The Ospreys team to play Russia at the Liberty Stadium on Sunday 21st August 2011, kick off at 3.00pm will be as follows:
15 Richard Fussell
14 Kristian Phillips
13 Tom Isaacs
12 Ashley Beck
11 Hanno Dirksen
10 Dan Biggar
9 Rhys Webb
1 Duncan Jones
2 Mefin Davies
3 Cai Griffiths
4 Ian Gough (Capt)
5 Ian Evans
6 Tom Smith
7 James King
8 Joe Bearman
Replacements
16 Matthew Dwyer
17 Ken Dowding
18 Joe Rees
19 James Goode
20 Sam Lewis
21 Morgan Allen
22 Tom Grabham
23 Matthew Morgan
24 Will Price
25 Andrew Bishop
26 Sonny Parker
27 Barry Davies
The following players were not considered because of injury:
Eli Walker – Haematoma
Scott Baldwin - Hamstring
Aaron Jarvis – Ankle
Craig Cross – Knee
Tom Prydie – ACL
Tom Habberfield – Wrist
Gareth Owen - ACL
Director of Coaching, Scott Johnson, commented:
“Sunday will be about stepping up our preparations for the new season, with some more of the senior guys coming into get some action at the Liberty. Training has gone well but there’s no substitute for game time and the guys are busting a gut to get the shirt on and get out there onto the paddock.
“It’s going to be an interesting occasion, make no mistake about that. It’s an international team coming to the Liberty, something that doesn’t happen every day, and I hope that the fans who come here will get behind us and make themselves heard as they always do. We want to build something special as a group, and that includes the supporters, the people of Ospreylia. They are our cause, and everything we do this season will be for them.
“The team definitely has a more familiar feel to it than last week against Lyon, but we’ve rewarded one or two boys who were involved in that game like we said we would. It’s a time of year when everybody is excited, anticipation is high and there’s a lot of competition for places, and we are aiming to keep that feeling in the group.
“There’s a lot of good kids in this group, all proud to be wearing the shirt and keen to establish themselves as Ospreys and it’s been pretty refreshing working with them. We’ll see what some of them can do on Sunday when they come up against a Russia side that is gearing up for the World Cup and has already shown this summer that they are capable of hurting teams given half a chance so we know that the boys will have to be on top of their game.
“With our internationals away during the World Cup, it’s a fantastic opportunity for these players to make a name for themselves. We saw what they were capable of at stages last season when they were involved in our LV= Cup campaign really embracing the kind of game we want to establish as the Ospreys way and getting fans onto their feet in excitement. While we want them to kick on this season, it’s important that they continue to train well, know their roles and work as a team. If they do that, then they’ll have a fighting chance of representing the Ospreys for a long time to come.”
Forthcoming fixtures
Fri 2 Sep – Ospreys V Leinster – Liberty Stadium – Rabodirect PRO12 – 7.05pm
Sat 10 Sep – Ospreys V Edinburgh – Liberty Stadium – Rabodirect PRO12 – 6.30pm
Sat 17 Sep – Benetton Treviso V Ospreys – Stadio Comunale di Monigo – Rabodirect Pro12 – 3.00pm
Sun 25 Sep – Ospreys V Ulster – Liberty Stadium – Rabodirect PRO12 – 4.30pm
Sun 2 Oct – Ospreys V Connacht – Liberty Stadium – Rabodirect PRO12 – 3.45pm