Ospreys team to face Connacht

The Ospreys team to play Connacht at Liberty Stadium on Friday 30th September 2011, kick off at 7.30pm will be as follows:

15 Barry Davies

14 Richard Fussell

13 Tom Isaacs

12 Andrew Bishop

11 Hanno Dirksen

10 Dan Biggar

9 Rhys Webb

 

1 Duncan Jones

2 Richard Hibbard

3 Aaron Jarvis

4 Ian Gough

5 Ian Evans

6 Tom Smith

7 Justin Tipuric (Capt)

8 Jonathan Thomas

 

Replacements:

16 Mefin Davies

17 Cai Griffiths

18 Joe Rees

19 James King

20 Joe Bearman

21 Matthew Morgan

22 Sonny Parker

23 Kristian Phillips

 

The following players were not considered because of injury:

James Goode - Groin

Craig Cross – Knee

Gareth Owen – ACL

Nikki Walker – Medial Ligament

Ross Jones – Ankle

Ashley Beck - Shoulder

 

Head Coach, Sean Holley, commented:

“We are getting the outcome on the scoreboard but there is still plenty for us to work on. We are tweaking a few things and ever trying to improve the players we’ve got.

“We’re quite a young group, mixed with some experienced fellas, and it’s important that we keep pushing the standards and getting things right. Even though the scoreboard has been taking care of itself, aspects of our game haven’t been spot on.

“The most promising thing for us is we are fielding 22 guys who are Welsh and Hanno who will soon qualify for Wales. There’s a good mix in terms of age and experience in the group.

“Connacht are a really tenacious side, well coached and well drilled. They lose very few at these sort of periods and it makes them a tough proposition. They’ve got a good start so they’re on the bounce.

“The fact that we’re at home is good for us, to go give us a bit of momentum, the fact that the game isn’t on TV is a plus for us as hopefully it’ll give us a bit more of a walk-up crowd, to support a team that is winning, that is playing well. Our crowd this season has been nothing short of fantastic. There’s been a real core I think, and you can see a huge amount of passion. They are getting behind this group, they realise what we are doing and they are joining in.”

Forthcoming fixtures

Sat 8 Oct – Munster V Ospreys – Thomond Park – RaboDirect PRO12 – 7.30pm

Sat 15 Oct – Exeter Chiefs V Ospreys – Sandy Park – LV= Cup – 7.45pm

Sat 22 Oct – Ospreys v Northampton Saints – Brewery Field – LV= Cup – 6.00pm

Fri 28 Oct – Glasgow V Ospreys – Firhill – RaboDirect PRO12 – 7.05pm