The Ospreys look to continue their charge up the URC table and build on their Heineken Champions Cup heroics when they face bottom side Zebre On Sunday.
After a difficult start in the URC, Toby Booth’s side have since won five of their last seven games and guaranteed an away leg against Saracens in the knockout rounds of the Heineken Champions Cup.
After losing to Leicester 23-17 at home in the first round in Europe, the Swansea region have regrouped impressively.
They went on to beat the current French Champions, Montpellier, home and away, before earning themselves a last 16 spot with a dramatic 26-27 win at Welford Road against current English champions Leicester.
The Ospreys have now won five games in all competitions since their disappointing loss to the Tigers in the opening round of the Champions Cup, but still find themselves 13th in the URC with just three wins from 12.
Booth said: “I’m really proud of the guys in the past few weeks, they have this never say die attitude.
“We have made it tough on ourselves this season but beating the English and French Champions is a big thing for us.
“We were always confident in our ability. The wins against the French and English champions goes to show we can compete against the best.
“But winning is a habit and hopefully we can keep that feeling going in the camp under difficult circumstances.”
Wins during the festive period against Welsh rivals Scarlets and Cardiff have seen the Ospreys begin to put pressure on the teams around mid-table.
The Ospreys now have the experience of beating two of the best sides in Europe and head to Parma full of confidence.
Meanwhile, Zebre are still yet to win this season from their 12 games and have conceded a league high 437 points in that time.
Morgan Morris has been one of the form players in Welsh rugby and is unlucky to have missed out on selection for Wales’ Six Nations squad after a series of eye-catching displays for the Ospreys in the last few years.
But for now it seems he will need to continue to impress as the Ospreys look to deal with the loss of their International stars.
Morris said: “It is tough not to be selected for Wales, but at the end of the day we are employed by the Ospreys.
“We need to give back to them who have supported us along our journey, and we have the next few months to really impress and play well.
“It will be a tough game for us because we will be losing a number of quality players and it is a lot of people to lose in one week so there will be a lot of change and players coming into the system.
“We just need to make sure we have extra clarity in our set up. I think as a squad these are the times we develop in the most.
“There are a lot of players like Harri Deaves, Tiaan Thomas Wheeler and Jack Regan who have been developing in these kinds of games in the past few years, so we have a lot of faith in our squad.
“We can definitely still do a job whoever you put up against us.”
