The Ospreys team to play Exeter Chiefs at Sandy Park on Saturday 15th October 2011, kick off at 7.45pm will be as follows:
15 Barry Davies
14 Kristian Phillips
13 Ben John
12 Sonny Parker
11 Eli Walker
10 Matthew Morgan
9 Tom Habberfield
1 Cai Griffiths
2 Scott Baldwin
3 Joe Rees
4 Tom Smith (Capt)
5 Richard Kelly
6 James King
7 Sam Lewis
8 Morgan Allen
Replacements:
16 Mefin Davies
17 Aaron Jarvis
18 Craig Cross
19 Lloyd Peers
20 Ben Thomas
21 Tom Grabham
22 Will Price
23 Ross Jones
Tom Habberfield and Sam Lewis make their Ospreys debuts
Eli Walker, Scott Baldwin, Joe Rees, Richard Kelly and Morgan Allen will all make their first Ospreys starts
Lloyd Peers, Ben Thomas, Tom Grabham, Will Price and Ross Jones will all make their Ospreys debuts if they come off the bench
The following players were not considered because of injury:
James Goode - Groin
Gareth Owen – ACL
Nikki Walker – Medial Ligament
Acting Head Coach, Steve Tandy, commented:
“This is an exciting time for the Ospreys and a great opportunity for some of these young players to really show what they are about. As a coach, I’m also proud to have this chance to lead the team for two difficult fixtures that will really test this group.
“It will be a great benchmark to see where these boys are, Exeter are a strong team doing well in the Premiership and their fans always create a fantastic atmosphere so it’s going to be a tough evening. The boys have worked hard in training, they know their roles, now they have to pay attention to detail, be accurate and clinical, do things properly, and we’ll see how they cope with the challenges that Exeter will throw up.
“The LV= Cup is an important competition for us, it allows us to bring young players on. Look at the squad that played in this competition last season and you’ll see some of the boys who have established themselves, kicked on and played a big part in the opening period of the PRO12 where we’ve won all six games. The boys coming in this week have seen the standard that has been set, and they’ve got to hit that standard if they want to follow in the footsteps of those who’ve stepped up this season.”
Forthcoming fixtures
Sat 22 Oct – Ospreys v Northampton Saints – Brewery Field – LV= Cup – 6.00pm
Fri 28 Oct – Glasgow V Ospreys – Firhill – RaboDirect PRO12 – 7.05pm
Sat 5 Nov – Ospreys v Scarlets – Liberty Stadium – RaboDirect PRO12 – 7.30pm
Sat 12 Nov – Ospreys v Biarritz – Liberty Stadium – Heineken Cup – 3.40pm