Ospreys head coach Steve Tandy has admitted the region will not make the Pro12 play-offs this season and the best they can hope for is a top six finish and European Champions Cup qualification.
A narrow 19-16 defeat away at Leinster at the weekend means the four-times winners of the tournament are now 12 points adrift of fourth sport, currently occupied by Ulster, with just five matches left.
The Ospreys now have two free weekends until they host rivals the Scarlets on March 26 at the Liberty Stadium. Their neighbours – currently third – are only Welsh region with a realistic hope of finishing in the top four.
Tandy said: “I think we have to hold our hands up and say that it looks as though the top four is going to be too far for us. A lot of things would have to go our way for that to happen, with us winning all five games and picking up a few bonus points along the way.
“We’ve got a decent run-in though, we don’t have to leave Wales again this season and, irrelevant of if it’s top four or top six we are playing for, we ultimately want to win games so it’s important that we finish strongly and see where it takes us.
“It’s extremely competitive, teams are going to knock each other over these next couple of months. We’ve just got to get our heads down for these last five games and see what we can do for this season.
“That starts with the Scarlets, a fixture that always carries so much meaning and that’ll be more the case than ever this year. We’ve got to target that one and we’re looking forward to getting back to the Liberty in front of our own fans.”
The Ospreys were without six Wales squad players for their trip to Dublin, with a further 11 on the injured list.
With just five games to go in the Pro12 season, the Ospreys sit four points off the Champions Cup qualification places.
Tandy added: “We looked at the experience on the Leinster team sheet when it came through on Friday and it was pretty daunting to be honest. You’ve got so many Ireland boys involved, 10 players with 100 or more games for the club, so much experience across the park. We knew it was going to be a difficult afternoon and given the inexperience in our team, missing 17 boys, I don’t suppose many people gave us much of a chance.
“You look at our boys, we are young but we’ve shown coming to Ireland three times in the window that we enjoy the challenge. There are boys gaining a bucketful of experience and showing that they aren’t out of their depth. They can compete at this level.
“The future is bright for us. It’s not exactly perfect for us at the moment, where we are in the league, but ultimately, for these guys to learn they have to come here and experience these things. That will only make them better and when you sprinkle in some experience that is missing at the moment you start to realise that we are starting to grow strength in depth that we haven’t had for a few years.
“As disappointed as I am that we are only taking a losing bonus point away, I am genuinely excited about where we are going in the future.”
