The Ospreys team to play Grenoble at the Liberty Stadium, in ERCC Rd 4, on Saturday 17th December 2016, KO 3.00pm, is as follows:
15 Sam Davies
14 Dafydd Howells
13 Kieron Fonotia
12 Ashley Beck
11 Dan Evans
10 Dan Biggar
9 Brendon Leonard (Capt)
1 Nicky Smith
2 Scott Baldwin
3 Rhodri Jones
4 Lloyd Ashley
5 Rory Thornton
6 Olly Cracknell
7 Sam Underhill
8 James King
REPLACEMENTS
16 Scott Otten
17 Gareth Thomas
18 Ma’afu Fia
19 Adam Beard
20 Rob McCusker
21 Tom Habberfield
22 Josh Matavesi
23 Hanno Dirksen
The following players were unavailable for selection due to injury:
Dmitri Arhip - Shoulder
Bradley Davies - Knee
Keelan Giles – Ribs
Tom Grabham – Shin/Knee
Jeff Hassler – Achilles
Ben John – Groin
Dan Lydiate - Knee
Eli Walker - Foot
Owen Watkin – Knee
Rhys Webb – Ankle
Head Coach, Steve Tandy, commented:
“We’ve done a good job over the first three rounds to put ourselves in a position where we are in control of the pool and our fate and that’s all you can ask for at the halfway point.
“Our next two games in the competition are at home, which gives us a real opportunity to make a statement and that’s what we want to do. It’s important we realise that for all the good stuff we’ve seen so far, we haven’t achieved anything in real terms yet and we need to ensure that effort isn’t wasted.
“Last week was a difficult one in many ways but you have to credit the character and professionalism of the squad and how they dealt with the situation, the uncertainty, and got the job done on Friday night with minimum fuss. As soon as we got back home though it was important that we parked that up and focused entirely on this weekend and the job in hand. The boys have been great and they know what they have to do on Saturday.
“It’s a busy period of big matches that will have a huge impact on the season. Four of the next five are at the Liberty, with the Scarlets up next then games against Connacht and Lyon in January after the Dragons away game. We’ve put ourselves in a good place in Europe and the PRO12 and it’s important that we keep plugging away over the coming weeks. Our supporters have a big part to play in that, these are big games and they deserve a big crowd, creating the kind of atmosphere the boys can thrive on. We are looking forward to the different challenges the next month will throw at us.”
Forthcoming Fixtures
Tues 27 Dec – 3.00pm – Ospreys v Scarlets – Liberty Stadium – PRO12
Sun 1 Jan – 5.05pm – Dragons v Ospreys – Rodney Parade – PRO12
Sat 7 Jan – 1.30pm – Ospreys v Connacht – Liberty Stadium – PRO12
12/13/14/15 Jan – TBC – Ospreys v Lyon – Liberty Stadium - ERCC
