The Ospreys teams to face London Harlequins in a friendly fixture at the Liberty Stadium on Friday 25th August - kick off at 7.30pm, will be as follows: -
The Ospreys teams to face London Harlequins in a friendly fixture at the Liberty Stadium on Friday 25th August - kick off at 7.30pm, will be as follows:-
First Half team
15 Lee Byrne 14 Tal Selley 13 Andrew Bishop
12 Gavin Henson 11 Nikki Walker 10 James Hook
9 Justin Marshall
8 Ryan Jones 7 Jonathan Thomas 6 Filo Tiatia
5 Lyndon Bateman 4 Brent Cockbain 3 Andrew Millward
2 Richard Hibbard 1 Paul James (Capt)
Second Half team
15 Stefan Terblanche 14 Jonathan Vaughton 13 Tal Selley
12 Andrew Bishop 11 Richard Mustoe 10 James Hook
9 Martin Roberts/ Nicky Griffiths
8 Andy Lloyd 7 Steve Tandy 6 Lee Beach
5 Lyndon Bateman/ Mike Collins 4 Brent Cockbain/ Mike Powell 3 Andrew Millward/ Lee May
2 Huw Bennett/ Barry Williams 1 Paul James (Capt)
Sonny Parker (knee) and Shaun Conner (hamstring) will late fitness tests and may play a part at some point
Comment from Head Coach, Lyn Jones:
"We are delighted to be able to welcome London Harlequins to the Liberty Stadium on Friday evening. Last season they ran away with the national division one championship, losing only one match in what was one of the biggest mismatches since the advent of professional rugby. They are a strong side and we are looking at this fixture as a key part of our build up to next season, and in particular to our match against Edinburgh next week."
“With the quality in our squad it is important that we give everyone an opportunity to put forward their case for selection for next weeks match and with this in mind we will start each half with a slightly different fifteen. Our first half backline has only two players who have previously started in an Ospreys shirt and there will be lots for the boys to prove as competition for first team places will be strong this season.”
“There are a few fascinating one-on-ones for us to look ahead to on Friday evening. I am particularly looking forward to seeing how James Hook fares against Andrew Mehrtens, two players of undoubted talent but at very different stages in their careers. It should be an enjoyable evening for both players and supporters.”
Injury and squad availability news
We have twelve players not available for selection
Four players are unavailable due to WRU pre season guidance – Duncan Jones, Adam Jones, Shane Williams and Alun Wyn Jones
Jason Spice will return from his pre-season spell with Wellington to be available against Ulster on 22nd September
Ian Evans is serving his suspension and will be available for selection against the Blues on 13th September
Six players are unavailable for this fixture due to injury: -
David Bishop (knee), Richard Pugh (knee) and Cai Griffiths (shoulder) hope to be available for the match against Ulster on 22nd September
Three players will not be available until 2007 – Matthew Jones (knee), Tim Evans (knee) and Craig Mitchell (knee)
August/ September Fixtures
Ospreys v Harlequins – Liberty Stadium – Friday 25th August – kick off at 7.30pm
Ospreys v Edinburgh Gunners – Liberty Stadium – Saturday 2nd September – kick off at 5.30pm
Connacht v Ospreys – Gallway Sportsground – Friday 8th September – kick off at 6.30pm
Ospreys v Blues – Liberty Stadium – Wednesday 13th September – kick off at 7.35pm
Ospreys v Border Reivers – Liberty Stadium – Friday 15th September – kick off at 7.10pm
Ulster v Ospreys – Ravenhill – Friday 22nd September – kick off at 7.30pm
Ospreys v Gloucester – Liberty Stadium – Friday 29th September – kick off at 7.10pm