Ospreys Team To Face London Irish This Sunday

The Ospreys team to face London Irish, on Sunday 4th November in the EDF Energy Cup, at Liberty Stadium, kick off at 4.10pm, will be as follows: -

15 Lee Byrne

14 Nikki Walker

13 Andrew Bishop

12 Gavin Henson

11 Shane Williams

10 James Hook
9 Mike Phillips

8 Filo Tiatia (Capt)

7 Ben Lewis

6 Jonathan Thomas

5Ian Evans

4 Alun Wyn Jones

3 Adam Jones
2 Huw Bennett

1 Duncan Jones

Replacements:

16 Richard Hibbard

17 Paul James

18 Ian Gough

19 Marty Holah

20 Justin Marshall

21 Shaun Connor

22 Mark Taylor

Head Coach, Lyn Jones, commented as follows:

"€œThis will be the first time we have faced London Irish so they are a bit of an unknown quantity to us. On Sunday supporters will see two contrasting styles on show, with London Irish generally placing more focus on a forward orientated game compared to the more expansive style we tend to favour. They have blown hot and cold this year, beating Gloucester and then slipping up against Harlequins, but they have proven they have quality players and they will provide us with a stern test this weekend. London Irish will provide a totally different challenge to that offered by Worcester and we will have to answer their threats head on if we are to come through."€

"€œIf we want to progress in the EDF Energy and Heineken Cup competitions we have to continue to front up over the next few weeks. The players are on a high following the win against Worcester, but our feet remain firmly on the ground as we recognise that at this level every side presents us with a stern test."€

Injury and squad availability news

The following players are unavailable for selection due to injury:

Gareth Owen (illness) and Andy Lloyd (shoulder strain) will be available to face Bourgoin next weekend

David Bishop (knee) will be available at some point this month

Ryan Jones (shoulder) is progressing well with his rehabilitation programme but is unlikely to play before the end of 2007