The Ospreys first PRO12 bonus-point of the season, courtesy of a 41-10 home win over Benetton Treviso, saw the Swansea-based region surge into secondplace in the league as table-topping Leinster did them a favour by beating Munster at Thomond Park.
Humphreys was delighted with the Ospreys’ performance, which followed on from their monumental victory over Leinster in Dublin the previous weekend.
“What pleased us was that we were able to apply a fair bit of what we did in training beforehand. It wasn’t perfect, but we wanted to minimise our errors when we had the ball. The application and desire of the team, especially in defence, was outstanding and we are really pleased where we are right now,” said forwards coach Humphreys.
“We’re a squad that’s come back together very, very well, while the boys have returned off the back of a very successful campaign with Wales. The boys coming back have been absolutely fantastic.
“It’s been a good place to be around, a really good place to come to work, and the enjoyment we are having as a group is showing on the field. Getting that bonus-point is a bit of a monkey off our back, I suppose. We constructed some good movements out there.“
The Ospreys have a slightly more favourable PRO12 run-in than other sides with Cardiff Blues (away) up next before crucial encounters with Newport Gwent Dragons (home) and Aironi (away). Humphreys admits securing a home semi-final will be crucial to his side’s league ambitions but insists they are looking no further than the wounded Blues, who have lost their last three games.
“It’s not a cliché, but we are not looking any further than the Blues. It’s a huge game for us. We have the Blues and the Dragons, two Welsh derbies, and where we finish at the end of that is where we finish. But our sole goal now is to do ourselves justice up in Cardiff,” admitted the former Cardiff and Wales skipper.
“We know it’s going to be a particularly tough game. But that’s what happens. We have three games to go and they’re all huge. We know we are going to have to pick up in a few areas when we go to Cardiff in a few weeks. We are going to have to be a bit cleaner to maintain more pressure. “
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