Having seen former winners Ieuan Evans and Austin Healey pull them out of the hat alongside last season’s two finalists, Saracens and ASM Clermont Auvergne, and Northampton Saints you would have forgiven the Welsh region’s head coach for cursing his luck.
There are eight final appearances between those three teams, three titles and Saracens will be chasing a ‘treble’ next season having gone unbeaten over the past two seasons. Oh, and Clermont lifted the French championship in Paris last weekend!
Hardly ‘many happy returns’ to the Ospreys after a sabbatical in the Challenge Cup last season. But Tandy, as a player and coach, has never shirked a challenge and he can’t wait to chase a first European win over both Saracens and Saints and attempt to improve on the region’s 50% success rate against Clermont.
“We want to pit ourselves against the best and that’s definitely going to be the case in this pool. I’m expecting three great occasions at the Liberty Stadium – big crowds and, hopefully, three performances to back that up,” said Tandy.
“We’re excited and we’re already looking forward to testing ourselves in a pool which is probably as tough as it is possible to get. We missed out on this competition last season, so we are pleased to be back in it and playing against the very best.
“Given the clubs we are up against it, we’ll probably go in under the radar. But, like we saw two years ago in this competition, if you win your home games anything can happen.”
The Ospreys have played Saracens three times in the European Cup and lost every time. Their first meeting was in the quarter-finals in 2008 ay Vicarage Road when the home side came up trumps 19-10 two weeks after being thumped 30-3 by the same team in the semi-finals of the Anglo-Welsh Cup.
The two teams then met in the pool stages in 2011/12, when the Saracens triumphed 31-26 at Wembley and then won 16-13 in Swansea. The Ospreys will also be seeking their first win over their other English opponents, Northampton Saints.
They have clashed four times in Europe, with the Saints marching to a double success in 2013/14 and the following season. The record against Clermont is more encouraging, with honours even at three home wins apiece after three pool campaigns.
“Saracens’ record speaks for itself – they’re back-to-back champions, they haven’t lost in Europe for two years, they’ve been in the Premiership semi-finals every season for the last eight years and won the title three times,” added Tandy.
“You won’t find better, anywhere in the world – they are up there with the very best ever. Their squad is unbelievable, they do what they do so well, have an amazing culture and will believe they can keep their incredible run going in this competition.
“We had two amazing matches against Clermont two years ago, taking six points off them in the pool, so we know exactly what to expect from them. They have a star-studded squad and over the last three or four years have been one of the very best teams in the world.
“We’ve played Northampton a few times in recent seasons and had some tough games, so I wouldn’t expect this to be any different. They were disappointed with how this season went and will want to bounce back to where they feel they belong next season.”
Champions Cup Draw
Pool 1: Wasps, La Rochelle, Ulster, Harlequins.
Pool 2: Clermont, Saracens, Ospreys, Northampton Saints
Pool 3: Exeter Chiefs, Leinster, Montpellier, Glasgow Warriors
Pool 4: Munster, Racing 92, Leicester, Castres
Pool 5: Scarlets, Toulon, Bath, Benetton
Challenge Cup Draw
Pool 1: Newcastle, Dragons, Bordeaux, Enisei-STM
Pool 2: Blues, Sale, Lyon, Toulouse
Pool 3: Gloucester, Pau, Zebre, Agen
Pool 4: Stade Francais Paris, Edinburgh, London Irish, Krasny Yar
Pool 5: Brive, Connacht, Worcester, Oyonnax
