champions Cup competition 17 times.
The Ospreys reached more Anglo-Welsh Cup finals than any other team, avenging their narrow loss in 2007 with a win over the Leicester Tigers the following year.
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