The Ospreys team to play Newport Gwent Dragons on Friday 20th April 2012 at the Liberty Stadium, kick off at 7.05pm, will be as follows:
15 Ross Jones
14 Hanno Dirksen
13 Tom Isaacs
12 Andrew Bishop
11 Shane Williams
10 Dan Biggar
9 Rhys Webb
1 Ryan Bevington
2 Richard Hibbard
3 Adam Jones
4 Alun Wyn Jones (Capt)
5 Ian Evans
6 Ryan Jones
7 Justin Tipuric
8 Joe Bearman
Replacements:
16 Scott Baldwin
17 Paul James
18 Joe Rees
19 James King
20 Tom Smith
21 Kahn Fotuali’i
22 Matthew Morgan
23 Ashley Beck
Ashley Beck will win his 50th Ospreys cap if he comes off the bench
The following players were not considered because of injury:
Richard Fussell – Ribs
Aaron Jarvis - Hamstring
Tommy Bowe – Haematoma
Kristian Phillips - Abdomen
Jonathan Thomas – Illness
Huw Bennett - Achilles
Will Price - ACL
Cai Griffiths - Arm
Ben John - Groin
Gareth Owen – ACL
Nikki Walker – ACL
Forwards Coach, Jonathan Humphreys, commented:
“We’re expecting the Dragons to come down really fired up for this, as they always are when they play against us. They always provide a big challenge and it’ll be up to us to stand up to them, something we’ve not always been capable of doing when we’ve played them, at home or away.
“Thanks to some good results and decent performances lately we’re in a fairly good place. We’re second in the league with two to play so the home semi is in our own hands but I think there’s a lot more to come from this team and we have to find the right level if we are going to achieve the aim.
“The Dragons will bring a strong, competitive pack to the Liberty, and that’s an area where we were dominant last week so it should be an interesting battle. It’ll be tough but we’ll do our homework, prepare properly and the guys will go out knowing exactly what’s expected of them.
“There’s going to be a big crowd which is fantastic. It’s great for the Ospreys and it’s great for Shane that so many people want to come and say farewell to him. It’s an indication of the esteem he’s held in by the local community. It’ll definitely give the boys a big lift to run out in front of so many fans. With the biggest crowd of the season present it’ll be doubly important that we show the right attitude and desire so that we don’t disappoint them. We want to see them at the Liberty regularly next season and the way to do that is put on a performance that they can be proud of.”
Forthcoming fixtures
Sat 5 May – Aironi v Ospreys – Stadio Luigi Zaffanella – RaboDirect PRO12 – 7.30pm