St Helen's will open its doors to professional rugby on Saturday night, hosting Ospreys v Dragons

As the wind and rain of Storm Austen hammer down on Friday morning, there's little chance of rain stopping play - or rather work - at St Helen's.

The famous venue - where Australia, South Africa and New Zealand were all defeated by Swansea RFC, the location of Sir Garfield Sobers' six sixes in an over - is preparing to host its first game as the newly refurbished home of the Ospreys. A mere 24 hours before matchday, work is still continuing at a remarkable pace.

During Swansea RFC's first match back at the ground a couple of weeks ago against Ebbw Vale, workers could be seen sorting the wiring out on the one stand while play was ongoing. Former Wales back-row Colin Charvis, now the Whites' vice-chair, quipped on a couple of occasions last week that the building site-nature of the ground that it was a little like arriving on "your Jet2 holiday" in Benidorm, with the place still being constructed around you.

Yet, to a person, everyone who has been at the ground more than once in recent weeks would testify that, from one visit to the next, progress has been rapid. This Friday already looked remarkably different to that first event 13 days ago, with more infrastructure in place.

There hasn't really been a moment of standstill in the past few months. Ironically, there will be on Saturday. Work will stop, play will finally begin.

"I don't know if I'll be having a breather, if I'm honest," admits Ospreys managing director Richard Lancaster. "It's been a few months, I think that's been the challenge.

"By the time we actually started the work, it was well into June. To be fair to everyone who was involved - and there's been a heck of a lot of people involved - they've all pulled out the stops to make sure we've hit each milestone.

"To a person, they've delivered against those timelines. So we're delighted with the progress that's been made.

"There's still a lot to be done, so we need to get more barriers in the terrace and just tidy up some of the areas of the ground. But we had building control here yesterday; they're really happy with the progress and have signed off safety certificates for all the different areas.

"Tomorrow will be at capacity for what we're able to sell, and then the hope is that with more barriers going into the terrace and work continuing probably through November, we'll be able to grow that capacity further."

Given that the go-ahead for St Helen's becoming the Ospreys' venue was only granted back in March, with work formally beginning a few months after, it has been a herculean effort to get things right for Saturday night's United Rugby Championship clash with the Dragons.

Little details, like a match clock, are in place - having been absent last week. A giant screen could also be up for the match - depending on the speed of the wind.

But work will continue long after that fixture. Over the course of a year or two, work on the terrace will continue - with the plan for it to be sheltered. For now, the Ospreys will change in a temporary changing room.

There are further planned phases at the ground. Permanent facilities will be next, while the Ospreys could feasibly make it a training base at some point in the future.

A new chapter

But, going back to that announcement earlier in the year, it's hard to escape the fact it was a statement of backing by Swansea Council and the Ospreys' owners towards rugby in the city.

After a series of false dawns, with the Ospreys' future far from certain amid the Welsh Rugby Union's plans to cut a professional side out 'west', this is finally the start of a "new chapter", as the Ospreys' head of rugby Dan Griffiths puts it.

"You can't hide away from the stuff that's gone on in the background and how it affects individuals," he says. "We've spoken about the effect it has on not just the players, but families, the staff, the people involved.

"It's their livelihoods; it's something they care about. You can't underestimate that, and it's easy to get distracted by some of that stuff.

"The biggest compliment I can pay the staff and the players is that it's all been focused on getting better every week, fulfilling what we feel is a huge potential in this squad.

"The quality we have, the homegrown players, what they bring to the table and how they drive things. Then obviously a lot's been said about recruitment and some of the quality we've brought to the club and how they've added to it.

"It's a real exciting blend for us on the pitch, as well as what's going on off it. It's a great moment in the Ospreys' story, and it definitely feels like a new chapter that we're excited to start."

Part of Griffiths' role has been to ensure those initial visions for the ground - which he admits he's seen a lot of versions of over the years - translate to a ground that is fit for high performance. He adds that, in that regard, it's been a "whole-club contribution" - with months of planning and discussion coming together quickly.

"Before you get to that stage, it's all the discussion: the architect drawings, the understanding of our requirements from a performance perspective, from a business need," he says. "It's really pleasing when you see it bit by bit being built and being brought to life.

"It's not going to be perfect, but at the end of the day it's ours, and that's all we care about. It's St Helen's, with the location and the history that it brings.

"It's a real exciting time and a privilege for us to be back at St Helen's, and I know the players are really excited to get out there. The energy in the group this week has been incredible after a tough start - going to South Africa, spending time on the road, Georgia with the flight delays, the overnight travel, and 6ft 7ins men flying in economy!

"It has been a massive challenge for us to start the season four games away from home. As well as everything else going on in the background, there's been a lot to contend with. The players have done a fantastic job, and I don't think I've heard anyone moan about anything."

Training on the new 4G pitch as the rain subsides, mood in the camp seems bright. After 10,000 miles in the last month, it must be nice to call this place your home.

A community hub

Of course, it isn't just the Ospreys' home. Swansea RFC, Swansea University and Gower College will also play here, as will countless others.

From next week, there'll be 450-odd kids in there over the next fortnight, while there's a walking rugby festival welcoming 200 adults as well.

"Essentially it's a community stadium," says the Ospreys' Community Foundation director, Tom Sloane. It means a little bit more for Tom, given his first memories of St Helen's are "raiding the pitch, jumping on the back of Lawrence Dallaglio and Trevor Leota, and getting picked up by Graham Henry on the way back to the car-park".

As such, he knows the value of a proper rugby ground to inspire the next generation. "I think this stadium is a proper rugby stadium, and it gives that opportunity.

"We've got rugby camps here next week, so there'll be 110 kids running around in and amongst the Ospreys training, so they'll get to see their role models and hopefully give them a little bit of a steer on their journey to to becoming a professional rugby player.

"Being able to see, touch and smell their their players, we've got some really exciting stuff coming in the next couple of months. That opportunity to be able to see their role models just inspires the local community. It's really important."

Tom is aware that the Ospreys' region goes beyond just Swansea, but having a permanent base just allows them to go out and spread the gospel that little bit easier.

In the current group, there are a number of home-grown stars who, as youngsters, would be exactly who the Ospreys are currently targeting.

A number of this squad grew up playing schools and junior rugby on the ground. For someone like Ross Moriarty, it was a big incentive to join his father, Paul, and uncle, Richard, in running out at the famous venue.

On Friday, as players and staff all converged for a meal together at lunchtime, Richard - a Swansea RFC icon who played 472 times for the Whites - handed out the jerseys to the squad.

"There's no doubt about it, this was a huge attraction in Ross coming to the Ospreys," admits Griffiths. "We spoke about it when we got together: his family history, the connection to this place. His uncle and his father, the legacy they've left on that surface.

"Ross having the opportunity to follow in their footsteps was a huge attraction to him coming."

Modernising history

In the old clubhouse, there are reminders of the ground's history. This was, after all, the venue for Wales' first home international a mere 144 years ago.

Naturally, for a ground that old, some quirks have become apparent as work has progressed in recent months. "I think we've got to remember, it's 150 years since the first game of rugby on this ground," says Lancaster. "We've done a development to modernise a facility where parts of the ground are over 100 years old.

"So of course you're going to have challenges; of course you're going to trip over things like Victorian drains running along the front of the terrace. Of course you're going to face these challenges.

"But I think the terrace can be a special place, especially now that we've adjusted the pitch so that the pitch is right next to the terrace. We started to see the benefits of that in Bridgend last year with that terrace right along the touchline, and this is probably double the size of that terrace in Bridgend.

"So it's got the charm of the terrace and days gone by. You see the old pictures of Swansea playing here with people up in the windows and people climbing over the walls to get into the ground, which obviously we can't get away with anymore!

"It's got that modern feel to it whilst retaining its charm and its soul for what people remember St Helen's to be. Ticket sales tell us and anecdotal conversations tell us that people are looking forward to coming back here and almost celebrating rugby in the way that it always used to be."

The move to St Helen's has been described by one figure high up in the club as allowing the Ospreys to be "masters of their own destiny". Lancaster agrees that it's a big moment for the club.

"It's transformative," he says. "It transforms our balance sheet.

"We're not just reliant on ticket sales and on sponsorship; we've got food and beverage, we've got hospitality, we've got non-matchday, we've got the revenue generated from pitch hire, from conferencing and event hire. So rather than being reliant on 11 matchdays to generate revenue, we've got 365."

The family firm behind Verdi's has taken over the food and drink at the ground - including a new hospitality marquee called The Aviary - promising the plan will go well beyond matchdays, creating what they hope will be "Swansea's biggest party and events space to date".

They aren't the only local business to back the new ground, with Lancaster grateful to the work of all sponsors and contractors who have contributed.

"Don't get be wrong, there's still challenges," he says. "We're praying to the weather gods and we're praying to the water gods and the electricity gods as well!

"There were times we doubted we would get to this stage, but without the support of our sponsors and our wider family, I don't think we'd have met the timelines that we had."

On Saturday, the work will be able to stop for a moment, allowing all involved to reflect on a remarkable effort.

"Welsh rugby is in a difficult moment, but what this has shown is if you give people something to get behind, something to support, something they are passionate about, they will get behind it," says Griffiths. "When there's a plan that they can buy into and believe in, you can see what can be achieved very quickly.

"If nothing else, I think this is a good model for Welsh rugby to follow because it's simple: connecting to your local clubs, connecting to the stakeholders - the university, Gower College, Swansea University, your supporters, your commercial partners, your sponsors.

"Making the rugby club the heart of the community again. It's not just about the Ospreys playing here; it's Swansea RFC, it's Swansea University, it's the Dewar Shield clubs, it's the community clubs using the ground. This is going to be the heartbeat of the region in a sense.

"It's all about engaging people, bringing them together, and giving them something that they are proud of, something that is theirs.

"We've talked a lot about that in rugby: the people that we represent and what it means to be here. That's the positive thing for us.

"Whilst it's easy to be negative, and other things are sort of surrounded by that negativity, we've found something that we can be really positive about. We've focused all our energy into making that as good as it can be, and that's been a guiding light for us over the last few months, which at times could be pretty dark."