“The show must go on,” declared Toby Booth at an emotional midweek press conference after confirmation Ospreys hooker Ifan Phillips had suffered life-changing injuries in a road traffic accident last Sunday.
This afternoon, Booth’s Ospreys players will warm up for their Heineken Champions Cup opener with Sale Sharks wearing shirts with Phillips’s name on the back.
It promises to be an emotional occasion. Phillips’s injuries mean he will not play professional rugby again and his accident has, understandably, hit the Ospreys players and staff extremely hard. For Phillips’s career to have been ended in such circumstances is beyond cruel.
Yet a picture of Phillips posted online on a JustGiving page, which as of yesterday morning had raised nearly £50,000 to support his recovery, showed the 25-year-old smiling from his bed at Morriston Hospital in Swansea. It was a picture to warm the heart after a tough week for Booth’s players.
Somehow, they now need to raise themselves to face Sale. The Ospreys have placed a support system around their players after Phillips’s accident, with the primary focus on their wellbeing.
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Dr Steve Mellalieu, the Ospreys sports psychologist, said: “We already have a prominent wellbeing support structure set-up within the club with key personnel such as our Welsh Rugby Players’ Association development manager Tim Jones and player mental health and wellbeing lead Lloyd Ashley. Tim and Lloyd have co-ordinated all the kind gestures of support the club has received so far.
“They have been extremely proactive reaching out to individuals and organisations who will be able to help us ensure the Ospreys can support Ifan and his family in the best way possible, not only in the immediate aftermath of this tragic event, but also to be there for him to provide tangible support in the longer term.
“It’s wonderful how the rugby family around the world has come together to show and offer its support for Ifan and with the inevitable challenges that lie ahead for him, we at the club aim to ensure we can support him as best as possible as he begins to make that journey.”
After the news of Phillips’s accident was confirmed, Booth deserves a great deal of credit for the way he handled last Wednesday’s media briefing. He was tactful and composed, sending his best wishes to Phillips’s family while rallying his troops to face Sale.
Prior to Phillips’s accident, Mellalieu and the Ospreys have had to deal with two other young players having their careers ended. Scott Otten, another hooker, retired in
May due to a serious neck injury. Harrison Walsh was a promising loose-head prop, but suffered a freak leg injury playing for Swansea in January 2015. It left him with no feeling and impaired movement in
his right foot. Walsh is now a paralympic athlete. Mellalieu has worked with both Otten and Walsh, and will now do likewise with Phillips in his time of need.
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Phillips is the son of Neath rugby legend Kevin and he has fighting spirit in his blood. The Ospreys will need that today against Sale if they are to come out on top.
No doubt pulled together by the news on Phillips, Booth’s men are ready to play in the wake of adversity. “We need to get back to doing what we have to do,” Booth said. “There is an emotional side that has contributed to the week. It would be artificial for us to say it is a normal week because it isn’t. We’ve got to put our foot forward as best we can.”
Lloyd Ashley has played 148 games for Ospreys. The lock is not involved against Sale, but away from rugby he has created his own company focusing on mental health and wellbeing. His experience and knowledge has been vital to his team-mates following the news on Phillips.
“Ifan isn’t just a team-mate but a friend of all of us at the Ospreys,” Ashley said. “We were all shocked when we heard the news and our first thoughts were for him, his family and friends. Then, the players just knew we had to do something to rally around and show our support to Ifan.
“As soon as we knew about the JustGiving page, we all knew we had to make sure as many people as possible were aware of it and had the opportunity to support Ifan in a very real way. The boys did all they could to share and to offer support to Ifan on their own social media accounts and the public just responded.
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“All of the players have been overwhelmed by the response in and outside Wales and we know it has helped Ifan, his family and the players in this difficult situation.
“Ifan is a popular bloke and we are a tight squad. We want him to know we are thinking of him, will always be there for him, and that he will always be an Osprey.”
The Ospreys side to face Sale contains Wales internationals Gareth Anscombe, Alex Cuthbert, Tomas Francis, Adam Beard and Gareth Thomas, but Alun Wyn Jones, Justin Tipuric and George North are injured.
