Tandy names his team for the opening PRO12 fixture of the new season
The Ospreys team to play Benetton Treviso at Stadio Di Monigo on Saturday 7th September, KO 7.30pm (local time) , is as follows:
15 Richard Fussell
14 Ben John
13 Andrew Bishop
12 Ashley Beck
11 Eli Walker
10 Dan Biggar
9 Tito Tebaldi
1 Ryan Bevington
2 Scott Baldwin
3 Joe Rees
4 Ryan Jones (Capt)
5 James King
6 Tom Smith
7 Sam Lewis
8 Joe Bearman
REPLACEMENTS
16 Richard Hibbard
17 Duncan Jones
18 Adam Jones
19 Ian Evans
20 Morgan Allen
21 Tom Grabham
22 Matthew Morgan
23 Jeff Hassler
Joe Bearman makes his 50th Ospreys appearance
Tito Tebaldi makes his full Ospreys debut
Jeff Hassler will make his full Ospreys debut if he comes off the bench
Head Coach Steve Tandy said:
“It’s been a very long pre-season, we’ve had some boys back in since the start of June, so it’s good to be getting back into PRO12 action this weekend. It’s a tough start; Treviso beat every Welsh team at home last season, and we lost twice out there, so we know that we have to be at our best from the very first whistle.
“This time of year is an exciting one. We’ve got new faces in the group, so have the opposition, and there’s always an element of the unknown about these first few games because every club approaches the first few weeks of the season differently. As far as we are concerned, it’s crucial that we start the season better than we did last time. Three defeats early on left us with too much to do in terms of securing a top four spot, so we have to make sure we get off to a better start.
“If we can get our performance level right, if we know our roles, then we can be competitive. We’ll focus on the things that we can control, and hopefully we can build on what we did last season. We’ve got an exciting, young group of players with a fantastic attitude, who have a real pride in representing the region, and if we pull together, we can have an enjoyable season.”
The following players were unavailable for selection through injury:
Dmitri Arhip – Achilles
Hanno Dirksen – Knee
Tom Habberfield – Ankle
Dafydd Howells - Shoulder
Aaron Jarvis – Knee
Lloyd Peers – Shoulder
Rhys Webb - Knee
Forthcoming Fixtures
Sat 14 Sep 18.15 KO – Leinster v Ospreys – RaboDirect PRO12
Sat 21 Sep 18.30 KO – Ospreys V Edinburgh – RaboDirect PRO12
Sat 28 Sep 17:00 KO – Connacht v Ospreys – RaboDirect PRO12
Fri 04 Oct 19:05 KO – Ospreys v Ulster– RaboDirect PRO12
Sat 12 Oct 18.00 KO – Ospreys v Leinster – Heineken Cup
Sun 20 Oct 12.45 KO – Northampton Saints v Ospreys – Heineken Cup