Steve Tandy has heaped praise on new defence coach Brad Davis for the impact he is making at the Ospreys.

Head coach Tandy watched his team beat Leicester Tigers 26-21 at the Liberty Stadium in a friendly on Friday night.

The victory came after the Ospreys had trailed 14-0 and the improvement in the second-half prompted Tandy to point to Davis’s contribution following his move to Wales from Wasps this summer.

The vastly experienced Australian joined Wasps in 2013 after coaching at rugby league side Castleford and Premiership club Bath.

Tandy said: “It was only a pre-season game but we pulled up pretty well through it.

“I thought we did some good work around the shape Brad Davis has been doing on our defence and there were some really positive signs we are understanding the system and there were some good attacking moments.

“Defence is a priority because we would not have brought Brad in otherwise.

“He has freed us up as coaches because we now have that new additional member of the coaching team.

“He has come from Wasps, and had experience at Bath. He was a tremendous rugby league player, he played until he was 38 and as soon as I met him, his character and his understanding shone through.

“We are changing from something we have used over 12 or 13 years, so it has flipped things on their head but the players are buying into it.

“The way he has gone about his business has been outstanding and you could swear he has been an Osprey for years. He is energetic, the amount of detail is excellent and he suits our mentality.”

The Ospreys head off to Belgium on Sunday for a week long training camp before facing the Belgian national team next Friday.

They then travel to Welford Road the following Friday for a return match against the Tigers.