When the Ospreys opened their Heineken Cup campaign last November with a laboured win over Bourgoin at the Liberty Stadium, it was not only the fly-half James Hook who had a subdued evening. All the region's Welsh internationals were still suffering from a World Cup hangover and, as winter approached, there was no sign of it lifting. Nearly five months on, the 22-year-old Hook is preparing for Sunday's Heineken Cup quarter-final against Saracens at Vicarage Road having won the grand slam with Wales and reached the EDF Energy Cup final with the Ospreys.
"If anyone had offered all this when we returned from the World Cup, I would have ripped their arm off," he said. "It has been remarkable. I, like everyone else in the Wales team, am playing with so much confidence. It is what winning does for you."
The last time he was in the London area, back at the beginning of February, he inspired Wales to their first victory at Twickenham for 20 years. Eleven of his team-mates that day will also travel to Watford - it would have been 12 but for the knee injury suffered by the scrum-half Mike Phillips during the EDF semi-final win over Saracens - with the Ospreys flying in the grand slam's slipstream.
"Things have turned around very quickly," said Hook. "I came back from the World Cup feeling really low. We had let ourselves and our supporters down. Wales had a new management team, led by Warren Gatland, and fresh faces mean a new start, but there was a collective desire among the players to ensure that we did not go through what had happened in France again. That meant working harder and harder, more so than ever before, and it all came together in the Six Nations.
"There was little wrong with our attacking play in the World Cup but our defence kept letting us down. Shaun Edwards has come in and no one wants to miss a tackle with him to answer to. We became a dangerous side when we were not in possession, prepared to play a waiting game and pouncing on mistakes. We showed that in the final game against France, turning a dropped pass into a try after an hour, and the Ospreys did the same the following week in the semi-final against Saracens. They lost the ball in a tackle in our half and, as he had done against France, Shane Williams hacked on and scored."
Hook started three of Wales's five matches in the Six Nations, coming on as a replacement for Stephen Jones in the others. Gatland always changed a winning side but when he dropped Jones for Hook after the triple crown success against Ireland in Dublin he admitted it had been one of the toughest decisions he had had to make as a coach. Hook had played the full 80 minutes against England, but after setting up one try and scoring the next against Scotland the following week he was hauled off before the start of the final quarter for not closing the game out.
"It is a different environment in the Wales team now," said Hook. "No one is guaranteed his place, whereas in some teams you know whether you are playing from one week from the next. With Warren and Shaun you do not have a clue when or where you will play. It keeps you on your toes and interested all the time. I was delighted after the victory over England but I was taken off the following week and you know with someone like Stephen on the bench that you are going to be giving way to him at some point. They have had a word with me and said what they are looking for. You want to start every game but you have to accept their decisions."
The Ospreys will be at Twickenham next week to face Leicester in the EDF final. If they get past Saracens on Sunday they will face Gloucester or Munster in the Heineken Cup semi-final at the Millennium Stadium, the ground where next month's final will be held.
"With so many Ospreys in the Wales team it would make a perfect ending to the season, but we cannot afford to get ahead of ourselves," said Hook. "Saracens will be smarting after losing to us last month and they are not the top seeds in the tournament for nothing. I rate their outside-half, Glen Jackson, highly, and Wales offer proof of how quickly things can change.
"The Ospreys faced Ulster in the back-to-back rounds of the Heineken Cup last December. We beat them comfortably at home but the following week struggled at Ravenhill. We know we are in for a very hard game, but we are confident.
Turning points
December 2 Harlequins 8 Ospreys 19
Two months before Wales won across the road at Twickenham, this impressive EDF Cup victory, with Gavin Henson supreme, put the Ospreys on the path to a repeat of last year's Anglo-Welsh final against Leicester.
January 12 Ospreys 32 Gloucester 15
James Hook's six penalties helped subdue the Premiership leaders on a filthy night at the Liberty Stadium. Gloucester, completely outplayed, finished the game with 13 men.
January 20 Bourgoin 21 Ospreys 28
The Ospreys had not won in the Heineken Cup on French soil until Jonathan Thomas's late try.
