The regional side want to mirror the recent success of the Wales team by emphasising youth and a strong squad ethic
"Ospreys ban fake tan" is one of the more enduring headlines of the season. It was not a flippant gesture but a statement of intent from a region who had spent millions on building a squad of international players, including expensive imports, but had seen little return in the Heineken Cup.
Coloured boots have gone the way of bogus tans for players who have not made 50 appearances for the Ospreys or won 15 caps. The policy of recruiting gal�cticos has been abandoned and, like Wales, the region are looking to blood young players with core values.
When Warren Gatland took charge of his first Wales international, in 2008, 13 of his starting line-up were Ospreys. That number had been reduced to four for October's World Cup quarter-final against Ireland and one of those, Shane Williams, has since retired from international rugby.
The Ospreys are looking to develop a strong squad ethic, following the trail taken by their Heineken Cup opponents at the Liberty Stadium on Friday night, Saracens. The Premiership champions used to play host to mavericks and celebrity imports, but years of non-achievement prompted a rethink and the emphasis now is on the group, not the individual.
When Gavin Henson left the Ospreys last season and joined Saracens, he did not last long at Vicarage Road. When he was picked out of position he did not hide his frustration from the media, in contrast to the prop Matt Stevens, who did not utter a word of protest when asked to play on the side of the scrum he did not prefer. Stevens prospered at Saracens, Henson moved to Toulon. When the Wales centre inquired about rejoining Ospreys last summer, he was rebuffed. He ended up signing for the Cardiff Blues. His old region have moved on and so have three former Wales colleagues, Mike Phillips, James Hook and Lee Byrne.
The Ospreys have made a strong start to the RaboDirect Pro 12 but their progress in Europe will hinge on the return match against Saracens. They picked up a bonus point in defeat at Wembley last weekend, but having drawn in Treviso they cannot afford another setback.
It is six years since Ospreys last lost at home in the Heineken Cup, Leicester scoring a late try to win 17-15.
"It would be catastrophic if we did not get anything from Friday's game," says Ryan Jones, the Ospreys and Wales No8. "A win would tee us up for the final two rounds and put us in a position where we could qualify. We want to be in a position where it comes down to the last two games because Biarritz have to play Saracens again and we have to face Treviso."
Saracens and the Ospreys have something else in common: they struggle to attract spectators, excepting that more than 40,000 turned up at Wembley last weekend. The Welsh region's average gate this season is 7,000, compared to 6,000 for Saracens' Premiership matches at Vicarage Road.
"Big crowds are key," Jones says. "Top teams have them and we want to be a big team. A packed ground fuels you as a player and gives you the extra one or two per cent that can make all the difference. I would say it could be worth as much as nine points to you because you have to take into account that officials are human and the other side of it is that a hostile atmosphere can affect a visiting team.
"We have to put our stamp and our soul on the Liberty Stadium. The players and the game we play can only go so far in doing that. We want people to create an atmosphere that is special to them. New stadiums can be soulless, but when our ground is full the atmosphere is tremendous."
The Ospreys expect their biggest crowd of the season on Friday night, although the threat of snow may deter some.
"We will need the supporters to be with us all the way," says the region's director of rugby, Scott Johnson. "The Liberty is not an easy place for teams to come and everyone can play a part in helping us keep our home run in Europe going. We were disappointed with our performance at Wembley, but resolve got us a point and that is a quality I like."
"Respect" is a word that has been used a lot at the Liberty Stadium this season.
"We do not want to be false or misrepresented," says the head coach, Sean Holley, explaining the fake tan policy. "We want to work hard and represent the region properly. We are trying to get good young lads coming through who represent us well and we are achieving that. Respect has to be earned, along with the right to do something. A lot of the good here has been understated in the past and some of the expectations on us have been misplaced. We have tried to shift the cultural emphasis and be true to ourselves."
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2011/dec/15/ospreys-heineken-cup-wales-saracens
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