The withdrawal of back rower Ifereimi Boladau means a reshuffle on the bench for the Ospreys ahead of the PRO12 game versus Ulster at the Kingspan Stadium later.
The Fijian was set for his league debut for the region if used as a replacement only to suffer a knee problem that has forced him to withdraw, taking the number of absentees for tonight’s game to 23.
The reshuffle means 19-year old winger Dafydd Howells now comes onto the bench and will wear number 21, with Ieuan Jones taking the 20 shirt that would have been worn by Boladau. Having played six times in the LV= Cup over the last three seasons, if he comes on during tonight’s game it will be Howells’ PRO12 debut.
The Ospreys bench now looks like this:
16 Matthew Dwyer
17 Marc Thomas
18 Cai Griffiths
19 Rory Thornton
20 Ieuan Jones
21 Dafydd Howells
22 Tom Habberfield
23 Hanno Dirksen