Toby Booth: Ospreys coach on United Rugby Championship challenges for Welsh regions

Ospreys head coach Toby Booth celebrates victory against Scarlets on 26 December

Ospreys head coach Toby Booth has outlined the challenges facing Welsh sides as they aim to break into the top half of the United Rugby Championship.

No Welsh region are in the top eight, while Wales had no representative in the play-offs last season.

There will be no Welsh side in next season's Champions Cup if none finish in the top half of the league.

"The big picture is who can make the big step despite what's happening," said Booth.

He is referring to the plight the Welsh domestic game finds itself in, with reduced squad sizes and budgets this season and injuries taking their toll more than in previous campaigns.

"We need to be competitive and nobody's going to shy away from that," said Booth.

"If you offered that now, everyone would bite your hand off. The reality is in seasons you've got to sometimes limp your way through difficult periods.

"We had two meetings on Friday when we came back in after the Scarlets game.

"The first is a catch-up meeting, an admin meeting, and the second is more detailed. The injured group was in the first one, but not in the second one because of scheduling.

"The group was half the size. That's the reality and to get to the holy grail of the players you need to have a bit of luck, stay fit because you haven't got the resources you used to have."

Ospreys, Scarlets, Dragons and Cardiff will each have played a 13-match block of games before a month's break starts in late January prior to the start of the Six Nations.

"We knew the 13 weeks was going to be challenging for everybody because of the World Cup schedule and it certainly has so from an injury list point of view," added Booth.

"The Welsh regions have been exposed a little bit at different times, some more than others.

"The challenge is to be competitive in the league and get ourselves into the play-offs, but the backdrop of where we're coming from is making that more difficult.

"I can only say from my experience I think the coaches and the players are making a good fist of it despite the difficulties they find themselves in, which shows they like playing for their regions and Wales.

"It's a big challenge but professional sport is around meeting challenges and that's the exciting part."

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In previous seasons, the top-ranked Welsh side in the league have been guaranteed a place in Europe's elite competition for the following campaign, but that is no longer the case.

The top eight URC sides will now go into the Champions Cup for 2024-25, regardless of nationality.

Ospreys currently lie ninth while their New Year Day's opponents Cardiff are 11th, with Scarlets 14th and Dragons 16th prior to their derby in Newport on 1 January.

Booth acknowledges the significance of derbies but insists there is also a bigger picture.

"It gives you momentum and it's important for the fans and I don't think you can underestimate that," said Booth.

"You need to put as much air in the balloon as you can because what we do is tough and not getting any easier.

"These are the people who contribute to our existence. I don't think you have to choose one or the other, however, signs of progress for us are we've gone well in Welsh derbies in my time here and won the Welsh shield.

"People are trying to get themselves in front of other people for Wales. It's an important milestone in the fact we're playing with the same deck of cards from a financial resources point of view, so your expectation can be comparable.

"That's why they are important fixtures."

The regions also face future challenges if they are to keep top players, with George North already signing for French side Provence for the 2024-25 season and a host of others mulling over leaving Wales, including Ospreys prop Nicky Smith.

The Welsh sides' budgets will reduce further from £5.2m to £4.5m for the next campaign, with confusion over what the following years will bring.

'There could be collateral damage'

"The recruitment and retainment conversations are going on. We're still trying to work out what the financial position will be in a couple of years, we know where it is next year," said Booth.

"I'm confident we'll keep the majority of players we want to keep this year because we're in a three-year period and it wasn't a surprise for us, we're promoting the youth of our players.

"There may be a bit of collateral damage along the way and we can't control that.

"As I said on the George North situation, I understand the need for people at stages of their career to do right by their family, and with certain things we have to put our hands up and say we can't compete.

"It gives the chance for young players to come through and it's what we do here.

"The energy of youth is infectious which is why I enjoy working with those boys and it helps to keep me young, which is an ongoing challenge!"