We cannot say we have not been warned. Recent displays against Zebre and Ulster have confirmed what everyone has known for a while - the squad is not good enough and needs a revamp.
Saturday’s defeat against a virtually full Dragons team, once again exposed the fragility of our window side, a side that has required an overhaul since 2013. There is very little point in scapegoating individuals, as the Dragons punished us by exploiting our weaker links.
Our lack of depth in attack has been obvious for a while but the injuries have hurt us and robbed us of our dynamic, flair players. Our defence has been good, but the ease with which we were ripped apart for the first Hewitt try, and the critical Holmes try in the second half, was just not up to the standard we expect. We were second best in every department, had no response to the loss of Webb, and it manifested in the worst performance of the season.
Our remaining games are very tough and if we lose at Scotstoun we will very likely be overtaken by Glasgow, who unlike us seem to get numerous international squad players released to them. We have lost key players at key times, but this happens all the time in pro sport and squad building needs to be resilient enough to cope. A promising season, which in many ways was very encouraging, could just fade into nothing This result has shown that our squad needs significant turnover in the off season but the news of the signing of Wales U20 captain Jac Morgan is a huge statement of intent from the Ospreys. He will certainly add quality to the squad, and he cannot be the only new signing for next season.
Let us all hope that we can go up to Scotland and get a result.