The line-up for Sunday's Guinness PRO12 Welsh derby at the Liberty Stadium has been confirmed.
The Ospreys team to face Cardiff Blues at the Liberty Stadium, on Sunday 12th October 2014, KO 4.00pm, is as follows:
15 Dan Evans
14 Jeff Hassler
13 Andrew Bishop
12 Josh Matavesi
11 Eli Walker
10 Dan Biggar
9 Rhys Webb
1 Nicky Smith
2 Scott Baldwin
3 Dmitri Arhip
4 Lloyd Peers
5 Alun Wyn Jones (Capt)
6 James King
7 Sam Lewis
8 Dan Baker
REPLACEMENTS
16 Sam Parry
17 Duncan Jones
18 Aaron Jarvis
19 Joe Bearman
20 Morgan Allen
21 Martin Roberts
22 Sam Davies
23 Tom Grabham
Head Coach, Steve Tandy, commented:
“Derby day at the Liberty Stadium is always something special and it’ll be no different on Sunday. Make no mistake about it, the Blues will come here looking for the win and believ-ing that they can do it. There’s real quality throughout their squad, players who can hurt teams from anywhere, so we know that we’ll have to be switched on from the first whistle and be at our very best.
“Results so far this season have been good, but they won’t mean anything once the two teams cross the line at 4.00pm on Sunday. We’ve got to make sure that our preparation is good, that we accurate in everything we do, we know our roles and are relentless from the first second to last. If we control the things that we can, then we’ll be in with a chance. Fall down in any of those areas and it’ll be a different story.
“It looks like there’ll be a very good crowd there so we can expect a good atmosphere. Our supporters have been brilliant this season, the way they’ve got behind the team, and I wouldn’t expect it to be any different on Sunday. Derby matches come with all the addi-tonal baggage for supporters and that’ll make a huge difference to them. For the team though, it’s got to be treated in exactly the same way as any other match, and although they will feed off the atmosphere, they have to be completely focused on the job in hand.”
The following players were unavailable for selection through injury:
Tyler Ardron - Ankle
Ashley Beck - Hip
Ryan Bevington – Groin
Ross Jones - Ligaments
Tom Smith – Knee
De Kock Steenkamp - Achilles
Justin Tipuric – Concussion
Forthcoming Fixtures
Sun 18 Oct - 1.00pm KO - Ospreys v Treviso - Liberty Stadium - ERCC
Sat 25 Oct - 5.15pm KO - Northampton Saints - Franklin’s Gardens - ERCC
Fri 31 Oct - 7.35pm KO - Ospreys v Connacht - Liberty Stadium - PRO12