The Ospreys picked up maximum points at home to Connacht less than a week after seeing a famous victory slip from their grasp at European giants Leicester.
Humphreys’ troops led by 10 points early on at Welford Road and were all square after an hour but Leicester’s late show left them with nothing to show for their efforts.
It was the kind of result that could have left a lengthy hangover but instead the Ospreys sucked up the hurt and disposed of their Irish rivals with a four-try 26-9 victory at the Liberty Stadium on Saturday night.
“It’s probably one of the most difficult weeks to juggle,” said Humphreys, after tries from Eli Walker, Justin Tipuric, Jonathan Thomas and Kahn Fotuali’I saw the Ospreys record their fourth win of the domestic campaign.
“I don’t think people really understand how much it took out of the boys last week, in terms of the disappointment of it.
“You build up for a peak and it doesn’t quite work out for you but the effort is phenomenal.
“It can be difficult to pick yourself straight back up again, particularly when you are up against a team where the public perception is they get beaten a lot, you’re at home, and people maybe expect it to be easier for you than the reality of it.
“We know Connacht are a dangerous side, it was a really tough game, and although not perfect, the endeavour and the effort from the group was outstanding.
“It took us a little while to get over the disappointment of last week but… we couldn’t have asked for much more after what last week took out of us.
“It was great to see us stay together and get what we wanted from the game.”
