It seemed like ‘Mission Impossible’ to become the first Welsh region to reach the play-offs since 2019 for Toby Booth’s side coming into Round 18. They were in 11th place, needed results in three other games to go their way and then had to pick up a full five points against Cardiff in game two on Judgement Day at Cardiff City Stadium.
Things started well for them on Friday night when Leinster crushed Connacht, then the Lions were beaten by Stormers and finally Edinburgh were routed by Benetton Rugby. All Ospreys had to do then was beat Cardiff with four tries.
They found a way to do that and head to Thomond Park on Friday night for a knock-out game that pits them against the reigning champions and the No 1 ranked team this season.
The passion-packed Limerick venue has been a graveyard or the hopes of many Welsh regions down the years. The Ospreys last won there on 27 September 2014 in Round 4 of the then Pro 12.
“This is a reward for how competitive we’ve been. First and foremost, it’s progress for us with double figure wins this season,” said a delighted Booth.
“It’s a rough journey but we have found enough throughout the season. Now we go to Munster, which we know will be really difficult.
“But when it gets to knock-out rugby, it’s about who delivers on the day. You would rather be in it than not, so why not – I’m an optimist because we just keep finding a way.
“We are trying to be a top-eight team, we are going to try and keep looking up rather than being happy with being the best of the rest. People think I am mad when I say that, that it’s going to get tougher with the money being reduced again next season, but we have kept trying to beat the odds.
The return of Wales World Cup co-captains Dewi Lake and Jac Morgan after lengthy injuries that forced them to miss the Six Nations has made a massive difference to Booth’s side, but the main catalyst remains skipper Justin Tipuric.
He scored a wonderful corner try in the first half and is playing as well as ever at the ripe old age of 34. More importantly, he knows what it takes to win a knock-out game in Ireland having started in the Ospreys 2012 Magners League title triumph over Leinster at the RDS.
“The big driver throughout the last month, driven by Justin Tipuric, was this group will never be the same again. It was a case of ‘we’re a tight group, so we will do it for each other’,” added Booth.
“That probably encapsulates what we are all about. We set out on a mission to play a brand of rugby that people will hopefully enjoy.
“We said we’d reflect the work ethic of the people we represent and we said we’d grow our own players. I think we’ve done that.
“Sport is hard, sport is cruel, you don’t always get what you deserve, but if you work hard enough for long enough you will keep loading the dice in your favour and give yourself a chance. I think we’ve done that well this year.
“The stats mean we have become a top eight team for the first time since I’ve been here and that’s a credit to everyone that’s been involved.
“We’ve moved the dial a little bit. Progress in sport is very difficult, so we’ve just got to keep swinging for the fence.”
It will be the fifth time the two teams have met in the knock-out stages in the URC, with every game to date going the way of the home side. It was the same story in the Heineken Cup quarter final clash in 2009.
Munster v Ospreys Knock-Out Matches
2009: Munster 43-9 Ospreys (Heineken Cup quarter final)
2011: Munster 18-11 Ospreys (URC semi-final)
2012: Ospreys 45-10 Munster (URC semi-final)
2015: Munster 21-18 Ospreys (URC semi-final)
2017: Munster 23-3 Ospreys (URC semi-final)
