Ospreys have named their squad to face Connacht Rugby in in the season opener of the BKT URC. The game will take place at the Sportsground Stadium in Ireland and is kicking off on Saturday 21st October at 3pm.
Justin Tipuric is set to captain the side in his 200th appearance for the team. The Ospreys will be celebrating his milestone in their first home fixture of the season against Zebre.
Garyn Phillips starts at loosehead, with debutant, Ethan Lewis lining up at hooker and Tom Botha completing the front three.
Rhys Davies partners with Will Griffiths in the second row, with Griffiths making his 50th appearance for the team. In the back row, Justin Tipuric and James Ratti line up at flanker, with Ratti making his first appearance since returning to the Ospreys. Morgan Morris starts at eight.
Reuben Morgan-Williams lines up at scrum half, with Owen Williams starting at 10. Keiran Williams partners with Owen Watkin in the centres.
In the back three, Max Nagy starts at full back, with Keelan Giles and Luke Morgan on the wings.
On the bench, Ospreys pathway product, Lewis Lloyd could be in line to make his debut following his impressive u20s World Cup campaign with Wales. Luke Davies and Dom Morris could also make their debuts off the bench.
Starting XV:
15. Max Nagy
14. Luke Morgan
13. Owen Watkin
12. Keiran Williams
11. Keelan Giles
10. Owen Williams
9. Reuben Morgan-Williams
1. Garyn Phillips
2. Ethan Lewis
3. Tom Botha
4. Rhys Davies
5. Will Griffiths (50th Appearance)
6. James Ratti
7. Justin Tipuric © (200th Appearance)
8. Morgan Morris
Replacements:
16. Lewis Lloyd
17. Rhys Henry
18. Ben Warren
19. Huw Sutton
20. Harri Deaves
21. Luke Davies
22. Jack Walsh
23. Dom Morris
Head Coach, Toby Booth, said:
“We know that Connacht is a very difficult place to go. The conditions can be challenging and there’s an artificial pitch which can often impact preparation, as well as the game itself.
“Outside of that they’re a very committed team with a positive style of play and we know that they’ll want to impose that onto us, as we do to them. But we’re more focused on what we can do and transferring the stuff that we’ve been working on, onto the pitch.”
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