Ospreys head coach Steve Tandy believes his young side has matured from last season and will hit new heights in 2017/18.
Last term the Welsh outfit made it to the semi-finals before Munster breezed past them in that knockout game to cut short a promising season.
After a pre-season of work, Tandy is keen to see how the likes of Sam Davies, Keelan Giles and Olly Cracknell have matured.
“When you are in and around those positions, in certain big games we didn’t throw them away, but we weren’t mature enough,” Tandy told PRO14Rugby.org.
“You think of Munster at home, those big games would have made a big difference in us trying to get a home semi-final.
“It was a shame we tailed off at the back end, we had a lot of injuries but it was something I was disappointed by.
“After some really positive performances, we slipped up in games like Treviso away. Every game must have the same ultimate focus, every point matters.
“It was not a great season because a great season would have ended with us in a final, but it was a pretty decent one up until the last five or six games then it became a little bit more disappointing with two knockout losses.
“But overall a young group have developed again, but ultimately we have to grow and learn and make sure this season we are better again.”
Tandy believes the international experience brought in by new signings James Hook and Cory Allen will benefit the youngsters this season.
“We have lost a few but bringing in Hooky brings a hell of a lot experience and someone like Cory Allen, he is someone still with a hell of a lot of potential and he has settled in really well and will get up to speed pretty quickly,”
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