Gatland outburst 'clumsy and inflammatory' - Booth

Ospreys moved up to seventh in the league with a late win over Ulster

Ospreys head coach Toby Booth has hit back at Warren Gatland's "inflammatory and clumsy" comments on regional rugby.

But Booth said Ospreys have already undergone a "root and branch reset" since he arrived as coach in 2020.

And his comments come after Cardiff's Matt Sherratt said Gatland's outburst was unnecessary.

Booth said: "I don't think it was completely levelled us [but] some of it was a bit inflammatory and maybe a little clumsy.

"Everyone's entitled to an opinion. It provoked a reaction and if the reaction gives us energy to make positive change, then we'll see what happens."

Booth took Ospreys to the knock-out stages of the Champions Cup last season before seeing a raft of senior players leave in the summer amid drastic budget cuts across Welsh rugby.

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Gareth Anscombe, Dan Lydiate, Tomas Francis, Rhys Webb, Joe Hawkins and new England cap Ethan Roots all left Swansea while Alun Wyn Jones and Scott Baldwin retired.

That has accelerated the focus on youth with the likes of Dan Edwards, Morgan Morse and Harri Deaves already standing out as Ospreys have climbed to seventh in the United Rugby Championship (URC).

'Exceptional in adversity'

Sunday's last-gasp victory over Ulster was Ospreys' ninth wins from 14 in all competitions.

"We won two games the season before I got here after Covid and there was a complete root and branch reset from then," said Booth.

"I said we would grow our own players and a lot have performed exceptionally well in adversity.

"We've won the majority of our games from coming from behind so you know we are committed.

"We're young, fit and find a way and that speaks volumes for the depth of reset that we've entered."

Gatland said the regions must prioritise investment into staff and facilities, rather than signing players, though few regions have the money to spend in the transfer market.

Ospreys aim to leave the Swansea.com Stadium by the 2025-26 season to a new venue which will also host improved training facilities.

"You want to create the right environment with the right resources and as we move to a new ground, the plan is to have infrastructure that's all round that," said Booth.

"But these things take a planning, time, buy-in and investment from everybody concerned."