Delve out to down Ospreys

The Wales back row forward has been in outstanding form for the Cherry and Whites this season as they have stormed to the top of the Guinness Premiership and swept all before them so far in the Heineken Cup as the only team to make it four from four.

Delve missed Gloucester’s weekend 10-5 defeat at Bath with a niggling injury but is confident he will be fully fit to be in the mix when coach Dean Ryan selects his squad for the Liberty Stadium and what could be their passport into the last eight.

“I always enjoy coming back to Wales and playing in front of the Welsh fans but this game is special – a huge match against a great squad and just hope that I can play my part for Gloucester and that we come away with a result,” said Delve.

“However, the Liberty Stadium is a very hard place to go, as Cardiff Blues found out last week, and, if we turn up with anything less than our best game, it will not be good enough.

“We are in great position in our group and we have worked extremely hard for the four wins but we are also aware that we have not won anything yet.

“And thankfully we have got a strong ‘Next Game Mentality’ at the club – regardless of which tournament we are involved with at the time – and in the Heineken Cup all that matters to us right now is the Ospreys game.

“Hopefully we will go to the Liberty, put in a huge performance and then see where we stand in the Pool. Only then will we move on to Ulster but obviously a win against the Ospreys would be a huge step towards qualification and a possible home quarter-final.

“It would be great to bring a quarter-final to Kingsholm for our passionate fans but right now we are not looking beyond Saturday.

“I think it is fair to say that both Gloucester and the Ospreys have assembled squads over the past few years with the Heineken Cup very much in mind and, with the talent available to both of us, the match should have some great rugby and be a great spectacle.

“Having strength in depth is what wins cups and enables teams to sustain the pressure during long competitions and we know that the
Ospreys have world class performers all over the pitch and that we will have to give our best performance.”

And Delve knows all about the pitfalls of falling short in the home straight following his experiences with Bath back in the 2005 / 2006 tournament.

“We won our first five and were set to be the first to qualify only to lose at home to Leinster and go from having a potential home quarter-final to having to travel to the Walkers Stadium and going out to Leicester,” he said.

“From experience I know that nothing is easy and that you have to earn every step forward you make in the Heineken Cup and our plan is to have as many threats as possible across the pitch, be it the rapier or the broadsword.

“Some of the new additions to the squad like Akapusi Qera, Alasdair Strokosch and Lesley Vainikolo have added a great deal to the squad and everyone can see what a special player ‘The Volcano” is in the way he goes into contact and the aggression he brings. He nearly always breaks the first tackle – and often the second and third – and is a great target player.”