The Ospreys team to play the Scarlets on Saturday 2nd October 2010 at Parc y Scarlets, kick off at 8.10pm, will be as follows:-
14 Richard Fussell
13 Tommy Bowe
12 Andrew Bishop
11 Shane Williams
10 Dan Biggar
9 Mike Phillips
1 Paul James
2 Richard Hibbard
3 Adam Jones
4 Ian Gough
5 Alun Wyn Jones (Capt)
6 Jerry Collins
7 Marty Holah
8 Jonathan Thomas
Replacements
16 Huw Bennett
17 Ryan Bevington
18 Craig Mitchell
19 Ryan Jones
20 Justin Tipuric
21 Jamie Nutbrown
22 James Hook
23 Nikki Walker
The following players were not considered because of injury:
Tom Smith – Shoulder
Sonny Parker – Shoulder
Barry Davies – Groin
Scott Baldwin – Foot
Jonathan Spratt – ACL
Ian Evans – Foot/ankle
Ben Lewis – Neck
Andy Lloyd – Hand
Kristian Phillips and Tom Prydie are on international duty with Wales Sevens at the Commonwealth Games
Head Coach, Sean Holley, commented:
“It should be a great game. We’ve been building week on week, reintegrating the players that have been on a delayed pre-season, and we are starting to get back up to strength in terms of players returning.
“It’s a difficult challenge, getting everybody back into the team, getting them game time and making allowances for individual conditioning programmes, but it’s something that we used to and history over the last few seasons suggests that we’ve got it right. It’s a challenge that we want to have, it means that we are continuing to contribute players to the various national teams.
“As a squad we need to step up several notches now from where we were last weekend. The Scarlets have had a good start to the season and enjoyed a convincing win over the Dragons last week so they will no doubt be full of confidence as they welcome us to their place for such a big derby game.
“There is always a buzz about the place, an extra spice, when we play the Scarlets. Everybody knows how much it means to the supporters to get this win against our local rivals, and we want to give them that win. You’ve got to enjoy the rivalry, savour it and make sure you enjoy the occasion. There’ll be a big crowd present including a lot of our fans who will make the short trip over the bridge hoping to get one over their closest rivals, but we have to be professional about it and realise that it is just another step towards where we want to be.
“We’ve enjoyed a good run in this fixture in recent seasons and we want to keep that going, but we won’t lose sight of the bigger picture, and what lies ahead of us in the coming weeks.”
Forthcoming Fixtures
Sat 9 Oct – Toulon V Ospreys – Stade Mayol – 2.30pm – Heineken Cup
Fri 15 Oct – Ospreys V London Irish – Liberty Stadium - 8.00pm – Heineken Cup
Sun 24 Oct – Glasgow V Ospreys – Firhill – 4.10pm – Magners League
Sat 30 Oct – Ospreys V Newport Gwent Dragons – Liberty Stadium - 6.30pm – Magners League