Ospreys CEO Lance Bradley insists Mark Jones is the right coach to take the Ospreysforward and is adamant the move to St Helen's will be "transformational" for the club.
The Ospreys decided to part ways with head coach Toby Booth in the wake of last weekend's record 59-15 thrashing by Montpellier in the Challenge Cup. This was always going to be Booth's last season in Wales with the club announcing before the campaign began that defence coach Jones would be his replacement.
But following a disappointing start to the term the club decided to part ways with midway through the season. Despite Booth turning the Ospreys into a competitive outfit once again, Bradley is confident the right decision has been made.
"It was always going to be challenging to have this transition year but we felt it was the best thing for the club that we brought forward a decision we'd already made to appoint Mark as head coach," Bradley told WalesOnline. "We do think that will have a positive impact on the rest of the season.
"I know Mark worked very closely with Toby and Toby did a super job for us. We'll never forget the way he turned things around from what he found to what he left.
"He is and always will be welcome at the Ospreys but we are now looking forward to the new era under Mark. Mark has got a huge amount of very relevant experience in lots of different environments and I think it's a positive to have that breadth of experience.
"He's got a lot of contacts in the rugby world, from people he's worked with who he is still in touch with, which helps. I think he's a very talented coach.
"He's made a huge difference to our defence since he's arrived at the club. I think he'll be able to build on that and take us forward to where we want to go over the next three to five years."
The shock was in the summer not now. We have not been well prepared for the Montpellier Zebre Munster or Bulls games and it seems logical to let Boycie get his feet under the table sooner rather than later given how poor we have been so far this season. Toby can hold his head up but without Nicky Rhys Beard/Fender Ratti et al the power game he relied on so heavily was not there and the rest of our game fell apart as we tried to overplay in attack to make up for the loss of our power game.
Thank you Toby. For me our best coach to date, steadied the ship after Clarke, helped to bring through plenty of good young players and and I thoroughly enjoyed last season.
We’ve got clarity now, and as Fiddler alludes, possibly a change of game plan. Best of luck to Mark, helluva game to start with!
Though this does beg the question that as Mark steps up from defence coach does this mean the end of Tips as a player or will he try to be a player/coach? That doesn't often work well in rugby.
We knew that he was going at the end of the season anyway so considering how things have gone, this is not so much of a surprise as the original announcement.
Thanks Toby for everything you did for the Ospreys.
Yep, thanks for the way he brought respectability back to us and I wish him all the best. However, I’m not sure where that leaves us as something hasn’t quite smelt right for a while.
Indeed, Jason. We have much to be grateful to Toby for especially the large numbers of young, homegrown players. If half of them develop as Dan Eds, Morse and Fender are doing then Toby should be fondly remembered. Now? Ymlaen!
Such as what? The whole thing has been strange, as it never works out well when a coach announces he’s leaving so far in advance. Are you saying you’ve heard something more depressing happening behind the scenes?
No, sorry if I've implied I know more than I do. There's just clearly stuff going on that hasn't been made public yet, and in the current climate I can't imagine it will remain secret for long. Seeing where Booth goes next may be quite informative.
I'm not so sure that it is all doom and gloom. It could well be but as I said we always knew Toby was going so maybe he feels like he's taken the Ospreys as far as he can?
Oh dear. Difficult to imagine this in September when looking forward to a new season. The whole saga doesn’t pass the smell test. Did he walk or was he pushed. Did he have something line. Up Wasps maybe ?
Could be many things behind this but the most obvious one for the timing but maybe not the original decision in the summer is that given how badly we played against Zebre and Montpellier is that he has lost the dressing room
Ospreys CEO Lance Bradley insists Mark Jones is the right coach to take the Ospreys forward and is adamant the move to St Helen's will be "transformational" for the club.
The Ospreys decided to part ways with head coach Toby Booth in the wake of last weekend's record 59-15 thrashing by Montpellier in the Challenge Cup. This was always going to be Booth's last season in Wales with the club announcing before the campaign began that defence coach Jones would be his replacement.
But following a disappointing start to the term the club decided to part ways with midway through the season. Despite Booth turning the Ospreys into a competitive outfit once again, Bradley is confident the right decision has been made.
"It was always going to be challenging to have this transition year but we felt it was the best thing for the club that we brought forward a decision we'd already made to appoint Mark as head coach," Bradley told WalesOnline. "We do think that will have a positive impact on the rest of the season.
"I know Mark worked very closely with Toby and Toby did a super job for us. We'll never forget the way he turned things around from what he found to what he left.
"He is and always will be welcome at the Ospreys but we are now looking forward to the new era under Mark. Mark has got a huge amount of very relevant experience in lots of different environments and I think it's a positive to have that breadth of experience.
"He's got a lot of contacts in the rugby world, from people he's worked with who he is still in touch with, which helps. I think he's a very talented coach.
"He's made a huge difference to our defence since he's arrived at the club. I think he'll be able to build on that and take us forward to where we want to go over the next three to five years."
His last signing arrived last week. Not a sign of a man about to walk
He’s Gone! We need a New Attack + Forwards Coach for starters, funding permitting
Sad to see him go, the 1 coach that's exceeded expectations with what he inherited, unlike many of the others before him.
It will be interesting to find out in the future why it was announced when it was that he was finishing a season later than it needed to be.
Though this does beg the question that as Mark steps up from defence coach does this mean the end of Tips as a player or will he try to be a player/coach? That doesn't often work well in rugby.
We knew that he was going at the end of the season anyway so considering how things have gone, this is not so much of a surprise as the original announcement.
Thanks Toby for everything you did for the Ospreys.
There's more to come for sure
Oh dear. Difficult to imagine this in September when looking forward to a new season. The whole saga doesn’t pass the smell test. Did he walk or was he pushed. Did he have something line. Up Wasps maybe ?
Sounds like there's drama going on behind the scenes.
Wow! But not a bad thing, possibly.