The Ospreys team to face Ulster at Kingspan Stadium on Friday 4th September 2015, KO 7.35pm, is as follows:
15 Dan Evans
14 Kristian Phillips
13 Jonathan Spratt
12 Ben John
11 Tom Grabham
10 Sam Davies
9 Tom Habberfield
1 Marc Thomas
2 Sam Parry
3 Dmitri Arhip
4 Lloyd Ashley (Capt)
5 De Kock Steenkamp
6 Joe Bearman
7 Lloyd Evans
8 Gareth Delve
REPLACEMENTS
16 Scott Otten
17 Nicky Smith
18 Cai Griffiths
19 Rory Thornton
20 Dan Baker
21 Sam Underhill
22 Brendon Leonard
23 Ashley Beck
Tom Habberfield makes his 50th Ospreys appearance
De Kock Steenkamp and Gareth Delve make their Ospreys debuts
Lloyd Evans makes his PRO12 debut
Kristian Phillips makes his first Ospreys appearance since October 2011 after re-signing for the region this summer
Sam Underhill and Brendon Leonard will make their Ospreys debuts if they come off the bench
Ospreys Head Coach, Steve Tandy, said:
“We’ve had a pretty good pre-season, there’s been a good mood in the camp and everyone has worked very hard ahead of this weekend’s game. Everything we’ve done since the end of June has been geared up towards building the foundations for the new campaign, part of a bigger picture to be ready for Ulster on Friday night.
“It’s no secret that we’ve got a young group, but we’ve been able to add some experience over the summer, and we want to keep growing as a team, building on the promise we showed at times last season. There’s a real sense of excitement around the environment and we’re all looking forward to getting the season underway.
“As a coaching group, we have had some difficult decisions to make this week, and that is exactly how it should be. There are individuals who have really put their hands up in pre-season and are disappointed to miss out for the opening weekend but, without exception, they have shown real Ospreys spirit this week, recognising that it’s about the wider group and have worked hard to help the team prepare. It’s been good to see.
“Ulster is always a tough place to go. They have a strong squad and a big, passionate and loud crowd who get behind whoever is wearing the Ulster shirt, whatever the circumstances. It can be a real test of character out there so we need to be sure that we are 100 per cent switched on and everybody is completely focused on the job in hand. It’s about the small things, attention to detail, that can make a big difference on the night.
“We’ve spoken in training about controlling the things that we can control, focusing on performance and getting that right. If we look after that then, hopefully, we’ll get the desired outcome. We want to put on a positive performance so that we can come back to the Liberty next weekend for the Round 2 game against Munster, in front of a big Ospreys crowd buying into what we are working to achieve at this region.”
The following players were unavailable for selection due to Rugby World Cup selection:
Scott Baldwin, Dan Biggar, Paul James, Aaron Jarvis, Alun Wyn Jones, James King, Dan Lydiate, Justin Tipuric and Rhys Webb (Wales)
Tyler Ardron and Jeff Hassler (Canada)
Josh Matavesi (Fiji)
The following players were unavailable for selection due to injury:
Adam Beard – Shoulder
Rynier Bernardo - Knee
Ryan Bevington – Groin
Andrew Bishop - Back
Olly Cracknell – Concussion
Daniel Suter - Neck
Forthcoming Fixtures
Sun 13 Sep - 2.30pm KO – Ospreys V Munster – Liberty Stadium - PRO12
Fri 2 Oct - 6.00pm KO – Edinburgh v Ospreys – Murrayfield - PRO12
Sat 17 Oct – 2.30pm - Benetton Treviso v Ospreys – Stadio Comunale di Monigo – PRO12
Sat 24 Oct – 1.30pm KO - Ospreys v Connacht - Liberty Stadium - PRO12
Sun 1 Nov - 2.30pm KO – Glasgow v Ospreys – Scotstoun – PRO12