Honest: Alan Gaffney

Saracens boss Alan Gaffney admitted Ospreys deserved their place in the EDF Energy Cup final after they ran his side ragged.

The region thrashed the Men in Black 30-3 at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff but it could have so easily been a 50 point margin had they taken the numerous other chances that came there way.

The sides meet again in the Heineken Cup quarter final at Watford in a fortnight and Sarries will again have their work cut out against a side full of confidence and verve, characteristics which have undoubtedly stemmed from Wales' Six Nations Grand Slam success.

"Ospreys were by far the better side and took their chances very well," said Gaffney, the Saracens director of rugby. "They could have scored a number of other tries and we saw that they are a classy team.

"We have got to treat this as a learning curve. We started very slowly and everything we did was off the back foot.

"But we fought our way back into it and I thought during the last 25 minutes of the first half we were on reasonable parity. But ten minutes into the second half and beyond was a one way street."

Sarries lost skipper Neil de Kock at half time and lock Chris Jack just minutes into the second half but Gaffney said their early departures would not have affected the final outcome.

"Neil took a knock when he made a try saving tackle in the first half," added the Aussie. "He had a lack of vision down his left eye and we didn't want to risk him. He is fine now though.

"As for Chris Jack, he took a knock to the hand and has gone for an x-ray which we hope will come back clear.

"If they had stayed on I think we would have made the game more competitive but Ospreys were still the better team."

Ospreys skipper Ryan Jones was delighted to book a place in the final against Leicester Tigers, who beat Wasps 34-24.

"I'm extremely proud of where we've come from as a region, we've really grown as a team," said Jones, also the Wales captain. "To only concede three points shows we were extremely professional."

11:44pm Saturday 22nd March 2008

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