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Ospreys
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Welsh Rugby Regions 2003
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The ( team from Wales, playing in the
Celtic League ,
Powergen Cup and
European Rugby Cup /
European Rugby Shield . At the start of the 2005-2006 season, they dropped Neath and Swansea from their name to become simply the Ospreys, although the company is still Neath-Swansea Ospreys.
__NOTOC__
The are one of the five original clubs of the
Welsh Regional Rugby Era. The club came into being in the summer of
2003 when the
WRU controversially elected to reduce the current top tier of Welsh professional rugby from nine clubs into five regions, attempting to mirror the successful formats in
Ireland and the
Southern Hemisphere countries of
South Africa ,
Australia and
New Zealand .
The Ospreys represent the whole of the
Neath and
Swansea areas in western
Glamorgan , including areas of the Upper Swansea Valley, also encompassing
Port Talbot and Aberavon. They were initially created as a partnership between the area's two most successful clubs -
Neath RFC and
Swansea RFC - who still retain ownership of the club on a 50:50 basis.
In the summer of 2004, due to the liquidation of the
Celtic Warriors region, Neath-Swansea Ospreys had their borders extended to cover much of the
Bridgend and
Ogmore areas to the east. However, for logistical reasons, it was decided that no "home" games would be played at
Bridgend RFC 's
Brewery Field .
After initial teething problems, which were inevitable given the storied historical rivalry between the two clubs, the Ospreys have settled down and claim to be Wales' 'one true region' thanks to the demise of the
Celtic Warriors . Presented with initially one of the weaker squads (especially in depth) they performed admirably in their first year, earning by right a place in the 2004/05
European Rugby Cup . In 2004/5 they won the
Celtic League .
In April 2006 it was announced that noted former
New Zealand All Blacks half back (
Scrum Half )
Justin Marshall had signed to play for Ospreys.
In their first two seasons, the Ospreys shared their home games between
Swansea 's
St. Helen's ground (home of
Swansea RFC ) and
Neath's The Gnoll ground (home of
Neath RFC ).
From their third season, 2005-2006, the Ospreys home ground is the newly developed 20,000 seater
Liberty Stadium in Landore. Their record attendance since moving to the Liberty Stadium is 15,183 achieved on Tuesday 18 April 2006 in a Celtic League match against Llanelli Scarlets.
Season |
Pos |
Played |
Won |
Drawn |
Lost |
Bonus |
Points |
|---|
2004/2005 |
1st |
20 |
16 |
1 |
3 |
10 |
76 |
2003/2004 |
5th |
22 |
11 |
1 |
10 |
9 |
55 |
Season |
Pool/Round |
Pos |
Played |
Won |
Drawn |
Lost |
Bonus |
Points |
|---|
2004/2005 |
Pool 4 |
3rd |
6 |
3 |
0 |
3 |
2 |
14 |
2003/2004 |
Pool 2 |
4th |
6 |
1 |
0 |
5 |
0 |
4 |
The is the brand name of the team, since they now have more associates than just Neath and Swansea. The official name of the company behind the team is still '''Neath-Swansea Ospreys''' (see also
Ospreys Outrage! and
Neath RFC - Ospreys fly! )
