The Ospreys team to play Munster on Sunday 12th December 2010 at Thomond Park, kick off at 1.00pm, will be as follows:
15 Barry Davies
14 Tommy Bowe
13 Andrew Bishop
12 James Hook
11 Richard Fussell
10 Dan Biggar
9 Mike Phillips
1 Paul James
2 Richard Hibbard
3 Adam Jones
4 Ryan Jones
5 Alun Wyn Jones (Capt)
6 Jerry Collins
7 Marty Holah/Justin Tipuric *
8 Jonathan Thomas
Replacements
16 Mefin Davies
17 Duncan Jones
18 Craig Mitchell
19 Ian Gough
20 Justin Tipuric/Tom Smith*
21 Jamie Nutbrown
22 Sonny Parker
23 Nikki Walker
* - Final selection pending outcome of Magners League disciplinary panel appeal hearing scheduled for the evening of Friday 10th December
Adam Jones makes his 50th Heineken Cup appearance
Richard Fussell makes his Ospreys Heineken Cup debut
The following players were not considered because of injury:
Jonathan Spratt – ACL
Ben Lewis – Neck
Ben John – Wrist
Shane Williams – Shoulder
Conor McInerney – Knee
Lee Byrne – Thumb
Tom Isaacs is on Wales Sevens duty
Ospreys Forwards Coach, Jonathan Humphreys, commented:
“We’re going into this game in pretty good shape generally. We’ve worked hard to build our squad depth and we’ve seen over the last month to six weeks some players putting their hands up. Barry Davies had his first full 80 minutes last weekend, Richard Fussell has been in excellent form and is looking a real threat every time he gets the ball, while Justin Tipuric is really blossoming, so we won’t be looking at the negatives, only the positives.
“That’s exactly what we want it to be like here, we want competition for places and that’s definitely what we’ve got. It’s something we keep on repeating, but I believe that we’re getting that mix right and there is a good mood around the place at the moment. Selection has been very difficult, which is always a good sign.
“Our squad is a very experienced one, the players have experienced winning Grand Slams, playing in front of big crowds, and as we saw last season they have the know-how to go to places like Munster and win big games. We certainly won’t be focussing on games that have been and gone, they are in the past. It’s about Sunday now, it’s a whole new ball game.
“We all realise that we need to continue improving, we need to be more clinical and get the finer details right. We had a good win against Edinburgh last week that made it four successive wins, but we know that there is definitely room for improvement. We’ll be working hard to find that extra ten per cent, but one thing we do know for sure is that it’s going to be a real test for us.”
Forthcoming fixtures
Sat 18 Dec – Ospreys V Munster – Liberty Stadium – Heineken Cup – 3.30pm
Sun 26 Dec – Ospreys V Scarlets – Liberty Stadium – Magners League – 4.10pm
Fri 31 Dec – Cardiff Blues V Ospreys – Cardiff City Stadium – Magners League – 2.05pm