The Ospreys team to play Saracens on Saturday 10th December 2011 at Wembley Stadium, kick off at 6.00pm, will be as follows:
15 Richard Fussell
14 Tommy Bowe
13 Andrew Bishop
12 Ashley Beck
11 Shane Williams
10 Dan Biggar
9 Rhys Webb
1 Duncan Jones
2 Richard Hibbard
3 Adam Jones
4 Ryan Jones
5 Jonathan Thomas
6 Tom Smith (Capt)
7 Justin Tipuric
8 Joe Bearman
Replacements:
16 Huw Bennett
17 Ryan Bevington
18 Aaron Jarvis
19 Ian Gough
20 George Stowers
21 Tom Isaacs
22 Matthew Morgan
23 Sonny Parker
The following players were unavailable because of international duty:
Tom Habberfield, Will Price and Tom Prydie are with Wales Sevens
The following players were not considered because of injury:
James Goode – Back
Kahn Fotuali’i – Rib
Ben John - Groin
Alun Wyn Jones – Foot
Gareth Owen – ACL
Nikki Walker – ACL
Paul James – Thumb
Ospreys Director of Coaching, Scott Johnson, commented:
“This stage of the tournament is always a crucial time, with the double headers pivotal to how the pool works out. We’ve got two tough games back to back against the English champions, but we’ve got our fate in our own hands. How far we go in terms of reaching the knockout stages is down to us, nobody else.
“Saracens are a big, strong team with a dominant pack so we know where it's going to be won or lost. Selection has been tough given the form of the guys who played in the last two league games, but we think we’ve gone with a 23 that will be up for the job. Make no mistake about it, everyone of them will have a big part to play.
"Tom continues as captain because we feel he's earnt the right over the last few weeks. He's led by example, he's performed well, and with Justin having been away with Wales he's really taken the opportunity and impressed as a captain. We've got a number of experienced leaders and captains in the squad but Tom has the armband on merit.
“It’s going to be tough, it’s going to be a real battle, and we know what we’ve got to do. We want to bring something back to the Liberty from this game, so that we’ve got everything to play for when they come to ours next Friday. We’ve got a proud home record and with our fans here to really get behind us like they did in the Munster match, it promises to be a big night for Ospreys Rugby.”
Forthcoming fixtures
Fri 16 Dec – Ospreys v Saracens – Liberty Stadium – Heineken Cup – 8.00pm
Mon 26 Dec – Scarlets v Ospreys – Parc Y Scarlets – RaboDirect PRO12 – 2.05pm
Sun 1 Jan – Ospreys v Cardiff Blues – Liberty Stadium – RaboDirect PRO12 – 6.30pm
Fri 6 Jan – Newport Gwent Dragons v Ospreys – Rodney Parade – RaboDirect PRO12 – 7.05pm