But head coach Steve Tandy believes the tough start will only fire the imagination of his squad and get them battle-hardened for another assault on a play-off place at the end of the season. The Ospreys kick-off with a hoe clash with Zebre before heading to Galway in round two to meet reigning champions Connacht.
They then host Benetton Treviso before heading back to Ireland for back-to-back clashes with Leinster and Ulster. The clash with the Blues will be at the Liberty Stadium in round six on Friday, 7 October, the first of six ‘Big Weekends’ planned by the tournament organisers that feature major derby clashes.
The first ‘Big Weekend’ will also see Leinster host Munster at the Aviva Stadium, Connacht entertain Ulster, the Scarlets receive the Dragons and the two Scottish sides face the Italian teams..
The new season gets underway on Friday, 2 September 2 with games starting at the new regular time of 7.35pm. No fewer than 70 of the first 78 matches are scheduled for live television. The season will end on Saturday, 27 May 2017 with the Guinness PRO12 Final.
“There’s always that buzz before the new season gets underway and when you get a first sight of the fixture list it steps up another level. All credit to PRO12, they’ve worked hard to create a fixture list that generates excitement for everybody, that allows clubs and supporters to start building some momentum in terms of scheduling, and I think we’re looking at a big season for the competition,” said Tandy.
“Pre-season can be a long slog for the players but now we know who we are playing, and when, it sharpens the mind and gives everybody more of a focus on what challenges we face. It’s good for us to be at home in two of the first three weekends.
“It will hopefully give us an opportunity to get off to a good start, although smack bang in the middle of those matches is Connacht away. That’s a fixture which is always a test, and even more so now when they are defending champions.
“If we didn’t know it already, last season underlined the importance of getting off to a good start if we want to be competitive come April and May and take our season beyond Round 22. We’ve got a difficult pre-season schedule with some tough games to get us ready for the opening weekend against Zebre.
“We’ve got to use those matches, use the next seven weeks, to make sure that we are in a good place. We want to make an impression, to build on how we developed as last season progressed, and how we finished the season strongly. We’ve got to use that as a starting point and be consistent from day one, hitting the standards expected of the Ospreys.”
Tandy is a big fan of the new ‘Big Weekend’ format and thinks it will be a hit with the fans s ell as the players. There will be a final round of derby matches in each country at the start of May in Round 22, with the Ospreys due to travel to arch-rivals the Scarlets.
“I think it’s a great idea that will ensure that the last weekend of the season is a big one wherever you are in the league. For us, the Scarlets games is always a huge game,” added Tandy.
“With there potentially being much more than just local pride on the line when we go there in the final game of the regular season it makes the game even more exciting for supporters. We’ve got to make sure that we do the hard work over the 21 rounds before that so that we are in control of our own destiny going to Parc y Scarlets.
“We can’t allow ourselves to get caught up in it but, for supporters, I can see them really buying into the concept of derby games to end the season, ensuring big crowds on the final day right across the league.”
