The RaboDirect PRO12 Round up July 12th

 

Ospreys

The Ospreys have announced the resigning of twice capped centre Jonathan Spratt. He has returned to his local region after two seasons at London Irish. Spratt was seen as potentially an international centre and an exciting prospect. After a successful spell playing for Taranaki in the ITM cup Spratt looked for the best way to expand his rugby experience.

His time at London Irish augmented his natural skills as he adapted successfully to the attritional nature of the Aviva Premiership adding a steelier edge to his game.

With Ashley Beck and Andrew Bishop as perhaps the first choice centres for the Ospreys but that did not deter Spratt who said; “I’m very excited to be back here. It’s where I’m from; I was brought up playing rugby in Ospreylia, so clearly when the opportunity arose to come back I jumped at the chance."

For Tandy and his other coaches Spratt brings valuable experience, and more significantly real competition and depth to the squad.

Cardiff Blues

The noises are very encouraging for Blues supporters already happy at the prospect of the return to their beloved if old Cardiff Arms Park, coming from pre-season training. Players have a smile on their faces and there is real sense of purpose and determination emanating from the group. New signing, hooker Kyriacou is most impressed and has no regrets about leaving the defeated Heineken finalists Ulster, “The facilities here are incredible, absolutely brilliant. They cater for us 100 per cent. Everything is here for us with regards to strength, conditioning and recovery with ice baths and massages so there's no excuses not to train."

Phil Davies has already made his mark; an astute coach with a vast store of experience to draw upon he has taken his time to create a well constructed programme and build the squad’s togetherness for the challenges ahead in rebuilding the team’s reputation. The signing of the retiring Xavier rush as Defence coach is another sign of Davies’ influence. Rush has been one of the best Southern Hemisphere signings in Welsh rugby since Gary Teichmann and he will have the ear of the players and the support of the dressing room and will be a great help to Davies in getting his ideas across. There are promising signs that Cardiff is putting the problems of last year behind them.

Leinster

The disappointment of losing the championship by one point to the Ospreys has made Leinster take a long look at their strategy towards the league this season. The retention of the mercurial Luke Fitzgerald despite him being let go by the myopic IRFU is a clear sign of intent.

Fitzgerald has plenty of gas, plays heads up rugby and is an excellent link with Nacewa and Rob Carney in other words he keeps the opposition guessing and honest. If he is not wanted by Ireland as far as Head Coach Joe Schmidt is concerned that is very good news indeed; “We are delighted that Luke has committed to the province for another year.” He knows that this is a good bit of business for Leinster.

Whatever the outcome of the negotiations over the shape and composition of the Heineken Cup it is clear that Leinster and their fellow provinces need to take the league more seriously this season and not just as an opportunity to try out players and rest the established stars. Leinster have moved wisely to strengthen both the squad and vulnerable pack with the signing of Western province lock Quinn Roux and the hard nosed NZ flanker Andrew Goodman on one year deals. These are sensible and much needed reinforcements to the Leinster roster.