THE Ospreys have given their strongest indication yet they are prepared to let Lions scrum-half Mike Phillips leave the Liberty Stadium.
Phillips has a lucrative contract with the region until 2014 and last month dismissed speculation he was leaving Wales, despite only making eight regional starts this season.
But the defending Magners League champions, who have already lost James Hook, Lee Byrne, Gavin Henson and Craig Mitchell for next season, signed Dan Carter’s Crusaders’ half-back partner Kahn Fotuali’i last week. His arrival, with the emerging Rhys Webb, has fuelled speculation the Ospreys are keen to listen to offers for Phillips.
When asked directly about Phillips’ future yesterday, Ospreys coach Sean Holley hardly provided a ringing endorsement the Wales No.9 would be at the Liberty next season.
“Things will transpire over the course of the season,†was Holley’s vague response when asked whether Phillips still had a role at the Ospreys next season.
“Some of our scrum-halves are in contract and some are not and we are not going to stock pile many.
“Mike is away a lot. We will miss him the summer, we have a World Cup coming up where we will miss him and he will also be away for the Six Nations.â€
Holley also hinted former New Zealand flankers Jerry Collins and Marty Holah were set to leave after the Ospreys confirmed the signings of back-row duo Bearman and George Stowers.
“People are intelligent enough to understand the squad dynamics can see how things are going to develop,†he said.
“There will be announcements over the next couple of weeks.â€
Holley indicated the Ospreys are considering launching a late bid to keep Holah after Ben Lewis was forced to retire aged 24 earlier this week.
“Marty is 34 and has been here a long time,†added Holley. “But his body has started to feel the affect of what he has put himself through.â€
Holley launched a staunch defence of the decision to sign overseas stars Fotuali’i and Stowers and insisted they would not block young Welsh talent.
“There is a fine balance between bringing in overseas players and developing young talent,†he said.
“It is easy to say we have to throw in the youngsters but we have a strong fan base and Board of Directors who are keen on us winning silverware.
“The French teams and some English sides have shown you need strong squads with lots of depth.
“But we also want young talent coming through. If you look at the statistics, it shows how much of the Welsh squad we have produced in the last eight years.
“So we are doing our bit for Welsh rugby.
“Maybe the question about players not being exposed to the top games should be asked at other press conferences.
“If you look at the Heineken Cup squads over the last eight years we have the highest percentage of Welsh talent.
“Compare this to one of the largest regions in Wales who have less than 40 per cent of players in their squad who have come from that area.â€
Holley, who was understood to have been referring to the Dragons, continued;
“I’m not having a dig at another region, I’m simply stating facts. The Ospreys don’t get the credit they deserve with our development plan.
“There a lot of people doing a lot of hard work behind the scenes to develop players for this region and Wales.â€
